Villarreal draws with Malaga 1-1 in Spain

Posted Monday, February 21, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Villarreal was held to a 1-1 draw by last-place Malaga in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Marco Ruben put Villarreal ahead in the 36th minute, tapping in a deflection of a shot by teammate Giuseppe Rossi. Malaga’s Sebastian Fernandez finished off a counterattack led by Jose Rondon to split the points in the 82nd.

“We were playing well, looking for the second goal, but we didn’t get it and they waited for their chance and took it,” Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido said.

With the draw, Villarreal remained in fourth place, two points behind provincial rival Valencia.

Also, Javad Nekounam scored twice in Osasuna’s 4-0 win over Espanyol on coach Jose Luis Mendilibar’s debut.

The Iran Midfielder put the hosts ahead in the 14th minute, heading in a corner delivered by countryman Masoud Soleimani, and added the second from the penalty spot in the 55th after Espanyol’s Aldo Duscher had handled in the area.

Manuel “Lolo” Ortiz made it 3-0 in the 80th, and Fernando Soriano capped the victory in the 88th.

“You dream to win in your debut,” Mendilibar said. “But the important thing is the motivation of the players who believe in what they are doing.”

Osasuna moved out of the drop zone with the win, while sixth-place Espanyol has lost its last four games.

Deportivo La Coruna goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia scored in injury time to give his team a 1-1 draw at Almeria, and Racing Santander beat Getafe 1-0.

Almeria looked set to convert Pablo Piatti’s 49th-minute opener into three points, but Aranzubia charged forward to head home a corner right on the final whistle in the 95th.

In Madrid, Pablo Pinillos scored the 88th-minute winner for Racing Santander from the penalty spot after Getafe defender Ivan Marcano was sent off for pulling down Giovani Dos Santos with only the keeper to beat.

Later, Barcelona looks to extend its lead over Real Madrid to five points with the visit of Athletic Bilbao to Camp Nou stadium, while Sevilla tries for its first win in four weeks as its hosts Hercules.