Barcelona had struggled to break down a defensive Levante side until Pedro scored two minutes after the break following great work from Dani Alves down the right wing.

Pedro scored his second of the game with a neat right foot shot, but Barcelona ended up needing to hang on for the win after Stauni gave Levante hope with a smart volleyed goal 10 minutes from time.

Referee Rubinos Perez made himself unpopular as Athletic Club Bilbao crashed 2-1 at home to Deportivo la Coruna.

Rubinos awarded Deportivo a very questionable penalty for their opening goal and then sent off Athletic defender Mikel San Jose and Deportivo's Juan Rodriguez to leave both side's with 10 players each, before Adrian doubled Deportivo's lead six minutes into the second half.

Fernando Llorente gave Athletic hope five minutes from time, but the home side ended with just nine players after Rubinos sent off Ustaritz.

Sporting Gijon slid deeper into trouble after losing a relegation struggle 2-1 against Malaga.

Diego Castro put Sporting ahead after 41 minutes, but Weligton leveled before the break and Apono's penalty after 58 minutes gave Malaga a vital win.

Sevilla ended a run of four home defeats with a 1-0 triumph over Sevilla thanks to Freddy Kanoute's 35th minute header. Jesus Navas' return from injury was another bright spot for Sevilla.

Valencia strengthen their hold on fourth place with a 2-1 win against Espanyol. Aduriz opened the scoring, but Ricardo Costa's own goal leveled matters. Aduriz was sent off in the second half, but Juan Mata gave Valencia all three points with a 93rd minute winning goal.

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