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Valencia climbed above Atletico Madrid and Sevilla into third in La Liga when Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to score a late winner in a 3-2 home victory over his former club Almeria on Saturday.
Captain Dani Parejo fired Valencia ahead in the 11th minute at the Mestalla when he clipped home an Antonio Barragan cross but Almeria forward Tomer Hemed levelled two minutes later when he turned in a Wellington centre.
Rodrigo restored Valencia's lead in the 29th minute before Hemed grabbed his second in the 33rd to become the all-time Israeli top scorer in La Liga with 25 goals, surpassing the tally of 24 amassed by former Celta Vigo midfielder Haim Revivo at the end of the 1990s.
Negredo, who has yet to spark since sealing a loan move from Manchester City and played for Almeria between 2007-09, missed a couple of headers as Valencia pressed for a winner but made amends when he nodded powerfully into the net seven minutes from time.
Valencia have 38 points at the halfway point of their season, the same as Atletico, who play at bottom side Granada on Sunday, but above the champions on goal difference.
The pair are two points ahead of fifth-placed Sevilla, who host seventh-placed Malaga on Sunday.
Valencia coach Nuno told a news conference the club, recently taken over by Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, were on track to meet their goal of qualifying for Europe, which they failed to do last term.
"The team is improving every day," the Portuguese said.
"We must congratulate the players but keep them on their toes for what lies ahead."
Leaders Real Madrid have 42 points ahead of their match at Getafe on Sunday, when second-placed Barcelona, a point behind their arch rivals having played one game more, play at Deportivo La Coruna.
Sixth-placed Villarreal rubbed salt in Athletic Bilbao's wounds when they beat them 2-0 at the Madrigal, the struggling Basque side's fifth defeat in their last six matches.
Russia forward Denis Cheryshev opened the scoring three minutes before halftime when he rounded goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz and crashed an angled shot high into the empty net before captain Bruno Soriano netted an 83rd-minute penalty.
The win lifted Villarreal to within a point of Sevilla, while Bilbao stayed 13th, level on 19 points with 12th-placed regional rivals Real Sociedad.
Sociedad's bid to climb away from the relegation places suffered a setback when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Rayo Vallecano and whistled by their own fans.
Sociedad have stabilised since former Manchester United and Everton manager David Moyes took over in November after a poor start to the campaign but their latest setback comes after they were knocked out of the King's Cup by Villarreal on Wednesday.
Rayo secured the points at Sociedad's Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian when Angola forward Manucho outjumped the home defence at an 81st-minute corner and headed past goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
It was no more than the visitors deserved after a lacklustre performance from Sociedad, who lacked creativity and penetration in attack, and showed Moyes has plenty of work to do if the Basques are to retain their top-flight status.
Sociedad, who have beaten Real, Barca and Atletico at home but stumbled against teams of lesser calibre, and Bilbao are three points above the drop zone.
Espanyol moved up to ninth on 23 points when Felipe Caicedo, who scored twice in the King's Cup midweek when the Barcelona-based club knocked out Valencia, struck in the 90th minute to snatch a 1-0 win at home to 11th-placed Celta Vigo.
Image: Valencia's forward Alvaro Negredo celebrates after scoring against Almeria during their La Liga match at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia on Saturday
Photograph: Getty Images
