La Liga round-up: Enthralling night in the battles for European football and survival | OneFootball

Matchday 31 came to an end on Thursday, with another three important matches in La Liga. The battles for Europe and the relegation dogfight were in the spotlight, with Villarreal, Espanyol, Valencia, Real Valladolid, Athletic Club and Sevilla all in action.

Villarreal 4-2 Espanyol

Villarreal returned to winning ways after two consecutive defeats, beating Espanyol in an enthralling counter at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

Javi Puado gave Espanyol the lead going into half time, but Villarreal responded soon after the interval, courtesy of a fine striker from Etienne Capoue. Dani Parejo missed a penalty, but scoring the rebound, before Joselu capitalised on a Pau Torres error to make it 2-2.

Late goals from Nicolas Jackson and Capoue ensured all three points would be staying in Vila-Real, as the hosts moved to within five points of fourth-placed Real Sociedad. Espanyol remain in 19th.

Valencia 2-1 Real Valladolid

Valencia boosted their survival hopes with a dramatic victory over Real Valladolid. The match started terribly for Los Che, after an error from Mouctar Diakhaby allowed Cyle Larin to open the scoring.

Diakhaby made up for his error by scoring the equaliser, getting a helping hand from Real Valladolid keeper Jordi Masip in the process, before youngster Javi Guerra scored a sensational goal in stoppage time to win the game.

Back-to-back victories for Valencia have moved them up to 16th, while Real Valladolid remain in 14th, four points outside of the drop zone.

Athletic Club 0-1 Sevilla

In Thursday’s late kick off, Sevilla continued their excellent run in all competitions, defeating Athletic Club at San Mames in dramatic fashion. Much like Valencia, it was a stoppage time winner, with came courtesy of Lucas Ocampos from the penalty spot.

Sevilla are still yet to lose under Jose Luis Mendilibar, and the win has meant that they are now 11th in the table. Athletic Club’s European hopes have suffered a blow, and they stay in seventh, three points behind Real Betis.

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