Ernesto Valverde's side continued their revival with a convincing home victory over Real Valladolid today.

Record signing Nilmar netted twice and strike partner Giuseppe Rossi also got on the scoresheet to set Villarreal on their way to victory, with Valladolid only managing to net a consolation through Diego Costa.

The Yellow Submarine found themselves propping up the table after failing to win any of their opening seven league games, while two defeats in three Europa League outings saw them facing an early exit from continental competition as well.

However, in their previous six games before Sunday, Villarreal picked up four victories to climb out of the relegation zone, revive their European hopes and progress to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.

During that run they scored 15 goals, ending a barren spell which had seen them score just twice in their previous six matches.

Brazil striker Nilmar is one of the players who had found goals had to come by this season, having scored only twice since his record-breaking 11million euro move from Internacional this summer.

However, the 25-year-old, who struck the only goal of the game in Brazil's 1-0 friendly win over England last weekend, found his range.

He opened the scoring in just the seventh minute after heading home Damian Escudero's superb cross and was denied a second on the stroke of half-time when Valladolid goalkeeper Justo Villar saved with his feet from close range.

In between those incidents, Rossi had two seemingly reasonable appeals for penalties turned down, one of which saw him shown a yellow card for diving, much to the Italian international's astonishment.

Valladolid threatened little in the first half, with their best two efforts coming from long-range drives by Fabian Canobbio, one of which went just wide and the other was saved by Diego Lopez.

As in the first half, Villarreal were quick out of the blocks in the second period and they made it 2-0 in the 48th minute, with that man Nilmar again on the mark.

A hopeful high ball forward from Diego Godin caught Villar in two minds whether to venture outside his area to clear and as he dithered, Nilmar nipped in to head the ball over him and into an unguarded net.

Nine minutes after that the home side were celebrating a well-worked third goal.

Rossi passed the ball to Escudero before then racing onto his team-mate's flicked header on and slamming an unstoppable rising shot into the roof of the net.

That sealed the points for Villarreal, although Valladolid pulled a goal back three minutes later when Costa pounced on an underhit back-pass by Ivan Marcano, nipped the ball past Lopez and slotted home.