Alvaro Negredo struck in stoppage-time as stuttering Valencia won 2-1 against his former club Sevilla on Sunday to earn coach Pako Ayesteran victory in his first home game in charge since succeeding Gary Neville.
Villarreal improved their chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in five years by beating relegation-threatened Getafe 2-0, while Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 against Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo beat Sporting Gijon 1-0.
Daniel Parejo’s deflected free kick in the 41st minute opened the scoring for Valencia, who had not won in La Liga since March 2, but Kevin Gameiro levelled with four minutes remaining.
Negredo, however, restored the home side’s advantage a minute into stoppage time, denying former Valencia coach Unai Emery a happy return to the Mestalla.
"The players, club and fans showed responsibility throughout the week. The victory belongs to all our supporters, our fans were incredible today,” Ayesteran told a news conference.
“We aren’t fighting for the league, we’re fighting for a dignified end to the season and it's difficult, so I’d give a 10 out of 10 to my players, and 11 out of 10 to the supporters.”
Valencia moved up to 13th in La Liga, nine points clear of the relegation zone, after picking up their first win in five league matches. Sevilla, the only team in the league without an away win, stay seventh on 48 points.
Fourth-placed Villarreal beat struggling Getafe to move on to 60 points, eight above fifth-placed Celta Vigo their nearest challengers for Spain's Champions League playoff round qualification place.
A brilliant piece of skill and a low finish into the bottom corner from Denis Suarez put Villarreal ahead in the 15th minute.
Their top scorer Cedric Bakambu bundled the ball in from close range for his 19th goal of the season in all competitions with five minutes remaining to seal the win.
Getafe, who are without a win in the league since Jan. 17, stay 19th on 28 points after slumping to a 10th defeat in 12 games.
Athletic Bilbao responded to their Europa League quarter-final first leg defeat to Sevilla on Thursday by beating struggling Rayo Vallecano thanks to a goal by Inaki Williams.
The 21-year-old rattled a shot from the edge of the area in off the crossbar in the 61st minute to put Athletic ahead although Rayo had the better chances over the 90 minutes.
Athletic are sixth on 51 points, three points ahead of Sevilla, while Rayo are 16th, three points above the relegation zone.
In the day's early kickoff Celta Vigo boosted their hopes of qualifying for European competition by beating Sporting Gijon 1-0 thanks to a solitary strike in the 64th minute by Spain international Nolito.
Celta tightened their grip on fifth by moving on to 52 points, while Sporting are 18th on 28, two short of Granada above them.
