"Quién va a Sevilla pierde su silla" goes the old proverb in Spain, and the big question is whether Samuel Eto'o is going to "lose his chair" in the race for the Pichichi whilst he is away at the Africa Cup (where by the way he has got off to a spectacular start with a hat-trick in the opening match). This weekend there were a record 35 goals in La Liga, with David Villa in particular closing the gap on Eto'o in the league to five goals after getting two at Betis. If Cameroon reach the final the Barcelona striker will miss three more league games, but he should nevertheless still be ahead when he returns.

Henrik Larsson was the man chosen to fill Eto'o's spot, and he took advantage to get one of his side's goals against Alavés. The biggest score of the day though was at Getafe, where the locals hit five against Espanyol including two each from Güiza and Pernía. The free kick from the Argentine defender was one of the best of the season, and with Argentina coach Pekerman saying he has three left backs ahead of him, Luis Aragonés is checking out whether his Spanish passport will come through in time for this summer's World Cup.

No less than seven players scored twice this weekend, including Riquelme and Maresca, who both got theirs from the penalty spot to give their side's respective wins. Real Sociedad's Nihat celebrated his decision to stay at Anoeta with a brace against eternal rivals Athletic Bilbao, but two from Aduriz sparked off a recovery from Javier Clemente's side.

Elsewhere Robinho scored his sixth of the season following on from devastating free kicks from Roberto Carlos and Beckham as Real Madrid at last start to show some form, and Diego Tristán continues to creep up our chart with another penalty for Deportivo against Mallorca, although it was to little avail in the end as goals from Okubo and Arango after the break meant that points were shared. Tristán's team mate Valerón got his side's opener, although it will surely be his last of the season after he was carried off with a serious knee ligament injury at the end, a blow not only to his club but also to Spain who were counting on him for the World Cup.

Finally Kezman returns to our chart after getting one of Atlético's goals in the midweek cup game at Zaragoza, although it was not quite enough to keep them in the competition. (23.01.06)