Real Madrid failed to take advantage of Barça's slip up, drawing 2-2 at home to relegation candidates Oviedo in a match which they too appeared to have won. With Hierro and McManaman resting their injuries and with Balic out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury (Jarni may come into the squad to replace him), Toshack made only one change from the team which drew at Barcelona midweek, Roberto Carlos coming back from suspension in place of Karanka. Oviedo were without Nadj in midfield, but otherwise had an unchanged side. The crowds returned to the Bernabeu after the draw at the Camp Nou, with an estimated attendance of 75,000. However they left disappointed after the home side twice threw away the lead in a match which Oviedo's manager Luis Aragonés said could have ended 3-5. The crowd are finally starting to warm to Nicolas Anelka, and the French striker played probably his best game for the club (although that is not saying much!). His was the cut-back pass in the eleventh minute which gave Morientes the first goal of the match, and for once he was allowed to play the 90 minutes. Oviedo scored a sloppy equaliser however after 26 minutes when Losada won the ball off Julio César in the penalty area and stumbled past Iván Campo to score. Two minutes later Madrid were back in the lead, this time Savio showing why Toshack has kept him in the side this season with a spectacular shot from 25 metres past the stunned Esteban. Brazil's manager Wanderley Luxemburgo was in the crowd and must have been impressed. Madrid kept up the pressure, and saves by Esteban from Morientes and Savio kept them out. Oviedo could have scored themselves as well, with Dely Valdés going close in the second half on a couple of occasions and Losada hitting the bar. With 2-1 in favour, Toshack decided to take off first Morientes, then Raúl and later Geremi, replacing them with Guti, Seedorf and Helguera respectively. With six minutes to go, Oviedo drew level again, Pompei's long shot bouncing past Ilgner and into the net. Madrid have now gone six matches without a victory, and have not kept a clean sheet since the 1st of May. Oviedo's first away point keeps them off bottom spot for now.

Celta were surprised by wonder-boy Salva, who scored a first half hat-trick, taking his tally in four days to seven and his total for the season to thirteen, the best record at this stage of the league since 1949. Víctor Fernández decided to leave Mostovoi on the bench, and had Revivo, Gustavo López and Tomás out with injuries. Racing were unchanged following their good run of results. Salva got his first as early as the fifth minute, rising above 3 defenders to place a strong header past one of the league's best keepers, Dutruel. Twelve minutes later he got his second, sliding in to drive Vivar Dorado's cross into the net, and just before half time he got his best goal of the night, controlling Tais's long pass to the far post and lifting the ball round a defender before stabbing it past Dutruel with his left foot. Fernández brought on Mostovoi for Karpin at half time and the Russian midfielder brought a good save out of Ceballos, but halfway through the second half he decided to give the game up for lost, and with his thoughts already on Tuesday's UEFA cup game, he took off Djorovic and Turdó and brought on Adriano and Kaviedes. The game ended without further incident, and the 3-0 final result means that Racing move up to sixth place, within a point of Celta who drop to fourth. The two teams have now played 18 times at the Sardinero in the league, and Celta have yet to win there.