Villarreal beat Gijon at home

Villarreal recorded their first win in seven games and climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 La Liga win at home to fellow strugglers Sporting Gijon on Monday.



Marco Ruben and Borja Valero netted two goals in two minutes and Bruno Soriano struck in added time for the 2006 Champions League semifinalists.



Villarreal, whose campaign has been wrecked by injuries to key players, made the breakthrough in the 57th minute at their Madrigal stadium when Ruben battled through a crowd of defenders and slotted past Juan Pablo.



Valero added a second in the 59th when he found space outside the penalty area and lashed a powerful drive into the corner of the net before Soriano curled a superb shot into the top corner in the first minute of added time.



With half the season played, Villarreal are 17th on 19 points, ahead of 18th-placed Granada on goal difference after the Andalusian club were beaten 3-0 at Espanyol on Saturday.



It was a first win for Villarreal coach Jose Francisco Molina, who was promoted from the B team last month after the sacking of Juan Carlos Garrido.



Gijon, who barely threatened the Villarreal goal, are 19th on 18 points, six ahead of bottom side Real Zaragoza, who drew 0-0 at Levante on Sunday.