Spanish first division reports
Brief reports of matches played in the Spanish first division this weekend:
Brief reports of matches played in the Spanish first division this weekend:
Played Sunday:
CELTA VIGO 2 RACING SANTANDER 2
A last-gasp goal by substitute striker Diego Alonso in the ninth minute of injury time enabled Racing to scramble a valuable draw at Balaidos to move them well clear of the danger zone.
Champions League hopefuls Celta took the lead when defender Juanfran fired in a volley at the near post 10 minutes before the break, but the Galicians suffered a double blow early in the second half.
Goalkeeper Pablo Cavallero was sent off for a foul on Rodolfo Bodipo and Racing striker Javi Guerrero scored from the resulting spot kick.
Racing were also reduced to 10 men when defender Corminas was dismissed after a second booking 13 minutes later.
Celta looked on course for victory when Edu scored from the penalty spot five minutes from time, but Alonso squared the match when he popped up at the far post to head home deep into injury time.
RAYO VALLECANO 1 REAL BETIS 1
Rayo are now six points adrift at the bottom of the table and look destined for the drop after they let slip an early lead against an out-of-form Betis.
Centre forward Jon Perez Bolo made the most of some slack marking from a corner to put Rayo ahead when he nodded in on six minutes, but Betis levelled just before the break when Fernando met a Joaquin cross with a fine diving header.
REAL MALLORCA 1 REAL SOCIEDAD 3
An impressive win for Raynald Denoueix's side that allowed them to leapfrog Real Madrid into second place in the table behind Deportivo.
Javi de Pedro put Sociedad into the lead from the penalty spot on 10 minutes. His fellow midfielder Valery Karpin added another just over a quarter of an hour later when he slotted in at the far post after defender Agustin Aranzabal had cut back a fine pass from the byline.
Darko Kovacevic notched his 18th goal of the season to make it 3-0 when he headed in nine minutes after the break and, although Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o pulled one back for Mallorca soon after, the Basque side were never in any danger.
SEVILLA 0 BARCELONA 0
Barcelona missed their chance to move into a UEFA Cup place after a surprisingly lethargic performance against a far more ambitious Sevilla.
The Catalans dominated the possession in the first half, but created few clear scoring chances and it was the home side who looked more likely to snatch the win after the break.
Forward Mariano Toedtli headed just over the bar on the hour and his replacement Antonito forced a fine full-stretch save from keeper Victor Valdes soon after, while Barca only threatened with a late shot from Luis Enrique at the death.
VALENCIA 1 VILLARREAL 2
Valencia lost further ground in their bid to earn a place in next season's Champions League with this first ever home defeat to struggling neighbours Villarreal.
Jorge Lopez opened for Villarreal from the penalty spot on 37 minutes after defender Carlos Marchena was adjudged to have pushed an opponent in the area. Former Valencia midfielder Francisco Farinos extended the lead before the break when keeper Santiago Canizares failed to hold his low shot.
Striker Juan Sanchez pulled one back for Valencia when he scored from the penalty spot 10 minutes from time but despite a late flurry of attacks Rafa Benitez's side were unable to level the score.
Played Saturday:
ATHLETIC BILBAO 0 VALLADOLID 0
Athletic will be ruing a missed opportunity to pull away from their rivals in the race for a UEFA Cup place 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.
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.
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.