Valladolid halt Villarreal's hopes

MADRID, Spain -- Villarreal missed the chance to close within a point of Spanish league leaders Real Madrid after suffering a 2-0 defeat at Real Valladolid on Sunday.

Villarreal's first reverse in five matches left the club in third place on goal difference behind Barcelona, who also have 28 points after drawing 1-1 at local rivals Espanyol on Saturday.

Madrid moved four points clear after beating Racing Santander 3-1 on Saturday.

Villarreal went behind in the 19th minute when Joseba Llorente powered home a header from a cross by Sisi Gonzalez.

Victor Fernandez doubled the lead 12 minutes after the half-time break when he converted Jonathan Sesma's pass to score his sixth goal this season and lift Valladolid into 12th place.

Atletico Madrid moved up into fourth place with a 2-0 victory at second from bottom Real Betis, with striker Diego Forlan scoring in the 33rd minute and Spain U21 midfielder Raul Garcia netting in the first minute of second-half injury-time.

In Sunday's other games, Levante remained rooted to the bottom of the table after suffering a last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Getafe.

Levante, yet to score an away point this season, took the lead in the 15th minute when striker Riga Mustapha netted the rebound after goalkeeper Pato Abbondanzieri saved his penalty.

But the visitors then saw defender Inaki Descarga taken to hospital after a clash of heads with Getafe midfielder Ruben De La Red late in the first half, and Manu Del Moral hit the post for Getafe before setting up Braulio Nobrega's equalizer on the hour.

Braulio then condemned Levante to an 11th defeat in 14 matches with a 90th-minute header, leaving Getafe in 10th place.

Osasuna moved away from the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna, who slipped to third from bottom.

Recreativo Huelva also moved out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win over Real Zaragoza as midfielder Carlos Martins scored twice in the first half after Diego Milito's opener.

Eighth-placed Real Mallorca were held 1-1 at home by Murcia, who are level with Osasuna and Recreativo on 15 points.

In the late match, Athletic Bilbao moved up to 11th place after a surprise 3-0 victory away to sixth-placed Valencia.

The Basques won at the Mestalla stadium for the first time in 20 years as Francisco Yeste fired in a free-kick on 33 and Fernando Llorente added two more goals in the second half.

It capped a miserable week for Valencia coach Ronald Koeman, whose side failed to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Barcelona striker Thierry Henry is expected to be out for another two weeks with back problems, having missed the Catalan club's last two matches.

A statement from the Nou Camp side said: "Thierry Henry has suffered a discopathy in his spine which means he will be sidelined for the next two weeks.

"Henry has been having this kind of trouble for several years and often suffers from lumbar and pelvis pains.

"When he signed for FC Barcelona, the pelvis troubles he has were taken into serious consideration, but with the right treatment he was able to train normally. But in recent weeks the pain has returned." E-mail to a friend