Atlético Madrid's run of five wins in a row was ended by Murcia, who beat them 3-1 to end their own particular crisis. Loreto gave the home side the lead, and although Nagore made it all square soon afterwards, Carrero restored the lead before the break. Atlético's keeper Toni, who came in for Argentina's Mono Burgos (on international duty) turned the ball in to his own net in injury time for Murcia's third. Their manager Braojos can rest easy for the time being.

Atlético's fall from grace lets in Xerez, who moved to within two points of them with a 0-1 victory at Leganés. Pineda got the only goal on the stroke of half time, getting the home side's caretaker manager Rafa Cortijo off to a bad start. Cortijo replaced Ciriaco Cano after Leganés lost midweek.

Xerez are five points clear of Burgos, who moved back up to the top three with a narrow 0-1 victory at Sporting Gijon in the only match played on Saturday. The only goal came late in the game from substitute Gálvez, who scored from close range after Iñaki set him up.

Albacete and Oviedo cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw, with Oviedo's Geni getting a last minute equaliser after José had given the home side the lead. Geni's goal was only the second conceded by Albacete at home all season, and they remain undefeated at their Carlos Belmonte stadium.

Both teams move on to 22 points, a point behind Burgos and level with Recreativo who lost 0-3 against local rivals Jaén. The visitors scored virtually every time they approached the goal, with Sierra and Jurado taking advantage of defensive errors and Milosevic finishing things off with a free kick.

Levante bounced back from their seven goal thrashing midweek at Eibar with a good 3-1 win over Racing Ferrol. Kaiku gave them the lead in the second minute and Aurelio added a second on the gallop before Redondo headed one back just before the interval. Diego Torres made it three though just after the restart to give new manager Pepe Balaguer a much needed victory.

Ferrol drop to seventh, two points behind Burgos and level with Jaén and Salamanca, who beat Eibar 1-0. The only goal came from Cristian Díaz in the first half, and the visitors played the last 50 minutes with ten men after Luis Prieto was sent off.

Badajoz recorded their third win in a row under new manager Carlos Alhinho, beating Racing Santander 3-2, and they continue their climb out of the danger zone. It was a close thing in the end though, with Racing pulling two goals back through Juanma and Bodipo in the last quarter of an hour after Rodri, Molist and Pepín had given them what looked like a comfortable lead.

Santander stay on 18 points, level with three teams including Numancia, who got their second 0-0 draw in four days, this time at home to Extremadura. The home side had the best chances but could not beat keeper Felipe. The talking point was the presence of scouts from Manchester United, reportedly watching Ojeda and/or Marini. The draw did not help either side, particularly Extremadura, who drop down into the bottom four.

Elche join the group on 18 points after beating bottom club Poli Ejido 2-0, their first win in five games. Missing their Mexican international Torrado, away on international duty, the visitors were unable to make any inroads, and they lost to two goals from ex Espanyol striker Serrano.

They fall a point behind Gimnastic Tarragona, who came back from behind under new manager Jaume Bonet to draw 1-1 at Córdoba. Codina equalised an earlier strike from Jonathan, dragging the Andalucian side down to within two points of the drop zone. Córdoba's second manager of the season Crispi is already under pressure, and may join a long list of managerial casualties very soon if results do not improve.