Carlos Bacca's brace leads Sevilla past Elche as Villarreal draw
BARCELONA, Spain -- Carlos Bacca scored two first-half goals to help Sevilla beat Elche 3-0 and retain control of fifth place in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Bacca converted a penalty kick in the 18th minute after Ferran Corominas fouled Jose Antonio Reyes in the area.
The striker then netted his 16th league goal of the season - the competition's fourth-highest total - when he nodded in Jorge ''Coke'' Andujar's cross on 31 minutes.
Elche improved after halftime but Banega played substitute Kevin Gameiro through to cap the win with nine minutes to play.
Sevilla remained the only undefeated home side this season. Its last home loss in the league was on Feb. 9, 2014.
Sevilla stayed ahead of Villarreal in sixth after it drew 0-0 at Almeria in a drab match where both sides finished with 10 men.
Almeria lost defender Mauro Dos Santos to a direct red card for fouling Giovano Dos Santos from behind with only the goalkeeper to beat five minutes before halftime. But Villarreal failed to take advantage before Jaume Costas received his second yellow card in the 55th.
Elche was left two points above Almeria, which clung to the edge of the relegation zone.
Cordoba stayed stuck at the foot of the standings after losing 2-0 at seventh-place Malaga.
Juan Jimenez tapped in a cleverly chipped pass from Samuel Castillejos for Malaga's first goal three minutes after halftime.
Malaga defender Weligton cleared Rene Krhin's goal-bound shot in the 62nd, and the hosts' Ricardo Horta struck the crossbar before substitute Nordin Amrabat sealed the result in the 84th.
