An inconsistent end to the season is harming Villarreal's Europa League qualification chances and Alaves were the latest side to take advantage with a 2-1 win on Monday night.
First-half strikes from Ibai Gomez and Rodrigo Ely saw the newly-promoted side gain one of their biggest wins of the season, which was briefly put in doubt when Cedric Bakambu notched a reply on 70 minutes.
Villarreal are now six points behind Sevilla in fourth and still have Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia to play whereas Alaves sit pretty in 11th having ended a run of three straight defeats.
