Real Madrid 2–3 Valencia

Javier Arizmendi struck a late winner as Valencia rocked Real Madrid’s title hopes with a 3-2 victory at the Bernabeu on Sunday.

The points looked set to be shared after two goals each from Madrid captain Raul and Valencia striker David Villa until Arizmendi struck in the 88th minute to stun the home side.

Madrid’s lead at the summit is now down to four points following Barcelona’s win over Real Valladolid.

Bojan Krkic struck twice as Barcelona thrashed Valladolid, 4-1.

Samuel Eto’o put the Catalans ahead midway through the first half, but Jonathan Sesma equalized from spot following a dubious penalty decision on the half-hour mark.

Andres Iniesta struck two minutes into the second period and Bojan scored his first after 62 minutes and wrapped up the win with his second six minutes from the end.

Third-placed Villarreal reinforced its claim on a Champions League place by winning, 2-1, at bottom-side Levante.

Matias Fernandez put the visitors in front against the run of play just before the half-hour mark. The home side equalized through Miguel Angel Lozano after 64 minutes.

But an excellent move involving Kahveci Nihat, Robert Pires and Guillermo Franco allowed the latter to score a winner for the Yellow Submarine with seven minutes remaining.

Javier Clemente secured his first win as Real Murcia coach with a 4-0 victory which left Espanyol’s hopes of a Champions League spot hanging by a thread.

Ivan Alonso’s 36th-minute penalty gave the hosts the lead and the Uruguayan’s second just after halftime put them firmly in control.

Abel Gomez then also scored from the spot after 63 minutes to put Murcia out of sight before Richi sealed the victory five minutes from time.

Sergio Orteman kept Racing Santander on course for Europe next season as he stepped off the bench to spark a 2-0 defeat of 10-man Recreativo Huelva.

Recre arrived at El Sardinero inside the drop zone and, despite Martin Caceres’ needless dismissal after 66 minutes, was holding out for a draw.

However, Orteman broke the deadlock with a fierce strike in the 80th minute before Ebi Smolarek added a second four minutes into stoppage time.

Athletic Bilbao moved seven points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Getafe thanks to Joseba Etxeberria’s 28th minute goal.

Real Betis put last weekend’s bottle-throwing controversy behind them and moved three points clear of the Primera Liga relegation zone with a 1-0 win at Osasuna.

Mark Gonzalez struck the only goal of the game in the 54th minute and a bad day for the home side was compounded in the 90th minute when Javier Garcia was dismissed following a professional foul on Gonzalez.

Alvaro Negredo’s last-gasp goal secured a 1-1 draw for Almeria against 10-man Real Zaragoza.

Zaragoza saw Gabi given his marching orders on the hour mark but Ricardo Oliveira headed them in front seven minutes later.

The Primera Liga strugglers thought they had done enough to take a vital three points but Negredo netted in the 89th minute to nick a draw for his side.