Villarreal edge towards Champions League return

Captain Bruno came closest to opening the scoring for Villarreal when his free-kick rattled the crossbar midway through the first half.

However, Carlos Vela also missed a great opportunity for Real early in the second half when his attempted chip was beaten away by Sergio Asenjo.

Villarreal continue to lead Athletic Bilbao by six points with just three games remaining despite a dramatic fightback by the Basques to seal a point in a 2-2 draw at bottom-placed Levante.

Victor Casadesus's early opener and Borja Etxeita's own goal had Levante on course for a huge win in their battle to beat the drop.

However, Athletic struck twice in the final two minutes through Markel Susaeta and Mikel San Jose to leave Levante still four points off safety.

Athletic, Sevilla and Celta Vigo are all at least heading for Europa League football next season after Valencia's fine run under new boss Pako Ayestaran was stalled by a 2-2 draw at Getafe.

Dani Parejo's fine free-kick put Valencia in front before Alvaro Medran and Stefan Scepovic put Getafe 2-1 in front.

However, the Madrid side remain rooted in the relegation zone as Paco Alcacer's equaliser six minutes from time stretched Valencia's unbeaten run to four games.

Sevilla picked up their first league win in six games and extended their unbeaten run in the Seville derby to six games with a 2-0 win over Real Betis.

Kevin Gameiro's 25th goal of the season put the hosts in front before captain Coke sealed the three points 10 minutes from time.