Celta 0 - Numancia 0

Celta: Pinto; Velasco, Sergio (Giovanella 46'), Cáceres, Djorovic, Juanfran; Karpin, Makelele, Gustavo López (Revivo 65'); Mostovoi; McCarthy (Turdó 46'). 5-3-1-1.
Numancia: Nuñez; Iñaki, Muñiz, Iván Rocha, Soria, Octavio; Nagore, Castaño (Rivera 92'), Caco Morán; Chispa Delgado (Rubén Navarro 74'), Ojeda. 5-3-2.

Team changes: Celta: None / Numancia: Soria, Morán for Moreau, Jaume.

Goals: None.

Anyone who has been reading these reports for a couple of months (is there anybody that masochistic?) will probably remember that Celta fans brought garlic along to the match against Oviedo in January to ward off the evil spirits who they thought were affecting their side, (Celta won the match 5-3).Well it happened again this week, but rather than frighten off the spirits it cast a spell (shouldn't that be smell? - ed.) around both goals, and the match ended in a dull scoreless draw. This was Víctor Fernández's 300th game as manager in his short career with Zaragoza, Tenerife and now Celta, and his success has attracted the interest of Real Madrid, who are favourites ahead of Betis to sign him for next year, (if he leaves the Gallician side, that is). Despite not having won in five matches, he decided to keep the same line up as last week, with Sergio playing in front of the back four rather than in the middle of it as last week. That meant there was no place for Celades, Giovanella, Revivo or Turdó, although the last three did come on in the second half. Iván Rocha passed a late fitness test for Numancia, and Goikoetxea included him in a back line of five, with Caco Morán coming in for the injured Moreau and Soria replacing the suspended Jaume. Top scorer Rubén Navarro was available once again, although Goiko decided to save him for late in the second half aware that he aggravated his torn muscle again in his first come back a month ago. Numancia were the better side in the first half, with efforts from Delgado and Morán going just wide and a shot from Ojeda bringing a good save out of Pinto, and they were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Makelele held back Morán. Celta only managed one real shot in the first half, with Nuñez turning Sergio's shot out for a corner, and Víctor decided to make changes at half time, replacing the out of position Sergio and the ineffective McCarthy with Giovanella and Turdó. Things improved a bit, although Numancia gave up any pretensions of attack and decided to hang on to a point. Referee Iturralde González upset the crowd when he booked Mostovoi for diving in the penalty area, the local supporters calling for a penalty, and things got worse when he sent off Djorovic for using his elbow on keeper Nuñez. In the end the official had to be escorted off the pitch, although fans were probably equally upset at their players, as their hopes of playing in Europe next season fade. They have now been overtaken by Espanyol and Rayo Vallecano, and drop to ninth. Numancia are gradually collecting the points they need to stay in the top flight, although they are still only four points above 18th placed Betis and still need a few more to be safe. Everyone is quoting 45 points as the number needed to be safe, but this season even that may not be enough. Numancia have 40 so far, and have home games against Zaragoza, Espanyol and finally Betis (which may well be a decider) and away games at Santander and Alavés. As part of the match's celebrations, Celta president Horacio Gómez presented a plaque to Francisco Rubio, his Numancia counterpart, in commemoration of their first visit to the ground. Whilst doing so he was hit on the head by a clove of garlic thrown by one of his fans. That about summed up the day.

Atlético de Madrid 2 - Málaga 2

Atlético: Molina; Gaspar (Hugo Leal 65'), Santi, Gamarra, Toni (Luque 61'); Aguilera, Baraja, Solari; Valerón (Paunovic 70'); Kiko, Hasselbaink. 4-3-1-2.
Málaga: Contreras; Rojas (Musampa 82'), Roteta, Larrainzar, Valcarce; Ruano, Movilla, De los Santos, Rufete; Darío Silva (Luque 80'), Catanha. 4-4-2.

Team changes: Atlético: Gaspar, Toni, Baraja for Capdevila, Njegus, Bjebl / Málaga: Larrainzar for Fernando Sanz.

Goals:
1-0. 04. Valerón. Took advantage of defensive error by Rojas to score.
1-1. 36. Rufete. Handed on a plate after Gamarra missed clearance.
1-2. 50. Catanha. Shot which Molina blocked but could not stop.
2-2. 81. Solari. Turned in Hasselbaink free kick from 30 metres.

On Tuesday the judge in the Atlético Madrid case surprisingly decided to hand back the day to day management of the club to Jesus Gil and his family, albeit under the supervision of two legal interventors. His argument was that Luis Manuel Rubí, the administrator who substituted Gil for the last three months, had curtailed the illegal practises that had been going on, and had secured the safety of documentary evidence which may otherwise have been destroyed. The judge Manuel García Castellón may also have taken into consideration the precarious position of the team in the league, with the bad atmosphere surrounding the whole case contributing to their poor form as they slide each day closer to relegation to the second division. Despite his faults Jesus Gil is a popular figure at Atleti, and fans welcomed his return as the only way to save them from the drop. Gil returns as president with his son Miguel Angel coming back as managing director. All payments and other decisions made by the club must now be signed off by the interventors.

After their midweek victory in the cup, Atlético fans turned up in the rain en masse to witness the Lazarus style recovery of their team. Or so they thought. The return of Jesus Gil and family to the directors box had helped the team to recover their confidence, and after contributing to the thrashing of Barcelona on Wednesday night, Gaspar and Baraja kept their places in the side, with Aguilera staying on the right of midfield. Molina, Valerón, Solari and Kiko came back to the starting line up after being rested midweek, and veteran club captain Toni Muñoz returned for Capdevila at left back. Málaga were missing the suspended Fernando Sanz at the heart of defence, Larrainzar playing in his place. The euphoria in the ground affected the Atlético players at the start, and four minutes into the game they were in front, Valerón taking advantage of a mix up between Contreras and Rojas to nip in and score. Twenty minutes later it looked as if Atleti were cruising, as referee Pérez Burrull awarded a dubious penalty for a foul on Solari that appeared to be just outside of the area. However the normally reliable Hasselbaink for once missed his mark, his shot flying wide of Contreras's goal. Ten minutes later the match was all square after Gamarra completely missed an attempted clearance, leaving the ball for Rufete to score. The crowd howled for Gamarra to be replaced by Juanma López, the Paraguayan international being blamed possibly unfairly for much of Atlético's woes this season. Five minutes into the second half it got worse, Molina getting a hand to Catanha's shot but not able to stop it entering the net. Atletico came back, and Solari was unlucky to hit the woodwork two minutes after the goal. Antic threw on Luque, Hugo Leal and Paunovic, all of whom played so well midweek, and nine minutes from the end they got their reward, Solari turning Hasselbaink's free kick past Contreras to equalise. The pressure got too much for Hasselbaink, and he was sent off in injury time, presumably for insulting the referee. That could be costly for Atlético, who have to travel to Valencia next week before receiving the visit of Barcelona the week after. Following today's results, Atlético are still second to bottom on 33 points, with Betis above them on 36 and Oviedo on 37. There are still 15 points up for grabs and they can still save themselves. Málaga meanwhile are reasonably safe in the middle of the table, although they really needed the three points today to have any chance of playing in Europe next season.