Sevilla consolidated fourth place with a 4-1 win against Valladolid on Saturday evening.
Kanouté opened the scoring after only seven minutes, angling his shot past the keeper. Fifteen minutes later, however, it was all square again as Goitom headed home a free kick.
Kanouté restored Sevilla’s lead just before the break and then after the restart, Luis Fabiano made it 3-1 and Kanouté completed his hat-trick to make it a fairly comfortable win in the end.
Villarreal remain in fourth place, six points behind Sevilla, after a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. Cazorla put Villarreal ahead in the 68th minute and although Athletic battled hard, their challenge virtually ended when they were reduced to ten men, Susaeta receiving his marching orders in the 78th minute.
Mati Fernández, on as a substitute, made absolutely sure of things with an injury time strike.