La Liga, Week 36: Tuesday Wrap, Villarreal And Granada Inch Closer To Safety

The bottom three in La Liga are almost set after Tuesday's results. Villarreal and Granada, two of the teams on the edge of the drop zone, both won their games to pull well out of the bottom. Sporting Gijon got closer to the drop and will now need a miracle to stay up.

Getafe 1-1 Racing Santander

Getafe have been mediocre for a long time, while Racing's relegation had already been confirmed. Why this match was actually played, no one knows. Mike scored a penalty for the hosts in the 59th minute, which was answered by a Papa Kouly Diop goal for Racing.

Granada 2-1 Espanyol

Because of this result, Espanyol will be eliminated from contention for the top six if Atletico Madrid win their Week 36 match. They spent much of the year in the top six places, but they're all the way down to 12th at the moment. This win means that Granada will only need to draw one of their remaining two games to avoid relegation if Real Zaragoza wins out without making up a 10-goal differential. Odion Ighalo netted an unlikely brace for Granada in this one, scoring his third and fourth goals of the year.

Sporting Gijon 2-3 Villarreal

Sporting had twice as many shots as the Yellow Submarine and 56 percent of the possession in this match, but were always playing from behind. Mario Perez scored the opener, assisted by Bruno. Alberto Lora equalized for Sporting in the 39th minute, but they quickly gifted the lead back to Villarreal. Gregory hauled down Marco Ruben in the box in the 43rd minute, the referee gave a penalty, and Marcos Senna stepped up to convert, making it 2-1.

In the second half, Hernan Perez put the game away for Villarreal with a goal in the 56th minute. Alejandro Galvez got Sporting back into the game in the 85th minute with a goal made easy by a terrible Cristian Zapata header, but Sporting couldn't find an equalizer. The match ended with a sideline scuffle, for which Sporting manager Javier Clemente and Villarreal backup keeper Cesar Sanchez were ejected.

By losing this match at home, Sporting are six points from safety and seven points from Villarreal, who cannot be caught by Sporting. Two points from their final three games will ensure safety for the Yellow Submarine if Real Zaragoza win out. Sporting can only stay up by making up a six-point and 10-goal gap on Rayo Vallecano, who have a game in hand on them.