Madrid, Feb 2: FC Barcelona showed tremendous character to come back from behind twice and defeat Villarreal 3-2 to remain in the fight for the Spanish La Liga title.

Denis Cheryshev put Villarreal ahead after 30 minutes Sunday night and although Neymar equalised on the stroke of halftime, Vieto restored Villarreal's lead six minutes after the break, reports Xinhua.

It looked as if the league title could be escaping Barca's grip but two goals in three minutes just two minutes after Vieto's goal saw Barca turn the game around.

First Rafinha drew Barca level before a magnificent goal from Lionel Messi, after an assist from Luis Suarez, gave Barca all three points to keep them a point behind Real Madrid, who will play Sevilla Wednesday.

Sevilla won a thrilling match at home to Espanyol after fighting back from a goal down. Cristiano Stuani put the visitors ahead after Beto had committed a penalty he was lucky to stay on the field for.

Diogo scored a goal from almost the halfway line to level for Sevilla 10 minutes later and Vitolo put the home side ahead 10 minutes later.

Aritz Aduriz scored twice to give Athletic Club Bilbao a vital 2-0 win away to Levante in the midday kickoff. The win lifts Athletic away from the danger zone, while leaving Levante bottom of the table.

Edgar Mendez's goal gave Almeria their first home win of the season as they defeated Getafe 1-0.

IANS