First division - day 22

A disappointing Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Betis in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, but still remain three points clear at the top of the table. Amato hit the post early on for the visitors, but Iván Helguera gave the league champions the lead on the stroke of half time after Zidane put him through. Toni Prats made some important saves in the second half, and his side had a chance to level the scores when referee Pino Zamorano awarded a controversial penalty for a foul by Makelele on Joaquín which appeared to be outside of the area. However Casillas held his ground and stopped Amato's hard kick at the centre of the goal. A few minutes later Madrid substitute Solari headed the ball in the net from Figo's corner but the referee disallowed the goal for a non-existent foul. Betis came back looking for the equaliser though, and after Karanka cleared off the line from the unfortunate Amato, Juanito finally headed the ball home from a Luis Fernández free kick. Betis move up a place to seventh, only three points behind second placed Celta.

Scandalous scenes in the Nou Camp stadium, where Barcelona lost 0-1 to modest Osasuna. The atmosphere was already tense after reports appeared in the Madrid press of a wild party the night before they were beaten by Rayo last week, with the club and players denying the charges and threatening court action. The crowd started to get on the players' backs after a disappointing first half, and they were reduced to ten men in the second half when Cocu picked up a second booking. Then nine minutes from the end Alfredo beat Reina to give his side victory. After the match radical fans invaded the directors' box calling for the heads of club president Joan Gaspart and manager Carlos Rexach, and attacked television cameramen. Barcelona drop out of the European spots down to ninth, and an interesting week is in prospect.

Two of the cup semi-finalists Athletic Bilbao and Deportivo La Coruña shared the points in the San Mames stadium after drawing 1-1. Heynckes put out a side packed with reserves in view of their second leg tie at Real Madrid next Thursday, whereas Irureta could put out a full strength line up having won their first leg in Figueres last week. Second half substitute Djalminha gave the visitors the lead after combining with Makaay, his first goal of the season, but Ezquerro equalised only two minutes later. Depor stay third, behind local rivals Celta on goal average, and Athletic drop a place to sixth.

Alavés fell to their second defeat in four days, losing 0-4 to a surprisingly good Mallorca who have now scored seven in their last two games. The inspiration for the visitors came from their recent signing from Oviedo "Chino" Losada, who opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a high lob from the edge of the area. Losada then set up Luque for a second a few minutes later, and scored his own second of the night in the second half. Campano added the fourth from the penalty spot after Carlos was fouled by Geli near the end to complete the rout and take the Balearic island side four points clear of the drop zone. Alavés drop from second to fifth, albeit only a point behind second placed Celta.

A Sevilla side containing eleven Spanish nationals moved up to eighth in the table after an easy 3-0 win over Espanyol. All three goals came in the second half of the game, with Moisés scoring two in a minute just after the restart, both of which were set up by Reyes. The goals were well deserved as the ex Zaragoza and Villarreal striker had hit the woodwork twice in the first half, and he takes his tally in the league to ten, only one behind top scorer Catanha. Reyes added the third himself near the end beating Mora from a wide angle to the delight of the local fans. Victories for the four teams below them means that Espanyol drop to within a place of the relegation zone, and they are hoping that new signings Paulo Sousa and Pacheco will be available for the visit of Real Madrid to Montjuic next Sunday.

A triumphant return by Milosevic to Zaragoza, with the Yugoslavian striker scoring twice in the second half as his team beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2. Luis Costa took over once again as caretaker manager after Txetxu Rojo was fired last week, and he drafted his new signing straight in to a side that otherwise resembled his last year's line-up. They were up against a Rayo side that had gone six games without defeat though, and the visitors took the lead midway through the first half with a diving header from Bolic. A controversial decision by referee Téllez Sánchez early in the second half gave the home side an indirect free kick inside the area which lead to Toro Acuña's equaliser, and then Milosevic struck twice to give his side an unassailable lead. Michel did pull one back from a free kick later on, and the Rayo players protested strongly about the referee's performance at the end.

Villarreal recorded their first victory in eight games, beating Tenerife 2-1 to take the pressure off manager Víctor Muñoz. The East coast side had been approaching the relegation zone, and a defeat could even have taken them down into the bottom three. However they went in at half time two up after scoring twice in a minute just before the break, with Jorge López opening the scoring from Víctor's cross, and Pizzi getting his first for the club (excluding his own goal last week) seconds later. Marioni, playing with a face mask after an operation on a broken nose, got a goal back in the second half with a floated free kick which was meant to be a cross. Charcos hit a post near the end but Villarreal held on to leave their opponents down in eighteenth place, now four points adrift from the teams above them.

Valladolid and Málaga both kept up their unbeaten records in 2002 after playing out a 0-0 draw in the Nuevo Zorrilla stadium. Both sides created chances in a lively match, but two of the league's most on-form keepers Ricardo and Contreras demonstrated once again why they are in contention for Camacho's World Cup squad. Caminero shot just wide and Litos should have scored with a header in the first half, and Tote felt he was unlucky to be booked for diving by referee Puentes Leira after the break when tripped by Litos in the penalty area. In the end though a point apiece, which leaves Valladolid in tenth place only three points outside of the European spots, and Málaga two places behind them in a group of seven teams separated by only one point. (27.01.02)

Celta Vigo came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 3-1 and leave John Toshack's side firmly anchored at the bottom of the first division. It looked as if the Basques were going to get a good result as Khokhlov rounded stand-in keeper Pinto to slot home the first goal halfway through the first half, and Celta were left with ten men after Luccin got his marching orders for a second bookable offence ten minutes after the restart. However the home side bounced back inspired by their captain Alexander Mostovoi, who scored twice in seven minutes to turn the game around. Víctor immediately took off striker Catanha, who had hit the bar once in each half, leaving Edu alone up front. And the young Brazilian added a third goal in injury time with a shot which deflected in off Luiz Alberto. The result leaves Toshack close to destitution, and takes the Gallicians up to second place pending Sunday's results.

Valencia moved up to joint third for 24 hours at least after defeating Las Palmas 0-1 on Saturday night. Rafa Benítez surprised everyone leaving Salva and Juan Sánchez on the bench and playing Aimar and Mista up front, but his decision was validated when Mista put his side in front in the seventh minute. Baraja and Aimar could have added to the lead before the break, but only a superb performance by keeper Cañizares in the second half kept Valencia in front. The Spanish international keeper made spectacular saves from Sarasúa, Pablo Lago and Orlando to ensure the three points for his team and leave Las Palmas down in the bottom half of the table. (26.01.02)