VALENCIA: Valencia twice came from behind before scoring a penalty deep into stoppage time to beat Deportivo Alaves 3-2 and jump up to 12th in La Liga standings.

Carlos Corberan’s Valencia snatched three points with Hugo Duro netting a penalty in the 99th minute to secure the win.

The loss left Alaves at 16th on the table, just two points clear of the drop zone.

Alaves, on new coach Quique Sanchez Flores’s debut at the helm, took the lead from the penalty spot in the second minute through Lucas Boye after Guido Rodriguez fouled Toni Martinez.

Valencia pulled level right at the start of the second half when Javi Guerra calmly fired home to cheer up Valencia’s Mestalla stadium.

Argentine striker Boye nodded Alaves back in front with less than 20 minutes remaining from Denis Suarez’s corner.

However, Eray Comert struck for Valencia before Duro won and scored his penalty to claim victory for the hosts.

Alaves finished the game with nine men after Jon Pacheco and Ander Guevara were dismissed in the aftermath of the penalty decision, the former for fouling Duro and the latter for his complaints.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Real Betis, fifth, fell further behind in the race for Champions League football with a 2-0 defeat at Getafe.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side now trail Villarreal — who downed Elche earlier — by 11 points with 11 matches remaining.

Kiko Femenia and Martin Satriano netted for Getafe in a good week for Jose Bordalas’s side, who beat Real Madrid on Monday at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Elsewhere, Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano shared a 1-1 draw which left both sides content not to lose and avoid sinking from lower mid-table further towards the bottom three.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026