Having ducked a five goal thrashing, Cavallero returned to the Celta goal this weekend to keep a timely clean sheet and extend his lead at the top of the chart. He even talked Roy Makaay out of scoring from the penalty spot in the last minute, "come on man, what difference does it make to you?" Makaay dutifully obliged, sending his shot wide. With three games to go he is four clear of Cañizares, although Celta have still to face Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Barcelona. Not the easiest of run-ins for a team wanting to make it to the Champions League next season.

It was another relatively high scoring weekend, and only three other minders managed to keep their goals against column to zero. Two of those came in the bottom of the table struggle between Etxeberría's Rayo and Sanzol's Osasuna, with the visitors much happier than their opponents that the game ended 0-0. The happiest of the lot though must be Westerveld, who put in another great performance as Real Sociedad beat Málaga 0-2 to keep top spot in the league. (27.05.03)