Real Madrid 1 - Numancia 0

Real Madrid: Casillas; Michel Salgado, Hierro, Karanka, Roberto Carlos; Figo, Iván Helguera (Celades 63'), Makelele (Munitis 75'), McManaman; Raúl, Morientes (Solari 86'). 4-4-2.
Numancia: Alvaro Nuñez; Jaume (Caco Morán 70'), Antía, Soria, Octavio; Iñaki, Nagore (Marini 80'), Pacheta (Manel 57'), José Manuel; Rosu, Iván Pérez. 4-4-2.

Team changes: Madrid: No change / Numancia: Jaume, Rosu for Manel, Rubén Navarro.

Goals:
1-0. 28. Figo. Free kick from edge of area which went into far top corner off post.

Real Madrid kept up their lead at the top of the first division with a narrow victory against struggling Numancia. The match was one of the dullest played at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium this year, with the home team players looking tired after most of them had travelled far and wide to play for their respective countries midweek. Despite having to play an important Champions League game on Tuesday night, Vicente Del Bosque decided to stick with his first choice team, in contrast to other managers who rested several key players. Raúl for example playing the full 90 minutes despite only recovering from gastric enteritis a few days earlier. On the other bench García Remon, who incidentally is a Real Madrid season ticket holder, decided to bring in to his attack the man who scored a hat-trick in Numancia's victory over Real Madrid in Soria earlier in the season, Rosu, who had featured little in his plans recently.

Within a minute of the kick off it appeared to be an inspired decision, the Romanian international hitting the bar with a header from Jaume's long ball. However Madrid gradually took control, and just before the half hour mark Figo won a free kick on the edge of the area which provoked complaints from the Numancia players after he fell rather too easily. But the European footballer of the year stepped up to bend his kick over the wall and into the top corner of the net off the far post, with Nuñez unable to do anything. It proved to be the match winner and took Madrid a step closer to the league title which has avoided them for the last three years.

After that there were chances for both sides, with Numancia coming closer to scoring before half time when Casillas saved from Iñaki and then after the break when José Manuel and then Rosu missed easy chances, and Raúl getting the ball in the net but being ruled offside by referee Medina Cantalejo. But the 75,000 capacity crowd started to leave early, a little bored by what they had seen, albeit happy that their side had taken the three points. The 4,000 or so who had made the journey from Soria stayed on though, ever hopeful that they could snatch a late equaliser, but this time the fairy story didn't work out and their team dropped into the relegation zone for the first time this season. Real Madrid now travel to Turkey to play Galatasaray on Tuesday night in the Champions League, and presumably the same team will turn out for that match. Still quite a way to go to the end of a long season.