Osasuna remain at the summit of La Liga, while Villarreal beat Valencia 1-0.
Osasuna remain at the summit of La Liga after securing a battling 2-1 win at Real Sociedad, while Villarreal edged out Valencia 1-0.
Luciano Figueroa's first half goal was enough to haul Villarreal up to third in the table after a hard-fought game with the Che.
The former Birmingham City striker netted on 24 minutes when he volleyed past Santiago Canizares after the ball had been inadvertently flicked on by Valencia defender Roberto Ayala.
Jose Mari should have added a second goal on 29 minutes but he somehow diverted Juan Roman Riquelme's free kick further away from the target.
In the second half, Villarreal were indebted to goalkeeper Mariano Barbosa for securing the points as he made one fine save from David Villa.
In the final 10 minutes, Barbosa was called on to make a superb double stop from David Albelda and Mista as Villarreal hung on for the win.
The Pamplona outfit are enjoying a superb start to the season and continued their momentum with victory in the Basque country.
Raul Garcia Escudero put the visitors ahead on 33 minutes before Xabier Prieto's penalty two minutes before the break drew Sociedad level.
A tense encounter was settled on 68 minutes when Carlos Cuellar scored to keep Osasuna top of the pile.
The battle of the basement boys in La Liga resulted in Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao sharing a 1-1 draw.
Bilbao looked likely to haul themselves off the foot of the table for long periods after Luis Prieto scored on 20 minutes.
But Espanyol, who are second from bottom, snared a point when Ferran Corominas netted for the hosts just three minutes from time.
Click below for an individual match summary:
Espanyol 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Real Sociedad 1-2 Osasuna
Villarreal 1-0 Valencia
