Roberto Soldado scored both goals to take his La Liga season's tally to 11 as Valencia defeated Malaga 2-0 Sunday, a victory which kept his side in third place and in the hunt for a Champions League place. Valencia has 33 points, four behind Club World Cup winner Barcelona and seven behind leader Real Madrid which crushed Sevilla 6-2 Saturday to ensure they finish 2011 on top of the table. Defeat meant Malaga dropped to seventh and out of the Europa Cup positions. Soldado, a former Real Madrid striker, has been making a strong case for a recall to the Spain squad for next year's European Championship and both goals were fine examples of the striker's art. Levante stays fourth after losing 2-1 at Granada. Real Betis won 2-0 away at Atletico Madrid with second half goals from Alejandro Pozuelo and Roque Santa Cruz to inflict the first home defeat of the season on the team from the capital. In other matches, Real Sociedad and Racing Santander drew 0-0 and Osasuna rallied to win 2-1 against Villarreal.
