Villarreal moved out of the relegation zone on Sunday after a single goal from Samuel Chukwueze gave the Yellow Submarine a crucial 1-0 win at Girona.
Their victory means Real Valladolid drop into the bottom three, a point behind Celta Vigo, following their 2-2 draw at home to Getafe.
Inaki Williams and Raul Garcia were both on target for Athletic Bilbao, as they beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 in a thrilling game to climb into seventh place in the table.
Sunday's other fixtures saw Real Sociedad draw 1-1 at Eibar, while Valencia beat Levante 3-1 thanks to to a Santi Mina double and a Goncalo Guedes goal.