Madrid: Villarreal snapped its three-game winless streak with a comfortable 2-0 victory over last-placed Granada in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Bruno Soriano scored in the first half, and Alvaro Gonzalez in the second, to secure the home victory. Villarreal remained sixth and in position to fight for a spot in the European competitions next season.
It reached 34 points, one behind Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid, which play later this weekend.
Granada is last after its fourth defeat in the last five matches.
Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato was not included in Villarreal's lineup because he is negotiating to move to high-spending Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian.