Superb strikes from Roman Martinez and Nico Pareja helped Espanyol beat in-form Valencia 3-0 to continue its steady climb away from the Primera Liga's relegation places on Sunday. Substitute Martinez lashed a shot high into the net after 66 minutes and Argentine compatriot Pareja curled a free kick into the top corner before Nene put away a stoppage-time penalty. Five wins in six matches have pulled Espanyol up to 14th with 38 points, four clear of the drop zone with four left to play. Valencia remained fourth with 56 points, four behind Sevilla which beat Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday. Barcelona tops the standings with 85 points after hammering Real Madrid 6-2 at the Bernabeu. Atletico Madrid kept up its chase for a return to the Champions League next season with a 2-0 victory at Real Betis in Sunday's late game. Diego Forlan scored both goals to move Atletico up to fifth and level on 55 points with Villarreal in sixth. Earlier, an eighth-minute goal from Lassad Nouioui gave Deportivo Coruna a 1-0 home win over Real Valladolid, which kept it in the hunt for a place in Europe. Depor is seventh with 53 points. There was high drama at the foot of the table when Athletic Bilbao netted a last-minute equalizer to draw 1-1 at Sporting Gijon and prevent it from climbing out of the relegation places. Sporting, 18th, is level on points with Getafe in 17th, after Michel's debut on the bench for the Madrid-based side failed to inspire a turnaround in its fortunes. It lost 2-1 at Real Mallorca. Almeria beat Racing Santander 2-0. Recreativo Huelva edged 10-man Osasuna 2-1. Juve falls, Milan on song In Milan, Juventus failed to win for a fifth successive Serie A game when Jose Castillo scored deep in stoppage time to give relegation-threatened Lecce a 2-2 draw on Sunday. Pavel Nedved, due to retire at the end of the season, had scored twice to help third-placed Juve come from behind but it trails leader Inter Milan by 11 points with four to play. Second-placed AC Milan is seven behind Inter after in-form Filippo Inzaghi and Kaka netted either side of the break in a comfortable 2-0 win at Catania. Also Sunday, it was: AS Roma 0, Chievo 0; Genoa 3, Sampdoria 1; Fiorentina 1, Torino 0; Palermo 5, Cagliari 1; Siena 2, Napoli 1; and Udinese 3, Atalanta 0.
