Brazil striker Nilmar scored a first-half winner as Villarreal beat Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 Thursday to stay just a point behind the Spanish league leader. Nilmar collected a pass from Angel Lopez in the 33rd minute and scored his league-leading fourth goal from a powerful shot that flew in off the post. Villarreal's third straight win gave it nine points - one behind leader Real Madrid and Valencia - while Deportivo remained without a victory in four games. Defending champion Barcelona also has nine points. Sevilla failed to join the leader on 10 points following a 1-1 draw to Racing Santander. Sevilla went ahead after 15 minutes when Alvaro Negrdo slotted home a penalty at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. Racing goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez stretched to deny Diego Perotti's clear chance in the 35th before Sevilla counterpart Andres Palop made back-to-back stops before the break. But Pablo Pinillos rifled a volley into the top corner in the 54th minute to spoil it for Sevilla. After the final whistle, Palop left the pitch following a shouting match with the fans behind his goal. Sevilla has eight points. Elsewhere, Jose Rondon and Antonio Galdeano scored second half goals to give Malaga a 2-0 victory at Getafe. Malaga imposed itself from the start and finally made the breakthrough with Rondon's second goal of the season in the 55th. Galdeano sealed it with a 62nd-minute penalty for the visitors, who played with 10 men from the 66th when Jesus Gamez was shown his second. In this week's other fourth-round games, it was: Osasuna 3, Real Sociedad 1; Athletic Bilbao 3, Mallorca 0; Real Madrid 3, Espanyol 0; Barcelona 1, Sporting Gijon 0; Zaragoza 0, Hercules 0; Almeria 0, Levante 1; and Valencia 1, Atletico Madrid 1. Palermo beats Juventus In Turin, Argentina's attacking midfielder Javier Pastore guided Palermo to a 3-1 win over Juventus Thursday, handing the Turin side its second loss in four Serie A matches this season. A member of Diego Maradona's World Cup squad, the 21-year-old Pastore put Palermo in front after only two minutes. Slovenia midfielder Josep Ilicic doubled the lead in the 62nd, pouncing on the rebound after a shot from Pastore and Cesare Bovo made it 3-0 for the Sicilian side in the 85th. Vincenzo Iaquinta pulled one back for Juventus in the 87th. Pastore, who is already being linked with a move to Barcelona, also hit the post in the 41st. Palermo and Juventus each have four points, six behind leader Inter Milan, which routed Bari 4
