First division - day 13

Leaders Barcelona made it eight straight wins in a row after beating Racing Santander 4-1 in the last game on Sunday evening. Visiting keeper Dudu Aouate saved a second minute penalty from Ronaldinho, but Eto'o produced a magnificent run from the half way line on the half hour mark to beat five men and give his side the lead. Messi got the second early in the second half, and Ronaldinho made three when he converted a second penalty three minutes later. And Sylvinho got a fourth before Casquero pulled one back with yet another penalty twenty minutes from the end.

Real Madrid meanwhile produced a last minute come back to save a 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad, a result which probably kept Luxemburgo in a job for a little while longer at least. The Basque side took the lead with a hotly disputed Xabi Prieto penalty on the stroke of half time, and De Paula headed a second goal a few minutes in to the second half. Both sides were left with ten men when Sergio Ramos and then Garitano were sent off for second bookings, but a defeat seemed on the cards until substitute Raúl Bravo and Zidane scored twice in the last three minutes.

Osasuna kept up with Barcelona at the top after beating local rivals Alavés 3-2. All the goals came after the break, with Nené putting the visitors ahead before Milosevic equalised three minutes later. A Puñal penalty and another strike from Moha put the result beyond the reach of their opponents, even though Aloisi did head one back in the last minute.

The top two open up a five point gap on the chasing pack, which is headed up by Villarreal after they defeated Deportivo 0-2. Riquelme returned after an injury to lead the side, and he put them into the lead ten minutes in to the second half with a trade mark free kick. Sorín added a second after Molina could only parry Figueroa's shot to wrap things up.

Only one point separates five sides though from third to seventh, with Sevilla returning to the Champions League spots thanks to a 0-2 victory over Zaragoza. Saviola got his first league goal for the club to open the scoring with just under an hour gone, and Daniel Alves made it two in injury time. The result leaves Víctor Muñoz's side close to the relegation spots without a win now in eight games.

Getafe returned to winning ways after only picking up one point in twelve, beating Málaga 3-2 to stay three points away from the UEFA spots. Although Nacho put the visitors ahead midway through the first half, Paunovic equalised two minutes later and Gerardo put through his own net to give Schuster's side the lead before the break. Juan Rodríguez levelled the scores after the restart, but Paunovic struck the winner near the end.

Atlético Madrid have still to live up to their early potential, and they were held once again to a disappointing 1-1 draw by a depleted Espanyol side who rested several of their key players. Luccin fired the locals ahead with a spectacular shot from outside of the area in only the eight minute, but just two minutes later Jarque headed home Juanfran's corner for the final result.

Betis continue to pay the price of their Champions League campaign, and they failed to climb out of the bottom three after drawing 1-1 against Cádiz. Injuries to their forwards meant that Serra Ferrer had to put out a makeshift side, but they took the lead early on when Marcos Assunçao connected with Edu's cross. The visitors equalised though in the second half with a Manolo Pérez penalty to keep them two points ahead of their rivals. (27.11.05)

Valencia move up into the top four pending Sunday's games after beating third placed Celta 2-0 on Saturday evening. The visitors had the better of the game early on, but the introduction of Aimar at the interval swung things in favour of the hosts. David Villa finally made the breakthrough midway through the second half when he picked up a pass from Angulo and held off Sergio to score, and Fabio Aurelio headed a second just six minutes later from Vicente's free kick.

Athletic Bilbao moved off the bottom of the table to the detriment of Betis after a hard fought 0-1 victory over Mallorca. Luis Prieto got the only goal of the game following a short free kick outside of the area soon after the restart, his long shot skidding past Toni Prats. Okubo and Víctor brought good saves out of Aranzubia and Pereyra head against the bar later on, but Javier Clemente's five man defence held on for their first league win since the opening day of the season. (26.11.05)