Following a goalless first half, Cani gave Villarreal the lead just after the restart.

But Seydou Keita and Thierry Henry hit back to give the Catalans a crucial win in their last match before the winter break.

Gerard Pique was sent off late on, but Barcelona survived a wave of Villarreal attacks to sit pretty in the league table at the end of 2008.

Almeria sacked coach Gonzalo Arconada after a 1-0 defeat to Sporting Gijon.

Tati Maldonado scored the only goal of the game in the 27th minute to see Sporting end the year on a high note following a recent blip.

For Almeria, the defeat was a fourth in their last five matches and they are in danger of becoming involved in a relegation scrap, prompting the club's decision to change their boss.

Deportivo La Coruna put themselves in a good position to launch an assault on the European places following an impressive 4-1 win at home against Recreativo Huelva.

Deportivo, who will start the new year in seventh place, raced into a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes through Alberto Lopo and a Sergio Gonzalez penalty.

Adrian Colunga hit back with another spot-kick but Rafael Bodipo restored Depor's two-goal advantage just before half-time and Filipe Luis added a cracker in the last minute.

Sevilla completed a hugely disappointing few days as they were held to a goalless draw at lowly Real Mallorca, three days after being dumped out of the UEFA Cup.