Villarreal held to 1-1 draw by Malaga

Villarreal's struggles in the Spanish league continued with a 1-1 home draw against Malaga on Sunday, a result that left it further behind in the fight for a Champions League spot next season.

Villarreal remained sixth in the standings, and the gap to fourthplaced Real Sociedad increased to five points after 22 matches. It is seven points behind thirdplace Sevilla, which plays later Sunday.

The top three teams automatically advance to the group stage of Europe's top club competition. The fourth-placed club has to go through a playoff. The teams in fifth and sixth place qualify for the lower-tiered Europa League.

Villarreal has won only one of its last six league matches.

Striker Charles opened the scoring for Malaga in the 14th minute, and midfielder Bruno Soriano equalized for the hosts by converting a 62nd-minute penalty kick.

Yesterday Villarreal-Malaga ............................. 1-1 Leganes-Gijon .................................. 0-2 Las Palmas-Sevilla ........................... 0-1 Atl. Madrid-Celta Vigo ..................... 3-2

Standings

P W D L F A Pts Real Madrid 20 15 4 1 54 18 49 Barcelona 22 14 6 2 61 18 48 Sevilla 22 14 4 4 44 28 46 Atl. Madrid 22 12 6 4 39 18 42 Real Sociedad 22 13 2 7 36 31 41 Villarreal 22 9 9 4 29 15 36 Ath Bilbao 22 10 5 7 28 26 35 Eibar 21 9 5 7 32 29 32 Espanyol 22 8 8 6 30 29 32 Celta Vigo 21 9 3 9 33 36 30 Las Palmas 22 7 7 8 31 33 28 Alaves 22 6 9 7 21 28 27 Betis 21 6 6 9 21 31 24 Malaga 22 5 8 9 29 36 23 Valencia 21 5 5 11 29 40 20 Dep. La Coruna21 4 7 10 26 34 19 Leganes 22 4 6 12 15 37 18 Gijon 22 4 4 14 24 43 16 Granada CF 21 2 7 12 17 44 13 Osasuna 22 1 7 14 24 49 10

Malaga appealed for a penalty kick not called in its favor in the 54th, when Charles was pulled down inside the area while going for a header.