MADRID: Athletic Bilbao came from behind to beat Rayo Valle cano 3-1 on Sunday, further tightening their grip on fourth place in La Liga as fifth-placed Villarreal also won.

Villarreal also made a comeback to edge sixth-placed Real Betis 2-1, with Ayoze Perez scoring the winner against his former side.

Bilbao have a six-point lead over Villarreal, who have a game in hand. The Yellow Submarine are three points clear of Betis, with fifth place potentially a Champions League qualification spot depending on Spanish teams` performance in European competition this season.

Bilbao got a pair of goals by Oihan Sancet and one by Nico Williams against 10th-placed Rayo. The victory ended a streak of threestraight draws across all competitions.

Villarreal rallied with goals from Thierno Barry and Perez after Aitor Ruibal had put the hosts ahead three minutes into the match.

It was Betis` first loss after nine games without defeat.

Osasuna beat Girona 2-1 to move to 12th place and end a three-game losing streak against the Catalan club in the league after goals from Ante Budimir and Pablo Ibanez gave. They hadn`t won in nine matches in all competitions.

Girona, who had two goals disallowed and got a late consolation through Yaser Asprilla, haven`t won in nine straight league matches, with six losses and three draw to sit in 16th place.-Agencies