Villarreal 1-1 Almeria

Villarreal missed the chance to record their sixth successive La Liga home win after failing to hold onto a lead against Almeria.

Villarreal took the lead just before half-time through record-signing Nilmar, but the Yellow Submarine were pegged back midway through the second half when Almeria drew level with a Miguel Angel Corona penalty.

That spot-kick was awarded when Ivan Marcano was adjudged to have dragged down Henok Goitom in the area, and to complete a miserable night for the Villarreal centre-back he was also sent-off late on for a second bookable offence.

The result means Villarreal - who have now drawn all three of their competitive matches in 2010 1-1 - missed the chance to close on the top eight, while Almeria remain unbeaten under Lillo, whose first game in charge last weekend brought a 1-0 win over Xerez.

Nilmar looked the most likely scorer in a first half of few chances and he created a clearcut shooting opportunity in the 20th minute with a brilliant turn on the edge of the box.

However, he was not as impressive with his finish as he was with his build-up play as his curling effort flew high and wide.

The 11million euro Brazil international gave Villarreal the lead with his next opportunity five minutes before the break.

Santi Cazorla did well down the left to create space before curling in a brilliant cross which Nilmar headed in at the near post from six yards out for his fourth league goal of the season.

Pablo Piatti came close to drawing the visitors level in the 55th minute with a 30-yard thunderbolt that was superbly tipped over one-handed by Diego Lopez.

Villarreal survived on that occasion but, after Giuseppe Rossi had almost doubled their lead with a low shot that fizzed just wide of the far post, they saw their lead disappear after conceding a penalty in the 67th minute.

Goitom, who had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes after replacing Albert Crusat, did well to muscle Marcano off the ball and as the Villarreal defender tried to win back possession Goitom went crashing to the ground to earn his side the spot-kick.

Corona stepped up to successfully convert the penalty, sending his effort to the right of Lopez as the former Real Madrid goalkeeper dived the other way.

That was a setback for Villarreal but they continued to push forward and almost reclaimed the lead six minutes later when Rossi was denied by the feet of Diego Alves.

The Yellow Submarine's hopes of claiming the points all but disappeared with seven minutes to go though when they had Marcano dismissed for a second yellow card.

Marcano had been booked in the first half and picked up his second caution for a two-footed challenge on the edge of the Almeria box, and instead of looking for the victory in the closing minutes, Villarreal suddenly found themselves with their backs to the wall.

Fortunately for the hosts, Almeria could not make their numerical advantage count and Villarreal might even have stolen the spoils if Joseba Llorente's looping 20-yard effort had dropped just under the bar instead of landing on the roof of the net.