Show of strength lifts Villarreal

Villarreal CF are emerging as real contenders for the Spanish title after a 4-3 win at Club Atlético de Madrid put them within a point of league leaders Real Madrid CF.

Great result
Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci was the hero of Sunday night's game, scoring the equaliser that made it 3-3 and then a late winner to earn the Yellow Submarine all three points at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. "We have won at the toughest ground in the Spanish league," said Villarreal's Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini as his side claimed their eighth win in eleven 2007/08 Primera División games.

'Something big'
The 27-year-old Nihat was thrilled to have played his part in the win which left the UEFA Cup group stage contenders third in the table, level on points with second-placed FC Barcelona and a point adrift of leaders Real Madrid CF. "I'm very happy to have scored two goals," he said. "We played a great game and our spirits never dropped after going 2-0 down. We knew we could do something big."

'Stupid mistakes'
That confidence was shared by his coach, whose side twice drew level after going 2-0 and 3-2 down. "I never thought we could lose the match," Pellegrini said. "Stupid mistakes let Atlético take the lead but our equaliser before the break was important. It's a vital win against a direct rival." The two sides had started the weekend in third and fourth place.

Defensive worries
Without injured forwards Diego Forlán and Mista, Atlético showed plenty of attacking threat but coach Javier Aguirre was disappointed with his side's defending. The Mexican said: "We made too many mistakes and we have conceded a lot of goals in recent games. We have a very offensive side but we have to get our defence back in order and we can't carry on playing like that."

Sevilla success
The other big winners of the weekend were Sevilla FC, who beat fellow UEFA Champions League contenders Real Madrid CF 2-0 on Saturday night as Manolo Jiménez picked up his second straight victory since replacing Juande Ramos as Sevilla FC coach. After a disappointing start to the season, the two-time UEFA Cup winners have now risen to tenth in the table.

'Even bigger'
"The 2-0 win over Madrid could have been even bigger if we had been luckier," said Jiménez. "We played a great match and counteracted Madrid's quality. We were strong at the back, balanced in midfield and did a great job in attack." Sevilla travel to FC Steaua Bucureşti in the UEFA Champions League this week while Madrid are at Olympiacos CFP. Villarreal travel to face FK Mladá Boleslav in the UEFA Cup on Thursday while Atlético have a week off UEFA Cup competition.