Villarreal tightened their hold on third place in La Liga after a convincing 3-1 home victory over Alaves on Saturday, January 10, continuing their pursuit of Spain’s top two as the season reached its halfway point.

Second-half goals proved decisive as Villarreal pulled away, moving within striking distance of both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid while keeping pressure on the teams above them.

Villarreal pull clear after halftime

After a controlled opening period, Villarreal asserted themselves after the break with goals from Alberto Moleiro, Gerard Moreno, and Georges Mikautadze. The win leaves Villarreal eight points behind league leaders Barcelona and four adrift of second-placed Real Madrid, with a game still in hand.

Alaves, meanwhile, remain hovering just above the relegation zone, struggling to convert possession into points as the season’s midpoint arrives.

Late drama shapes the table

Elsewhere, Oviedo and Real Betis settled for a 1-1 draw after Giovani Lo Celso redirected a late cross to cancel out Ilyas Chaira’s earlier strike, denying Oviedo what would have been only their third win of the campaign.

Valencia stayed inside the relegation zone after being held 1-1 by Elche. Grady Diangana gave the visitors the lead late on, but his subsequent handball allowed Pepelu to rescue a point from the penalty spot in the closing minutes.

Girona boosted their survival hopes with a narrow 1-0 win over Osasuna, sealed by Vladislav Vanat’s clever backheel just before halftime. The result moves Girona four points clear of danger, while Osasuna edge closer to the drop zone.

On Friday, Real Sociedad snatched a dramatic 2-1 victory at Getafe. Brais Mendez opened the scoring before Juanmi equalized late, but defender Jon Aramburu rose highest in stoppage time to head home the winning goal. [Xinhua]