SEVILLA — Valencia is expected to officially announce the resignation of coach Nuno Espirito Santo Monday following its 1-0 La Liga defeat at Sevilla, which it finished with nine men Sunday.
“Before the game I spoke with the president and (club owner Peter) Lim as well as again afterwards,” the Portuguese told a news conference after Sunday’s lackluster performance.
“Tomorrow there will be a meeting at the club and after that there will be more details,” added the Portuguese.
Valencia is ninth with 19 points from 13 games after Sunday’s loss in which Joao Cancelo and Javi Fuego were sent off for second bookings in the 35th and 78th minutes respectively.
Earlier, Gareth Bale scored his first goal in three months for Real Madrid before Cristiano Ronaldo added a penalty to secure a 2-0 win at Eibar.
Madrid remained in third place, six points behind leader Barcelona and two behind Atletico Madrid after they both won Saturday.
Also, Aritz Aduriz scored a hat trick to lead Athletic Bilbao to a 3-0 rout at Rayo Vallecano, moving the Basque visitors up to seventh. With 10 goals this season, Aduriz is third on the highest scorers list behind Barcelona duo Neymar (14) and Luis Suarez (12).
Elsewhere in the capital, Angel Lafita scored one goal and set up Alvaro Vazquez for another as Getafe beat sixth-place Villarreal 2-0 to move away from the relegation zone.
Juve sinks Palermo
Mario Mandzukic, Stefano Sturaro and Simone Zaza struck in the second half as champion Juventus moved up to fifth place in Serie A with a convincing 3-0 win at Palermo Sunday.
Crisis-hit Lazio, meanwhile, saw two second-half goals by Miroslav Klose chalked off on its way to a fourth defeat in five consecutive matches away to Empoli.
Lazio remains 10th at 11 points behind Inter, with Empoli moving five points clear of the drop zone up to 12th.
Dortmund beats Stuttgart
Bundesliga top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got another two goals for Borussia Dortmund in its 4-1 home victory over Stuttgart to consolidate second place Sunday.
Dortmund stayed eight points behind leader Bayern Munich, while Stuttgart slipped to its third straight defeat. Bayer Leverkusen salvaged a 1-1 draw with Schalke after an own goal forced by Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez with five minutes remaining.
Leverkusen stayed sixth, 19 points behind Bayern. Schalke dropped to eighth behind Leverkusen and Hamburger SV on goal difference.
Third-place Wolfsburg could only manage a goalless draw at Augsburg, which climbed above Stuttgart into the relegation playoff place on goal difference.
Monaco holds Marseille
In Paris, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou struck a late equalizer for Marseille in a pulsating 3-3 draw at home to Monaco, as the host’s struggles at the Stade Velodrome continued Sunday.
The result left Monaco in seventh on 24 points while Marseille climbed one spot to 11th, five points further back.
Earlier, Caen climbed to second after thrashing Bordeaux 4-1.
Saint-Etienne bounced back from successive defeats with a 3-0 victory at home to Guingamp courtesy of second-half goals from Romain Hamouma, Valentin Eysseric and Nolan Roux. — Agencies
