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Giuseppe Rossi scored once and set up another goal as Villarreal came from behind to win 2-1 over Getafe on Sunday in the Spanish league.
Villarreal generated chances throughout the match from its passing game but was unable to beat goalkeeper Oscar Ustari in the first half.
Pedro Rios gave Getafe a 1-0 lead in the 31st, launching a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Diego Lopez.
Cani converted the hosts' dominance into a 60th-minute equalizer, firing in from outside the area after Rossi had caught Getafe off guard by quickly passing a free kick to the Spanish midfielder.
Rossi capped the comeback when Marco Ruben's pass found the Italy striker charging into the area to head past Ustari in the 74th. The winner brought Rossi's scoring total to 18 in the league and 31 overall.
Fourth-place Villarreal still showed the defensive problems evident in its 5-1 midweek rout by FC Porto in the Europa League. But Lopez held firm to protect the win that lifted Villarreal eight points clear of its chasers for the final Champions League position.
Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido said that the win was the "first step" to coming back against Porto in the return leg of the semifinals on Thursday.
"The result is very important for many reason," said Garrido. "The first is that it reinforces the team, to help us recover from the tough loss at Porto. And that we have come from behind to win is important for this team."
Villarreal only trails Valencia by three points after Osasuna beat the third-place team 1-0 at Reyno de Navarra stadium.
After dull first half, Osasuna forward Alvaro Cejudo broke through in the 59th when his long strike took a friendly deflection off the back of a Valencia defender, catching goalkeeper Vicente Guaita out of position as it bounced into the net.
Osasuna's first win in five weeks lifted it two points out of the drop zone, as Getafe took its spot its 18th-place.
Earlier, Renato's second-half goal gave Sevilla a 1-0 win over 10-man Almeria, while Baptista scored two goals and Jose Rondon added another as Malaga rallied to beat 10-man Hercules 3-1.
Last-place Almeria played with 10 men from the 54th minute when defender Michael Jakobsen was shown a red card for kicking Martin Caceres. Four minutes later, Renato headed in a cross from substitute Rodrigo Rios at the far post to give Sevilla its first away win in three weeks.
Sevilla's January transfer signing, Ivan Rakitic, had to leave the pitch near the half-hour mark with a foot injury.
"We should have pressed forward and finished the game off, but our goal was to come here and get the win and that is what we did" Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano said.
Sevilla moved ahead of Atletico Madrid on head-to-head record, with both one point ahead of seventh-place Athletic Bilbao, which visits eighth-place Espanyol on Monday.
At La Rosaleda stadium, Nelson Valdes put Hercules ahead in the fourth minute, but Baptista equalized a minute later.
Hercules was left with 10 men in the 65th when midfielder Matias Fritzler was show a second yellow card for fouling Jose Rondon in the area, but Malaga's Antonio Galdeano hit the post from the spot kick.
Jose Rondon soon made up for his teammate's miss when he headed home his 13th goal of the season in the 73rd, and Baptista capped the win three minutes later when Sergio Barbosa picked him out in the area to head in.
"We have taken an important step forward with this win, but it is not decisive," said Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini, whose team moved two points clear of the drop.
Hercules is five points from safety while Almeria will be condemned to playing next season in the second division if it loses next week at Getafe.
Racing Santander beat Mallorca 2-0 at home from first-half goals by Markus Rosenberg and Kennedy Bakircioglu.
Sporting Gijon drew 0-0 at Levante.
On Saturday, Real Madrid stumbled to a 3-2 loss to Zaragoza to miss an opportunity to stay in the hunt for the Spanish title after leader Barcelona had slipped up in a 2-1 loss at Real Sociedad.
Barcelona has an eight-point lead with four rounds to play.
Also, Sergio Aguero gave Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over 10-man Deportivo La Coruna with his 17th goal of the season.
