Valencia joint second after beating neighbours Levante

By Duncan Shaw Nov 5, 2011, 23:13 GMT

Madrid - Valencia went joint second in the Spanish Liga on Saturday by winning 2-0 at crosstown rivals Levante.

Levante, the surprise package of the season, went into the game one point ahead of their illustrious neighbours but never looked capable of winning a tense local derby.

Valencia are now level in second place with champions Barcelona, who are away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Both teams have 24 points from 11 games, one less than leaders Real Madrid, who are at home to Osasuna at noon on Sunday.

Levante, for their part, are now fourth, one point below Valencia and Barca.

Valencia's Tino Costa was man of the match, bossing the midfield and scoring his team's second goal.

Afterwards Costa said: 'This was a very important game, and a very hard one. Maybe it was not not very handsome to watch, but the important things is that we have taken three more points.'

Costa then congratulated Levante on their excellent start to the season, saying: 'They work hard as a unit, and are very difficult to break down.'

Valencia dominated from start to finish, but without creating many chances. They went ahead in the 32nd minute when Levante defender Javi Venta clumsily pushed the ball into his own goal, under pressure from Valencia's Jordi Alba.

In the 51st minute Costa made it 2-0 for the visitors with a left-foot free-kick, which goalkeeper Gustavo Munua - one of Levante's many veterans - should really have saved.

Earlier on Saturday, there were 0-0 draws between Betis and Malaga, and between Mallorca and Sevilla.

Malaga were joint highest spenders in Spain last summer - along with Barcelona - but, in the absence of the injured Julio Baptista, still lack penetration and imagination in attack.

Indeed, they needed a solid performance from Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero to keep Betis strikers Jorge Molina and Ruben Castro at bay.

Betis, who have stumbled after making a good start to the season, are now 11th with 13 points from 11 games. Coach Pepe Mel said: 'We played fairly well but we lacked finishing power. We managed to create a lot of chances, but without putting them away.'

The draw keeps Malaga in sixth place, with 17 points. They are one point below fifth-placed Sevilla, who were also somewhat fortunate to escape from Mallorca with a 0-0 draw earlier on Saturday.

Mallorca dominated from start to finish but were constantly foiled by in-form Sevilla keeper Javi Varas.

After five years as understudy to Andres Palop, Varas has finally emerged, at the age of 29, as one of La Liga's most accomplished keepers.

Sevilla, who have now gone four games without a win, stay fifth with 18 points, five points behind fourth-placed Levante.

Mallorca are in 14th place, and in danger of slipping into the danger zone unless they find a cutting edge in attack.

Mallorca coach Joaquin Caparros said: 'We deserved all three points this evening. We created a lot of chances, especially in the second half. If we continue like this I am sure we will win many games.'

Meanwhile, Sevilla boss Marcelino Garcia admitted that 'we did very little to win the game. It's true that we didn't create many clear openings...We really must improve on this.'