体坛英语资讯：Villarreal remains third and Espanyol fourth as Spain awaits El Classico

Although Spanish football fans are waiting to see what will happen when FC Barcelona entertain Real Madrid on Monday night, the weekend saw the rest of the sides in the BBVA Primera Liga play their league matches.

The nine games played had their share of controversy and drama, while Villarreal and Espanyol enjoyed their moments in the spotlight.

Villarreal cemented third place in the table with a 3-0 win away to bottom of the table Zaragoza.

Zaragoza fans would have expected better on Javier Aguirre's home debut as coach, but his side was totally outplayed and 2-0 down after 17 minutes thanks to goals from Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla.

Contini was sent off in the second half to leave Zaragoza with 10 men, just a minute before Nilmar scored Villarreal's third. Zaragoza meanwhile have had players sent off in six of their 13 matches this season.

There was controversy in the Vicente Calderon stadium as Espanyol shocked Atletico Madrid with a 3-2 away win.

Osvaldo's goal 13 minutes from time gave Espanyol all three points in a game that ended with Atletico coach Quique Sanchez Flores involved in ugly scenes with Espanyol striker Luis Garcia.

Espanyol twice went ahead through Garcia, who scored a penalty after Reyes had handled in the Atletico area, and Verdu while Atletico drew level thanks to Thiago and Kun Aguero. Osvaldo's late strike sealed all three points and all that was left was for Quique to be sent off after running onto the pitch.

At the final whistle the Atletico coach returned to the playing surface and had to be physically restrained as he tried to get to Luis Garcia, who he later accused of 'laughing at Atletico.'

Espanyol remain fourth in the Primera Liga and can perhaps be classed as this season's surprise package.

Sevilla's poor campaign continued with their second home defeat in a week as Gregorio Manzano's men lost 2-1 at home to Getafe. Kanoute put Sevilla ahead in the first half in a rainy Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. However two goals in a minute from Manu del Moral and Miku turned the result around, before Pedro Rios scored with a powerful shot from just inside the penalty area.

Sunday's matches saw Real Sociedad pile the problems on Sporting Gijon with a 3-1 away win. Gregory scored for Sporting, but the visitors turned the score around with goals from Xabi Prieto, Zurutuza and Mikel Aranburu.

Malaga were unable to take advantage of Sporting's defeat to move out of the bottom three as they were beaten 2-0 in Mallorca. Pierre Webo and Chori Castro sealed the points for Mallorca in four minutes at the start of the second half.

Hercules beat Levante 3-1 with two goals from Nelson Valdez and one from David Trezeguez, while a single strike from Rosenberg earned Racing Santander three important points at home to Deportivo la Coruna.

Carlos Gurpegui's 90th minute header gave Athletic Club Bilbao a dramatic 1-0 win at home over Osasuna in a tightly contested northern derby, while Valencia ended Sunday's matches with a 2-1 win at home to Almeria.

Roberto Soldado was Valencia's hero with two goals on the night to spoil Jose Luis Oltra's debut as Almeria coach. Ulloa scored a last minute consolation for the visitors, who remain second from bottom of the BBVA Primera Liga table.