Villarreal miss chance of La Liga top spot

Villarreal are unlikely to win the Spanish title, but on the 13th day of the season they went mighty close to taking over from Real Madrid at the top of the league.

With the champions held 1-1 by Murcia on Saturday, Villarreal would have gone a point clear if they had beaten another of the also-rans, Almeria, yesterday evening.

As so often happens to smaller clubs when faced with a big chance, Villarreal blinked and let a one-goal lead slip early on in the second half.