Leaders Sevilla saved a point against third placed Recreativo Huelva with a second half penalty by top scorer Olivera after Michel was brought down by Espinola. Oscar had given their Andalucian neighbours the lead earlier in the half, also from the penalty spot after Michel handled in the area. The result maintains Huelva's unbeaten home record this season. Sevilla move on to 59 points, just two ahead now of Tenerife who won 1-2 away at Badajoz. Mista and Pier appeared to have given them a comfortable lead with goals in the second half, but a headed goal from Leandro near the end put the Extremaduran side back in it. However seven minutes from time Badajoz were reduced to ten men, and Tenerife hung on to take the victory.

Betis took advantage of Recreativo's draw to sneak past them back up to third place, five points behind Tenerife. They managed a narrow 1-0 win against Eibar thanks to a fabulous first half goal from Filipescu, their first victory under caretaker manager Luis Del Sol and in fact their first win in six games. Recreativo drop to fourth, and Atlético Madrid are a point behind them in fifth place after their 2-0 victory over next to bottom side Universidad Las Palmas, played in front of another crowd of over 50,000. It was not an easy victory though, with Salva heading in Mena's corner in the second half and Aguilera finally putting the fans out of their misery with a second in injury time. Salva is now joint top scorer in the league together with Murcia's Loreto. Next Sunday Atlético visit Tenerife in what will surely be the match of the weekend in the second division.

Albacete took the lead through Jesús against Sporting Gijon and for ten minutes or so were in the promotion spots. However two each from Pablo Amo (both headers from corners) and Manel (both from a couple of yards out) sank their hopes before Manolo pulled one back for the final score of 4-2. Albacete drop to sixth, with Sporting rising up to within three points of them in eighth place, a point behind Salamanca who also lost ground on the leaders after losing 2-1 to Jaén. New manager Balta watched them go two down to goals from Pepelu and Rueda before Toedtli headed one back near the end.

Levante gave themselves an outside chance of promotion with a last minute winner by Tomás to defeat bottom club Lleida 3-2. Last season's top scorer Salillas scored twice, but each time they were pegged back by Lleida's new signing from Mallorca Josemi before securing victory to go two points behind Sporting. In the all Madrid derby, Leganés sunk their neighbours Getafe with a 0-1 victory after Fernando put through his own goal late in the first half. Leganés move seven points ahead of their rivals, who drop to third from bottom with 29 points.

Racing Ferrol and Elche are not yet out of danger, and they both drop to within a point of the relegation zone after disappointing results at home. Ferrol came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 against Extremadura, who are gradually moving into a safe zone in mid-table. Their winter signing from Real Madrid David Aganzo gave them an early lead, but Pazolo levelled the scores just after the break. Ferrol have now gone five home games without a win. Córdoba got their first win in eight games thanks to two second half goals from Manolo and Montenegro as they came back from behind to beat Elche 1-2. Changui scored for the home side before half time, but their veteran midfielder Vizcaino was sent off and Iván Rocha's penalty was saved by Leiva before Montenegro's late winner.

Compostela threw themselves a lifeline with a 2-0 win over Murcia to move above Getafe to within a point of Ferrol and Elche. Both goals were scrambled affairs at the beginning and end of the match, with José Carlos getting the first and Pedro Aguado the second. It was a sterling performance though, especially considering the Compostela players have not been paid in four months. With teams above them picking up points, the future of Universidad Las Palmas and Lleida is looking blacker every day. Lleida are now eleven points away from safety, and Universidad only two points above them, with a five point gap to Getafe.