Liga Weekend Wrap: Sociedad Held By Espanyol
Real Sociedad failed to reopen a four-point gap over Real Madrid after being held to a 0-0 draw in the Anoeta by lowly Espanyol. The Catalan visitors defended resolutely to hold off the challenge of the league leaders, who sorely missed the attacking spped of Turkish striker Nihat. Javier Clemente's team will be please with point, but the result saw them slip back into the bottom three.
Real Sociedad failed to reopen a four-point gap over Real Madrid after being held to a 0-0 draw in the Anoeta by lowly Espanyol. The Catalan visitors defended resolutely to hold off the challenge of the league leaders, who sorely missed the attacking spped of Turkish striker Nihat. Javier Clemente's team will be please with point, but the result saw them slip back into the bottom three.
Valencia also dropped two points as they had to battle for a 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-tbale Recreativo in the Nuevo Colombino. Raul Molina gave the home side a shock lead after 31 minutes and the Andalucian outfit looked to be holding on to cause an upset. But with just five minutes remaining Fabio Aurelio stole forward to earn Rafa Benitez's a share of the spoils with the equalising goal.
Deportivo La Coruna struggled to take anything from their 1-1 draw with a valiant Osasuna side in a tempestuous game that saw both sides finish the match with ten men. Inaki Munoz fired the visitors into a 46th minute lead after they had created numerous opportunities to open the scoring. But Dutchman Roy Makaay levelled for the home side 17 minutes later as Deport pushed forward. Diego Tristan then received his marching orders after a late tackle on Munoz earned him his second yellow card of the match and the first red of his career. He was followed down the tunnel to in the final minutes by Gerardo Rivero, who also picked up two bookings.
Celta Vigo lifted themselves towards a Champions League place as Edu netted twice to give them a 2-0 victory at Mallorca. The Brazilian found the net on 54 and 64 minutes to seal the three points for Miguel Angel Lotina's side moved to within three points of fourth place. The defeat saw Mallorca slip down to 11th in the table and dent their hopes of nicking a Uefa Cup place next term.
Racing Santander chalked up their first victory under new coach Chuchi Cos as they beat Alaves 2-0 in El Sardinero. Medhi Nafti gave the home side the lead after 25 minutes as the club's new president and would-be trainer Dimitri Piterman again looked on from the sideslines. It was not untul four minutes from time that the points were secured when Mario Regueiro scored.
Rayo Vallecano recorded a precious win as they beat Malaga 2-1 to help them in their battle against relegation. Michel lifted the home side with a fourth minute goal, but the game did not see many more opportunities until deep into the second half. With ten minutes remaining Roberto Peragon netted what proved to be the winner and, although Dario Silva scored with four minutes of normal time remaining, the Vallecas held on to win.