Valencia turned up the heat on Atletico Madrid in the fight for third place in La Liga when a 3-0 derby victory at home to Levante on Monday lifted the Singapore-owned club to within a point of the champions with seven games left . Paco Alcacer nodded Valencia in front from a Dani Parejo centre in the 16th minute at the Mestalla before Lucas Orban crossed for Sofiane Feghouli to head a second for the home side nine minutes before the break . Valencia forward Paco Alcacer celebrates his goal against Levante . Substitute Alvaro Negredo completed a resounding victory when he crashed a shot into the top corner in the third minute of added time . Valencia , who missed out on a place in continental competition last season , are fourth on 65 points , with Atletico , who drew 2-2 at Malaga on Saturday , on 66 in third . Feghouli told Spanish television Valencia , who play at leaders Barcelona on Saturday , had been itching to get back to winning ways after consecutive draws against Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao . Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi has a shot on goal on Monday night . ' I think we controlled the game pretty well against a team who sits back and defends and we tried to attack down the wings , ' added the Algeria forward . 'We are going to try make things difficult for Barca and all we are thinking about is winning the next game . ' Barca lead on 75 points after they squandered a 2-0 lead and drew 2-2 at fifth-placed Sevilla on Saturday , two ahead of second-placed Real Madrid , 3-0 winners at home to Eibar . Valencia 's Paco Alcacer takes on Levante defender Loukas Vyntra at the Mestalla . The top three places carry a berth in the Champions League group stage , while fourth earns a spot in qualifying for Europe 's elite club competition . Valencia last won La Liga in 2004 under Rafa Benitez and backed by a new owner , Singapore billionaire Peter Lim , current coach Nuno has begun the process of turning the club back into contenders in Spain and Europe . They reached the Champions League final in 2000 and 2001 , losing to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively , but subsequent financial problems forced them to cash in on top players , including David Villa , David Silva and Juan Mata . Levante , Valencia 's second club , are flirting with relegation and Monday 's defeat left them third from bottom on 28 points .
Valencia claimed a 3-0 derby victory at home to Levante on Monday . Singapore-owned club moved to within a point of Feghouli .