Nicola Zigic was Valencia's hero as his brace away at Espanyol was enough to all but book his side's participation in next season's UEFA Champions League.
Valencia were made to toil for a hard-fought three-point haul as Espanyol stood firm until just past the hour mark when giant front man Zigic converted Vicente Rodriguez's cross.
Espanyol had until Zigic's intervention not conceded since 24th January at home, but just 13 minutes later they were at it again as the same two players combined for Valencia's second.
Third place Valencia are now nine points clear of Mallorca in fourth, who play on Sunday against Athletic Bilbao.
Elsewhere, the Primera Liga relegation dogfight took centre stage on Saturday as Zaragoza, Tenerife and Xevez all claimed big wins in their respective battles to beat the drop.
Real Zaragoza took advantage of Deportivo La Coruna's miserable run to claim a priceless victory at the Riazor.
Adrian Colunga, one of seven January signings that have made such a difference to Zaragoza, netted the only goal of the game just after half-time as Jose Aurelio Gay's side ended a four-match winless streak with a triumph that could not have been more timely.
With third-bottom also Tenerife winning, Zaragoza would have fallen into the relegation zone with a defeat, but as it is they remain two points clear with three games to go.
Tenerife produced a dominant display to boost their Primera Division survival hopes and keep Racing Santander right in the thick of the battle.
The hosts were rampant from first whistle to last and only a string of magnificent saves from Racing keeper Fabio Coltorti prevented them from running away with the game.
But as luck would have it, Coltorti proved to be the villain as his foul on Alejandro Alfaro allowed Ayoze Garcia to slot home the penalty which ultimately settled the match.
It was harsh on Coltorti, who had performed heroics either side of Roman Martinez's opener to allow substitute Xisco to give the visitors hope with a second-half strike.
But the defeat means they slip to 16th in the table, one point and two places above victorious Tenerife.
Xerez's attempt to stave off relegation from La Liga continued with a last-gasp defeat of Almeria.
Juanma Ortiz's own goal gave the hosts a first-half lead, only for Fernando Soriano to level the scores within five minutes.
Mario Bermejo's goal in the fourth minute of injury-time won it for Xerez, after both teams had seen a player dismissed.
The visitors' hopes of victory were not helped five minutes before half-time when Sidi Keita was dismissed after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession. The numbers were evened up in the 84th minute, when Guilherme was also dismissed after picking up a second yellow card.
The win continues an impressive two months of form which have given Nestor Gorosito's side hope of a magnificent escape from relegation, which looked inevitable earlier in the season.
Substitute Felipe Caicedo struck a late equaliser against Sporting Gijon to help keep Malaga out of the relegation zone by the skin of their teeth.
Malaga looked to be heading for a damaging defeat as they still trailed to Antonio Apono's first-half own goal with 10 minutes remaining.
However, Caicedo, the on-loan Manchester City striker who had replaced Apono in the 67th minute, flicked the ball in following a Sergio Duda corner to draw the Andalusian side level and claim what could be a crucial point.
Real Valladolid and Getafe could not be separated as they played out an uninspiring goalless stalemate.
Valladolid had the better of a dull encounter and looked the more likely of the two sides to claim all three points, particularly after Getafe defender David Cortes was sent off with 33 minutes still remaining.
But the Castilians were unable to break down their rivals in a game both sides will have been desperate to win to boost their respective end-of-season aspirations.
a.top_betting_link_1 {background-image: url('/Images/Skysports/Icons/skybet_logo.png');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;padding-left:68px;}Inter defeat Barcelona in semifinal openerPrimera Liga Round-up
