José Mari lifts Villarreal to third

By Andy Hall

Two first-half goals from José Mari Romero helped Villarreal CF to a 3-1 home win against Athletic Club Bilbao as the coastal side edged into third place in the Primera División on Saturday. Earlier in the evening, Marco Caneira scored a late equaliser but was then sent off for Valencia CF against Real Zaragoza.

José Mari double
At the Madrigal, José Mari took just eleven minutes to open Villarreal's account, but Athletic were back level soon after when Santiago Ezquerro beat Pepe Reina from close range. The local side were back in front just after the half hour mark when José Mari notched up his second of the game, superbly heading in Joan Román Riquelme's corner. Top scorer Diego Forlán wrapped up the three points on 56 minutes to take Manuel Luis Pellegrini's side past Real Betis Balompié and into third on 50 points.

Own goal
At the Romareda, Valencia missed the chance to increase the pressure on the top teams by scraping a 2-2 draw with Real Zaragoza. The visitors enjoyed superiority during the opening moments of the game but trailed 1-0 by the interval after Generelo had surprised Santiago Cañizares with a wild effort just before the whistle. More drama ensued after the break as David Albelda headed into his own goal to give Zaragoza a two-goal lead.

Late surge
But Valencia hit back in the last ten minutes - Bernardo Corradi poked in on 81 minutes then Caneira blasted in with five minutes of normal time remaining. The Portuguese defender then spoiled his night by receiving a red card. Valencia remain fifth on 47 points but could drop further off the pace when the rest of the weekend games are played on Sunday.

Sociedad victory
Completing Saturday's action, Real Sociedad de Fútbol had Gari Uranga and Valery Karpin to thank for their 2-0 win over Basque rivals CA Osasuna.