Valencia leapfrog Atletico into third in La Liga

© Reuters Valencia CF's midfielder Dani Parejo (C) celebrates after scoring the first goal against Deportivo La Coruna Valencia climbed above champions Atletico Madrid into provisional third place in La Liga when a Dani Parejo penalty and a Paco Alcacer strike earned a 2-0 win at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Friday. Valencia missed out on a European place last season but are making a strong push to secure a lucrative berth in the Champions League for next term and have won five and drawn one of their last six outings in Spain's top flight. They have 57 points from 27 matches, two ahead of Atletico, who play at Espanyol on Saturday. "Deportivo have a good team despite their position (of 16th) in the league," Alcacer said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster Canal plus. "We played a pretty complete game and managed to do the most important thing which was to get the three points," he added. Barcelona (62 points) can stretch their advantage over second-placed Real Madrid (61) to four points with a win at Eibar on Saturday. Real host Levante on Sunday.