Villarreal win leaves Real fifth

MADRID: REAL DO HAVE TWO GAMES IN HAND ON THE TEAMS AROUND THEM, THOUGH, AND HOST DEPORTIVO NEXT

Villarreal moved above Real Madrid and into the top four in La Liga after a 2-1 win over Levante on Saturday that piled more pressure on the struggling champions’ coach Zinedine Zidane.

A 26th-minute penalty from Manu Trigueros and Denis Cheryshev’s first league goal in nearly two years saw Javier Calleja’s side move up to 34 points, two ahead of Real.

Zidane’s team are fifth, level on 32 points with Sevilla, who crushed Espanyol 3-0 in a dominant display that gave Vincenzo Montella his first league win since arriving in Spain in late December.

The last time Real finished outside the top four was in 2000, when they placed fifth but won the Champions League -- a year before coach Zidane had even signed for the club as a player.

Madrid do have two games in hand on the teams around them, though, and host Deportivo on Sunday.

Cheryshev’s tap-in sealed the deal against Levante, who pulled one back with a stoppage-time penalty from Roger.

ATLETICO MADRID AND VALENCIA SLIP

Antoine Griezmann’s first goal in six league games wasn’t enough for Atletico as they drew 1-1 with Girona and gave Barcelona a chance to extend their lead at the top. The draw means Atletico are second and eight points behind Barca, who take on Real Betis.

Atletico stay second on 43 points, three points ahead of Valencia after their surprise defeat at Las Palmas, which saw Gabriel booked twice for dissent after giving away the winning penalty and then Ruben Vezo was sent off for elbowing spotkick scorer Jonathan Calleri. Valencia looked set for a win when Santi Mina headed the opener after just five minutes, but Jonathan Viera smashed home JonathanCalleri’s knockdown 15 minutes later. Calleri slotted home the penalty that sealed the three points.