Sevilla sneak late victory in Bilbao;Villarreal, Valencia score big wins

MADRID: Lucas Ocampos scored a stoppage-time penalty to secure a 1-0 win for Sevilla away to Athletic Club Bilbao with their only shot of the game in La Liga on Thursday.

The penalty was awarded for a foul by Yeray Alvarez on the winger and confirmed by VAR, despite TV images showing the defender touched the ball as he challenged.

The penalty decided a tight match in which defenses dominated for the most part, but Athletic had two first-half goals disallowed for offside.

Villarreal climbed above Betis into fifth place after netting four second-half goals at home against Espanyol, who now find themselves deeper in trouble at second from the bottom of the table.

Javi Puado put Espanyol ahead just before halftime, but Etienne Capoue equalized in the 53rd minute and Dani Parejo put Villarreal in front 10 minutes later.

Espanyol’s top scorer Joselu levelled in the 73rd minute, but Nicolas Jackson broke free of the offside trap to score a remarkable individual goal with 10 minutes remaining, and Capoue secured his second of the game in stoppage time to seal the win.

The 19-year-old Javi Guerra scored a stunning stoppage-time goal to complete Valencia’s comeback at home against Valladolid, lifting them out of the bottom three.

Mouctar Diakhaby equalized for Valencia with 30 minutes left to play after an error from Valladolid keeper Joel Matip, who failed to pursue a ball he could have stopped, and Guerra netted a crucial goal with a powerful shot as time was running out.

The youngster beat a defender, picked his spot, and fired a left-footed shot past Matip into the corner of the net. IANS

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