Antonio Apono

Sevilla missed the chance to go top of the Spanish first division after being pegged back to a 1-1 home draw by Racing Santander on Thursday.

Brazilian striker Nilmar scored his fourth goal in four games as Villarreal defeated Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 on Thursday to move above Barcelona into third place in the Spanish first division.

Barcelona bounced back in style from their heartbreaking Champions League exit with a 4-1 win at Villarreal on Saturday which put them four points clear at the top of La Liga.

A brace from substitute Nicola Zigic saw Valencia beat Espanyol 2-0 and consolidate their third place in the Spanish table on Saturday.

Getafe's European hopes suffered a blow after they were held 0-0 away to relegation-threatened Valladolid in La Liga on Sunday.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his third goal in a week, and 15th of the season, as Barcelona won 1-0 at Real Mallorca on Saturday to nudge Real Madrid off the top of the La Liga table.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his third goal in a week, and 15th of the season, as Barcelona won 1-0 at Real Mallorca on Saturday to nudge Real Madrid off the top of the La Liga table.

Tenerife picked up only their third away point of the season with an 85th minute penalty from Alejandro Alfaro salvaging a 1-1 draw at La Liga relegation rivals Malaga on Saturday.