Valencia kept their place at the top of the table with a 2-0 victory over Oviedo. Mendieta missed a penalty but scored another, and Kily González added the second later on. Deportivo stayed neck-and-neck with them with a narrow 1-0 victory against local rivals Celta, thanks to a moment of magic in the second half from Djalminha. Turu Flores missed a penalty in the first half. Real Madrid's match with Zaragoza was postponed as they are in Tokyo to play the intercontinental cup, but they stay third as the three teams below them, Rayo, Alavés and Oviedo, all lose. Mallorca took advantage to rise up to fourth , coming from behind to beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday night. Marcos and Novo got the goals after Marioni had given the visitors (who ended up with nine men) an early lead. Bottom club Osasuna let Barcelona off the hook and paid the price. They missed numerous chances and then saw Kluivert and then Sergi score in the second half to give Barcelona a 2-0 victory. They move up to sixth, just behind Rayo Vallecano on goal average. Rayo lost 4-2 to Bilbao, with Julen Guerrero and Quevedo getting two each for their respective sides. Alavés slip out of the top six after losing 3-1 to Málaga, with Dely Valdés getting two for the home side, and Espanyol move up to eighth with a 1-2 victory at Racing Santander. Racing's manager Goiko may now be in trouble, as is Numancia's, Paco Herrera, after losing 0-1 at home to Las Palmas. Both teams are in the bottom four, with only Osasuna and Real Sociedad below them. The San Sebastian side saw their revival cut short by Valladolid, who beat them 2-1 to move to mid-table.

Tenerife kept up their lead at the top of the second division after coming from behind to beat Elche 3-1. They stay three points ahead of Sevilla, who beat struggling Racing Ferrol 3-0. Third placed Córdoba lost ground losing 3-0 to Eibar, and Recreativo moved to within a point of them in fourth place with a 0-1 victory against Sporting. Incredibly, the Huelva side have only scored ten goals in fourteen games, winning five and drawing eight. They are followed by a group of four teams a point behind, with Levante, Betis and Albacete joining Salamanca after winning their games. Atlético Madrid drop to fourth from bottom after drawing 1-1 at Murcia, and another managerial change is on the cards there. (26.11.00)