Sevilla suffer late blow, stay in La Liga drop zone

Sevilla plunged deeper into danger of relegation from La Liga with a 2-1 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday, while Elche picked up three vital points with a 2-1 win at Real Oviedo.

Luis Garcia Plaza's Sevilla took the lead through Neal Maupay in the 69th minute but Raul Garcia pulled the hosts level and Alejandro Catena struck in stoppage time to deal a blow to the Andalucians' survival hopes.

The seven-time Europa League winners are 18th, a point behind Mallorca in 17th, after the islanders lost at Alaves on Saturday.

"I have a knot in my throat," said Sevilla defender Gabriel Suazo.

"We have to keep moving forward, we have to keep fighting, there are five finals left, and whoever gets to play - if it's me - I'm going to put my life on the line for this club."

Elche moved up to 13th with their victory, three points above the drop zone, but are still looking nervously over their shoulders.

Only six points separate Athletic Bilbao, 10th, from Sevilla, with the remaining five rounds of fixtures offering plenty of intrigue as to who will ultimately drop out of the top flight.

The only side cut badly adrift are Oviedo, who are seven points from safety with only 15 left to play for.

Later Sunday third-placed Villarreal host a Celta Vigo side who are seventh and still aiming to qualify for European football next season.

On Saturday leaders Barcelona took a big step towards defending their La Liga title with a 2-0 win at Getafe that allowed them to open up a 11-point lead on rivals Real Madrid.