Deportivo La Coruña 5 - Mallorca 0

Deportivo: Molina; Scaloni, César (Héctor 46'), Romero, Capdevila; Mauro Silva (Duscher 22'), Sergio (Amavisca 70'); Víctor, Valerón, Fran; Diego Tristán. 4-2-3-1.
Mallorca: Leo Franco; Olaizola, Marcos, Nadal, Siviero, Miguel Soler (Engonga 62'); Robles, Ibagaza (Paunovic 62'), Paco Soler; Eto'o (Losada 66'), Luque. 5-3-2.

Team changes: Deportivo: Scaloni, Capdevila, Sergio, Diego Tristán for Héctor, Naybet, Duscher, Makaay / Mallorca: Olaizola, Paco Soler, Ibagaza for Campano, Fernando Niño, Paunovic.

Goals:
1-0. 20. Diego Tristán. Pulled down Víctor cross and shot wide of Leo Franco.
2-0. 27. Diego Tristán. Took Fran pass and cut past Nadal before chipping keeper.
3-0. 35. Diego Tristán. Shot low into corner after Valerón laid ball in from right.
4-0. 40. Víctor. Tap in after Tristán got ahead of keeper to roll ball across.
5-0. 62. Sergio. Beat Leo Franco with deflected shot from outside of area.

Third placed Deportivo hammered a poor Mallorca side 5-0 in the Riazor stadium to maintain the four point gap behind the top two Valencia and Real Madrid. Once again their hero was Diego Tristán, who put behind him the criticisms mid-week for his tackle on Beckham to score a first half hat-trick to move to the top of the league's Pichichi table with eighteen for the season. Despite the defeat in the match against Manchester United, Irureta lined up with a similar side, missing only the suspended Naybet who had to be replaced by left back Romero, playing out of position due to injuries to the other central defenders. Sergio Kresic put out his usual defensive side, with five at the back including Marcos, who left his usual midfield position to Paco Soler. The conservative tactics of the visitors appeared to be working at first, and Depor had trouble getting near to Leo Franco's goal. But then the Tristán show began, and within a quarter of an hour he had scored past his old team mates three times. The first came with twenty minutes on the clock, the Spanish international striker showing tight control in the penalty area to pull down Víctor's cross and hit a low shot into the corner of the net. Then came the best of the night, a startling piece of skill running on to Sergio's pass to leave Nadal behind him and spoon the ball over the keeper.

Mallorca's only reply was a long effort from Siviero which Molina caught with ease, and it was not long before Tristán completed his second hat-trick in a month, taking a pass from another ex Mallorca player Valerón to beat the young Argentine keeper. Even then he was not finished, and before the break he ran on to a 50/50 ball to get ahead of Leo Franco and roll the ball across for Víctor to tap in from a couple of yards out. At half time Irureta was forced to make his second change of the night when César could not continue, and with no central defenders left he had to bring on another full back Héctor in his place. Mauro Silva had gone off earlier with an injury, and with the second leg tie at Manchester coming up midweek there was concern that they would be missing key players for that match. And their worries increased twenty minutes from the end when Sergio also had to leave the field limping, although not before he had scored his side's fifth goal of the night with a superb shot from outside of the area. Kresic put on his three substitutes, but even then they could not get the consolation goal they wanted, with Tristán's replacement at Mallorca, Luque, joining Eto'o and Olaizola on the list of players who wasted scoring chances. Their side drop down to sixteenth, and once again they are only two points from the relegation spots.