David Villa's third and fourth goals of the season helped Valencia beat Malaga 2-0 and reclaim first place in the Spanish League on Thursday. Meanwhile, Almeria spurned the chance to go to the top and lost its unbeaten record when it fell 2-0 at Valladolid. Valencia has 10 points and leads Villarreal on goal difference, while Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have nine. Sevilla follows with eight. Also, it was Recreativo Huelva 1, Athletic Bilbao 1; and Mallorca 2, Numancia 0. Villa headed the first goal from a scooped cross by midfielder Juanma Mata in the 71st minute at Malaga's La Rosaleda Stadium. The Spain striker, who top-scored in the European Championship in June, doubled his tally from an injury-time counterattack to give unbeaten Valencia its third win in four matches. Valencia also came close in the 16th minute when midfielder Manuel Fernandes' deflected free kick hit the post, and it almost conceded in the 53rd but defender Raul Albiol headed Nabil Baha's shot off the line. Malaga, 19th in the standings and yet to score on its return to the first division, lost substitute Salva Ballesta to a red card in the 88th for a foul on Valencia substitute Edu. Valladolid midfielder Alvaro Rubio scored in the 65th minute with an inswinging free kick which evaded attackers and Almeria defenders before bouncing into the net. After Rubio was ejected in the closing stages for his second yellow card, substitute Haris Medunjanin chipped Valladolid's second deep into injury time. Recreativo striker Javi Guerrero fired home off the post in the 71st minute, with midfielder David Lopez equalizing for Bilbao five minutes later. Metsu to coach Qatar Days after resigning as coach of the United Arab Emirates, Bruno Metsu took charge of Qatar on Thursday with a two-year contract. Metsu quit the UAE on Monday with a contract to 2010. The UAE lost its two World Cup qualifiers this month to start the final round in Asia. Qatar, meanwhile, has a win and a draw to lead the other qualifying group in Asia. However, Jorge Fossati left as manager on Monday to recover from surgery. His first task will be to take Qatar to Australia for the next qualifier on Oct. 15. France's Dominique Batheney, the assistant of Metsu at the UAE, has meanwhile been named as the new boss by the UAE football federation. Local press reports said Batheney had a one-year contract though the federation gave no indication in its statement. – Agencies
