Valencia go back top on goal average ahead of Deportivo La Coruña after beating Real Sociedad 2-0 on Saturday night. Carew and Juan Sánchez got the goals late in the game. Deportivo took the lead against Rayo Vallecano through Makaay, but Bolic equalised for Rayo after Djalminha was sent off for insulting the referee. Real Madrid stay third with a 3-0 victory against Celta. Figo got the best goal of the night after Helguera had given them the lead, and Roberto Carlos finished it off with a free kick in the second half. Barcelona go fifth above Mallorca and Alavés after winning their city derby against Espanyol 4-2. Rivaldo got two, including a penalty, and Xavi and Luis Enrique added two more, with Posse and Arteaga replying for Espanyol. It was a high scoring weekend, with Villarreal beating Las Palmas 1-5 (including two each from Marioni and Jorge López), Bilbao defeating Oviedo 4-0 (two from Yeste) and Málaga winning 3-1 against Valladolid (two from Darío Silva). Down at the bottom, Osasuna took the lead at Mallorca before Nadal equalised, and the Pamplona team stay bottom. Racing came from behind against Alavés to give new manager Manzano a first win by 2-1, taking them above Real Sociedad and Numancia and out of the relegation zone. Numancia themselves could only draw 1-1 with Zaragoza, who are also in the lower reaches of the division.

Few changes in the second division this week, with no less than seven of the eleven games ending in draws, of which five with 1-1 scorelines. Leaders Tenerife held on to the top spot with a 2-2 result at Eibar, thanks to a late equaliser from Luis García. The match of the day was at Sevilla, where the home side defeated Atlético Madrid 3-1 to move to within a point of Tenerife. Atlético drop back down towards the relegation spots, and their new manager Marcos Alonso may only have a few hours left in charge. Third and fourth placed teams Albacete and Betis drew 0-0, and with the five teams below them all drawing 1-1, they hold on to their places. The big winners of the day were Sporting Gijon, who beat Compostela 5-2, and Jaén, who won at Getafe 0-1, and they rise up the table to seventh and tenth respectively. Elche were the only other team to win, beating Extremadura 1-2. (10.12.00)