The last round of the first stage of the Champions League took place this week, but with the fate of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Betis already known, all three rested their key players. Only Villarreal had anything to play for and it was a chance for the forgotten man Guayre to make his mark. The ex Las Palmas forward came on as substitute to score the winning goal against Lille, and it earned him a place in the starting line up at the weekend for the first time in many months. And he scored twice more to add to a Riquelme goal in their 1-3 win over Real Sociedad, a result which takes the "Yellow Submarine" up to third in the table.

Barcelona's deadly duo were at it again at the weekend, Eto'o and Ronaldinho both getting their names on the scoresheet to move even further clear at the top of the Pichichi table and help Rijkaard's side to their best winning run in 50 years. Earlier in the match, Sevilla's Kanouté had finally got his first league goal to add to the four he has scored in the UEFA, taking him level with team mate Saviola. Elsewhere Diego Tristán answered his critics in the best way possible with a winning goal against Cádiz, and Ewerthon got his fourth for Zaragoza in two weeks, the Brazilian forward almost single handedly keeping Víctor Muñoz in a job. (12.12.05)