Celta 3 - Mallorca 1

Celta came back from behind to beat Mallorca 3-1 in Vigo. Finidi gave the visitors the lead on the quarter hour mark against the run of play with a glancing header from a long cross by Ibagaza which left Pinto stranded. Celta did most of the attacking in the first half but Leo Franco and his defence kept them out, with Nadal clearing off the line from Berizzo near the break. Víctor Fernández brought on Gustavo López and then Karpin in the second half for Tomás and Velasco, and they gave their side the spark they were lacking in the first 45 minutes. Referee López Nieto awarded a non-existent penalty against Finidi five minutes in to the second half, the Nigerian winger winning the ball cleanly only for Vagner to run in to him and dive to the ground, and after the protest died down Gustavo López beat Franco from the penalty spot. With twenty minutes to go Karpin swung over a cross from the right for Gustavo López to get his second of the night from the back of the area, and a few minutes later Cáceres added a third with a first time volley after Miguel Soler failed to clear a corner. Marcos was sent off in injury time for a hard tackle on Karpin, and after the final whistle the players tangled with each other as the Mallorca players accused Karpin of play acting. Luis Aragonés complained after the match that the referee had once again cost them the match at Vigo after three goals were disallowed earlier in the season in the league, and the manager was involved in ugly scenes with a Celta fan at the airport who was shouting racial abuse at Eto'o. Hopefully things will calm down in time for the return match in Mallorca next week. (31.01.01)