Villarreal Maintains Third Place with Draw Against Oviedo in La Liga
Match Summary
Photo: @juanlp40/X
Madrid, April 24: Villarreal secured its position in third place in La Liga after a 1-1 draw against Oviedo, who remains at the bottom of the table and is still six points adrift of safety.
Nicolas Pepe opened the scoring for Villarreal with a penalty that was retaken after the Oviedo goalkeeper, Aaron Escandell, initially saved his first attempt. However, Ilyas Chaira equalized for Oviedo in the 68th minute, assisted smartly by Alberto Reina.
In the final moments, Ayoze Perez struck the post for Villarreal, but the draw ensured they stayed five points ahead of Atletico Madrid, who are in fourth place.
In another crucial relegation battle, Ivan Romero netted twice as Levante defeated Sevilla 2-0 at home. Romero's first goal was a powerful strike, while his second came during a counterattack in injury time, sealing Sevilla's fate as they failed to register a single shot on target.
Rayo Vallecano also made headlines with a 1-0 victory over Espanyol, thanks to Sergio Camello's goal in the 86th minute. Espanyol, still searching for their first win of 2026, missed a penalty when Rayo's goalkeeper, Sergio Cardenas, saved Kike Garcia's shot in the 72nd minute.
Earlier in the week, Real Madrid triumphed over Deportivo Alaves 2-1, Athletic Club edged Osasuna 1-0, Real Betis won 3-2 against Girona, and Mallorca played to a 1-1 draw with Valencia.
On Wednesday, FC Barcelona maintained a nine-point lead at the top of La Liga with a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo. Elche managed to defeat Atletico Madrid 3-2, while Getafe capitalized on Real Sociedad's Copa del Rey fatigue to secure a 1-0 victory, which was marked by an own goal, with Getafe not registering a shot on target.