A thrilling all-Spanish UEFA cup final on Wednesday, with Sevilla taking the lead twice through Adriano and Kanouté, and Espanyol fighting back with strikes from Riera and Jonatas to take the game to penalties. The Andalusians won it with three penalty saves from Palop to become only the second side ever to defend their title, following in the footsteps of Real Madrid. It was a bitter blow for Espanyol though, who also lost on penalties in their only other UEFA cup final appearance 18 years ago. The Catalans went through the tournament unbeaten, and have asked UEFA to award them an honorary place in next season's competition, a long shot but worth a try.

An incredible weekend for goals as well, the 42 scored being one of the highest totals on record. Barcelona put six past Atlético, the first team ever to do so at the Calderón stadium, with two from Messi, and Ronaldinho and Eto'o also on the scoresheet. They couldn't oust Real Madrid from top spot though (head-to-head goal average is what counts in Spain), Van Nistelrooy converting a penalty in a last minute 2-3 win at Recreativo. Sevilla also got a late win at Deportivo thanks to another goal from Kanouté, and Valencia completed the gang of four with a last minute goal from Joaquín at Mallorca.

Seven goals at Zaragoza, where Diego Milito got his scoring boots back on in a 4-3 win over an Athletic Bilbao side for whom Aduriz scored a Pyrrhic hat-trick. Three goals as well for Osasuna's Soldado at Levante, the third from inside his own half, and Güiza was on target as Getafe cancelled out Coro's tenth of the season to run out 1-5 winners against the UEFA cup runners-up. Soldado could be returning to the Bernabeu as understudy to Van Nistelrooy next season, and his replacement could be another of the Castilla fledglings, Javier Portillo, who converted a penalty for the all but doomed Nàstic. (21.05.07)