Sevilla beats Villarreal to stay third in Spain

Madrid: Frederic Kanoute came off the bench to score a 66th-minute winner as Sevilla rallied from a goal down to beat Villarreal 3-2 and stay third in the Spanish league.

The Mali striker darted into the area to head home Adriano`s cross five minutes after Brazil striker Luis Fabiano had notched his second of the last night, also scored from an Adriano cross. Sevilla moved on to 22 points, a point clear of Valencia, which had earlier beaten Zaragoza 3-1 thanks to first-half goals by Juanma Mata, David Villa and Pablo Hernandez. Barcelona leads with 26 points while Real Madrid has 25. Also yesterday, Sporting Gijon and Athletic Bilbao both continued their strong starts with victories that left them with 16 points. Fabiano opened scoring for Sevilla in the ninth minute at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, controlling Sergio Sanchez`s low cross before rolling the ball under keeper Diego Lopez. Robert Pires continued his impressive season by volleying past Andres Palop to equalize just before the half hour mark. Pires then helped put Villarreal ahead in the 59th minute. The Frenchman`s cross was kicked clear by Palop, only for the ball to land at the feet of David Fuster, who fired home. Fabiano equalised two minutes later by sending his header over the outstretched Lopez, who was also helpless when Kanoute met a quickly taken corner for the winner. Villarreal`s frustrating season continued as it dropped to 16th with nine points. Bureau Report