Primera Liga reports

Brief reports of matches played in the Primera Liga on Saturday:

ATHLETIC BILBAO 4 REAL ZARAGOZA 0

Bilbao took an important step towards booking their place in next season's UEFA Cup with victory over Cup winners Zaragoza.

Winger Joseba Etxeberria put Bilbao ahead 11 minutes before the break with an acrobatic overhead kick and defender Asier del Horno extended their lead with a spectacular 20-metre drive 12 minutes after halftime.

Zaragoza lost both their centre backs within the next seven minutes as Gabriel Milito was dismissed for use of the elbow and Alvaro followed him down the tunnel for a reckless challenge on Santi Ezquerro.

Bilbao made the most of their numerical advantage when midfielder Francisco Yeste grabbed a well taken double in the final 13 minutes to make it 4-0.

ATLETICO MADRID 1 REAL MADRID 2

Champions Real renewed their bid to retain their title with an aggressive win over city rivals Atletico.

Real got off to the perfect start when former Atletico player Santiago Solari drilled home after just five minutes following some lax defending from his old team mates.

But Atletico equalised at the start of the second half when Veljko Paunovic scored from the penalty spot after substitute Demis Nikolaidis was brought down by defender Francisco Pavon.

The centre-back was sent off for the foul and Atletico looked as though they might take advantage but it was Real who snatched the victory when midfielder Ivan Helguera headed in after a corner 13 minutes from time, although keeper Sergio Aragoneses appeared to have been fouled by Raul.

DEPORTIVO CORUNA 1 VALLADOLID 1

Deportivo effectively waved goodbye to their title hopes with this home draw against Valladolid, who stay clear of trouble with this valuable away point.

Depor coach Javier Irureta rested several first-choice players ahead of next week's Champions League semi-final first leg against Porto and paid the price as the visitors dominated the match.

Leading scorer Oscar gave Valladolid a deserved lead on the stroke of halftime when he slotted home after a well worked counter-attack but Depor equalised early in the second half with a Djalminha penalty after the Brazilian was bundled over.