Santi Cazorla and Ariel Ibagaza put the visitors, who are unbeaten away from home this season, 2-0 up and although Adrian Colunga scored a late penalty for Recreativo, Villarreal always looked like holding on.

Valencia meanwhile gave the fans a nervous time in the Mestalla stadium before finally emerging 3-2 winners over Betis. It was looking easy for Valencia when David Villa and Juan Mata put them ahead after just 20 minutes.

Betis dug deep in the second half and Juanma and Achile Emana got them back on level terms by the 63rd minute. Emana's goal came from the penalty, which saw Valencia reduced to 10 men after Carlos Marchena was shown the red card.

The visitors looked to be on the verge of turning the game around but Ruben Baraja sealed the points with a header 17 minutes from time.

Espanyol's dreadful run of form continued as the Barcelona based club lost 1-0 at home to Sporting Gijon, a result that cost coach "Tintin" Marquez his job as first team coach.

Espanyol's coach Bartolome Marquez reacts against Villarreal during their Spanish First Division soccer match at Lluis Companys stadium in Barcelona Oct. 18, 2008

Almeria also lost at home, a 75th minute goal from Verdu gave Deportivo la Coruna all three points on the South coast and lift Deportivo up to sixth in the league table. Athletic Club Bilbao climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Numancia. Two first half goals from Fernando Llorente were enough to give the Basque side all three points.

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