BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Villarreal striker Jeremy Perbet headed in a free kick five minutes into stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 win over Levante in the Spanish league on Saturday.
The otherwise dull match appeared destined to end scoreless until a late foul earned by Javier Aquino on the right side of the area let Manuel Trigueros find Perbet unmarked at the near post.
Villarreal’s first win at El Madrigal in six straight games lifted it into sixth place, one point ahead of Real Sociedad after it allowed 10-man Celta Vigo to fight back twice for a 2-2 draw.
“It was a thrilling end, to get the three points that way and break such a bad run at home,” Trigueros said. “On that last free kick we had to have a little bit of luck, but I just put it there for Perbet, who plays well with his head.”
Sergio Canales gave Sociedad the lead in the eighth minute in Vigo, but the visitors failed to finish off several chances before Celta’s Manuel “Nolito” Agudo leveled with a penalty in the 37th after Inigo Martinez fouled Mario Bermejo.
Antoine Griezmann restored Sociedad’s lead in the 43rd, and Celta defender Jon Aurtenetxe was shown a direct red card for fouling Carlos Vela on the break five minutes later.
But striker Santiago Mina fired in a pass by Fabian Orellana to secure Celta a point in the 82nd.
Sociedad was left a provisional eight points behind fourth-place Athletic Bilbao, in control of the last Champions League berth. Celta rose six points above the relegation zone.
Later, Barcelona visited Granada looking to rebound from its Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid by getting a win that would provisionally lift it ahead of Atletico and into the Spanish league lead. Real Madrid could also pull even with Atletico overnight with a win at home over Almeria without injured forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
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