Madrid  - Villarreal came from 3-0 down to force a dramatic 3-3 draw against Getafe on Saturday, and thus retain second place in La Liga.

Getafe had coasted into a 3-0 lead within 30 minutes, thanks to early goals from Esteban Granero, Jaime Gavilan and Francisco Casquero.

But Villarreal were a transformed team in the second half, faster and more imaginative. Robet Pires pulled a goal back in the 56th minute, Sebastian Eguren made it 3-2 with just eight minutes left.

With Getafe against the ropes, Guiseppe Rossi made it 3-3 in the 86th minute - then almost won the game for the "Yellow Submarine" in injury time.

"We showed a lot of character in the second half," said Eguren. "We made mistakes in the first half, but we really did not deserve to lose tonight."

Villarreal remain second, on 29 points, three points below leaders Barcelona, who are at home to third-placed Valencia later on Saturday.

Valencia currently have 27 points, Real Madrid 26.

Atletico Madrid moved up to fifth - level with Sevilla on 24 points - by cruising to a 5-2 win away to Sporting Gijon.

Atletico's best away performance of the season had a distinctly South American flavour to it, with Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan netting two apiece and Maxi Rodriguez grabbing the other goal.

"We really enjoyed oursleves tonight," said the in-form Forlan. "This is an important win, against difficult opponents, who made us work really hard." (dpa)