Valencia CF lost ground

Valencia CF lost ground at the top of the Primera División as they fell to defeat at Real Racing Club Santander, who moved to within a point of their opponents and five behind another of Sunday's winners, Villarreal CF.

Valencia beaten
In a game devoid of goalmouth action, the only goal of the game in Santander came in the 70th minute courtesy of a long-range strike by former Valencia player Jorge López that goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares failed to deal with. The home side remain seventh in the standings, but closed on fifth-place Valencia, whose mood will contrast with local rivals Villarreal whose draw against UD Almería lifted them above FC Barcelona. Nihat Kahveci had put the hosts on course for a fourth consecutive league win that would have taken them top until Alvaro Negredo's equaliser eight minutes after the interval.

Seven-goal thrillers
Club Atlético de Madrid and Levante UD were both involved in thrilling 4-3 victories. Atlético twice came from behind against Real Valladolid CF before finally prevailing following an own goal from Pedro López in added time. Meanwhile, Levante picked up only their second win of the campaign when they fought back from 2-0 down to beat fellow strugglers Real Betis Balmopié, closing the gap to four points on their nearest rivals. RCD Espanyol jumped up to fourth in the table, a point above Valencia, thanks to a 2-1 victory at CA Osasuna, while RC Deportivo La Coruña staged a fightback to aid their relegation struggle, overturning a two-goal deficit to draw at Athletic Club Bilbao. In the late game, Getafe CF were unable to get a fourth consecutive league win despite taking the lead against Real Zaragoza as Andrés D'Alessandro's late goal cancelled out Sousa's effort.