Highflying Villarreal climbed into second spot in the Primera Liga with a 2-1 victory over Almeria on Sunday. Italian forward Giuseppe Rossi gave Villarreal the lead inside the first minute with a superb long-range bullet. Joseba Llorente doubled their advantage after 15 minutes when he converted Robert Pires' inch-perfect cross at the far post. Pablo Piatti pulled one back in the 61st minute but Almeria failed to build on their solitary goal. The victory put Villarreal in second place of the league table with 24 points, one adrift of leaders Barcelona. In another game, Valencia moved up to third after crushing Getafe 3-0 away from home. Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes opened the scoring after 29 minutes before Joaquin added a second nine minutes past the hour mark. In-form Spain striker David Villa wrapped up the victory nine minutes from time to take his tally to 10 goals this season.
