Spanish first division reports
Brief reports of matches played in the Spanish first division on Saturday:
Brief reports of matches played in the Spanish first division on Saturday:
ATLETICO MADRID 0 ALAVES 1
Alaves claimed their first win in 11 games over a sorry-looking Atletico in a poor quality match at the Calderon, but it was still not enough to move the Basque side out of the relegation zone.
Atletico dominated possession but had few creative ideas in attack and were powerless to respond after Alaves hit them on the break to score the only goal of the game 10 minutes into the second half.
Substitute Adrian Ilie latched on to a through ball after racing past the disorganised Atletico defence and tucked a neat shot past Esteban into the far corner to condemn Luis Aragones's side to a third defeat in a row.
ATHLETIC BILBAO 0 VALLADOLID 0
Athletic will be ruing a missed opportunity to boost their hopes of securing a place in next season's UEFA Cup after they failed to make the most of a string of early scoring chances.
Midfielders Javi Gonzalez and Joseba Exteberria went close early on, but Valladolid's well-organised defence proved too much for the Basque side and the visitors might even have sneaked a win when striker David Aganzo was denied a goal by a fine reflex save from keeper Daniel Aranzubia after the break.
ESPANYOL 0 OSASUNA 0
Honours even in a tense match between two sides battling away to avoid relegation from the top flight.
Osasuna had the better of the early play and midfielder Josetxo went close when he hit the bar with a flicked header just before the half-hour mark.
But the Navarrans were unable to break down the determined Espanyol defence and had to endure a difficult final 25 minutes following the dismissal of Uruguayan midfielder Pablo Garcia for a reckless challenge on Ivan de la Pena.
MALAGA 0 DEPORTIVO CORUNA 2
Deportivo moved into pole position in the title race with a typically efficient performance against a battling Malaga.
Veteran defender Donato scored the opener when he sent an expert glancing header over keeper Pedro Contreras on 13 minutes.
Dutch striker Roy Makaay came close to extending the Galician side's lead on several occasions, but a well organised Malaga were a constant threat and the win was not assured until midfielder Lionel Scaloni drilled in under Contreras in injury time.
RECREATIVO HUELVA 0 REAL MADRID 0
Real lost top spot after fielding a makeshift line-up against Recre in the absence of the injured Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Raul and Luis Figo.
The Andalucians had the best of the match and if it had not been for some fine last-ditch interventions from keeper Iker Casillas they might have snatched a win that would have kept them out of the relegation zone.
The Spanish international produced several fine reflex saves to deny Recre forwards Raul Molina and Mario Bermejo in the second half and Lucas Alcaraz's side will be disappointed that they missed a rare chance to beat their illustrious opponents.
Playing Sunday:
Celta Vigo vs. Racing Santander
Rayo Vallecano vs. Real Betis
Real Mallorca vs. Real Sociedad
Sevilla vs. Barcelona
Valencia vs. Villarreal