Espanyol win, Soldado grabs double

Roberto Soldado took his tally to 17 goals for the season as Valencia continued their improvement since Ernesto Valverde replaced Mauricio Pellegrino as coach. Los Che made it seven wins from eight games under Valverde to move up to seventh, a point behind Malaga in the final UEFA Champions League spot in fourth. Sevilla remain 12th in the table following the loss. Soldado netted from close range five minutes into the second half then wrapped up the win in the closing moments with a header from a Pablo Piatti corner to make it 11 La Liga goals for the season. Patrick Ebert inspired Valladolid with two goals and an assist as they claimed their first win in five games over Mallorca with a 3-1 victory. The German fired the hosts into the lead with a wonderful strike from 20 yards after 21 minutes but Mallorca were level before half-time as Victor rose to head home Javier Arizmendi's cross 16 minutes later. Ebert proved the difference in the dying minutes as Oscar Gonzalez turned home his cross three minutes from time and the former Hertha Berlin man then went through on goal and jinked past Dudu Aouate before slotting into an empty net. Sergio Garcia's first-half goal was enough to hand Espanyol a crucial three points as they moved out of the Primera Division relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo. The former Spanish international gave the hosts the perfect start as he tapped home Christian Stuani's cross from close range on 23 minutes, and despite having more of the ball after the break, Celta struggled to create clear-cut chances. From FIFA