A couple of newcomers to our chart this week, including Recreativo's Raúl Molina who, despite being only a substitute for the league's bottom side, has managed to string together eight goals this season. He scored another two this week, the first in the cup to put his side through to the quarter finals for the first time in their long history (they are the league's oldest club), and the second at the weekend to earn a point at Mallorca. Deportivo's Luque is also a player who doesn't usually start for his side, and he too got two goals in similar circumstances, although the second against Bilbao wasn't really his. However the referee included in his report that his corner had gone in directly, and therefore Karanka was spared the blushes of having an own goal against his name. Deportivo now have all three of their strikers in the chart after Diego Tristán also got his name on the scoresheet from the penalty spot in the cup match against Alicante.

Talking of Deportivo, the man who Luque replaced, Pandiani, is also scoring goals at Mallorca , and his penalty against Recreativo takes him fifth in the table. Real Madrid still have the highest number of players in the list though, with Figo (two goals at the weekend) and Portillo joining Raúl, Guti and Ronaldo this week. Incidentally Portillo is now the leading scorer in the cup competition after getting his seventh of the tournament, ahead of Tote, Luque and Rubén Navarro, whose team crashed out of the competition despite a goal by the striker in the match against Murcia. By contrast Barcelona only have Kluivert in the chart, and his goal at the weekend hardly raised a smile from the supporters. By then though his side were losing 1-4, (with Carew amongst the Valencia goalscorers), a result which could bring about a change of manager if things don't improve next weekend. (21.01.03)