Atletico Madrid 3 - 2 Sporting Gijon(1-0) 12' Forlán, (1-1) 32' Castro (p), (2-1) 54' Assuncao, (3-1) 66' Ibrahima, (3-2) 90' Luis Moran
Wherever they go, goals aren't far behind. After a six goal thriller in the cup, and four goals in their last league encounter, today saw five as Atlético Madrid completed a fruitful week with another league victory. Sporting had looked threatening up until Assuncao put Atletico 2-1, and from that point on it was a one-way traffic as Sergio Agüero ran the show; his run in injury time as good as anything you'll see this season. The only downer for Atletico was the injury to Diego Forlan who was forced off with a ankle problem.
READ ON FOR REPORTS AND HIGHLIGHTS OF ALL TODAYS LIGA MATCHES
Valencia 4 - 1 Villarreal
(1-0) 6' Banega, (2-0) 28' Villa (p), (3-0) 56' Silva, (3-1) 61' Nilmar, (4-1) 90' Villa
Mallorca 2 - 0 Deportivo La Coruña
(1-0) 46' Mario Suarez, (2-0) 55' Castro(1-0) 6' Banega, (2-0) 28' Villa (p), (3-0) 56' Silva, (3-1) 61' Nilmar, (4-1) 90' Villa
Valencia creep ominously three points behind Real Madrid with a resounding victory against a disorganised Villarreal. Joaquin and David Silva put in fantastic shifts, whilst Ever Banega continued his stunning form with a cracking early goal which set Valencia on their way. Silva was rewarded for an electric second-half performance with their third following an uncharacteristic howler from Capdevila, whilst David Villa scored two goals which put him alongside Lionel Messi in the fight for the Pichichi trophy. In fairness it could have been 6 or 7 for Unai Emerys team, who are looking in good shape to mount a serious challenge for second place.
Mallorca registered another fantastic home win with a storming performance that had Depor running ragged throughout the whole 90 minutes. It was only Mallorcas profligacy in attack and a solid performance from Aranzubia in goal that saw the teams go in level at the break, but in the second half Mario Suarez took advantage of a mistake from Colotto to put the home side one up, before another mistake, this time from Manuel Pablo, allowed Castro to finish the game as a contest. Mallorca continue their remarkable 100% home record and place themselves inside the top four, whilst Depor will want to forget this match quickly as they prepare for their Copa del Rey quarter-final against Sevilla.
Real Zaragoza produced another dismal display that failed to see off a Xerez side that was forced to play with ten men from the 54th minute. Zaragoza gave debuts to their three winter signings; Jiri Jarosik, Eliseu and striker 'Chupete' Suazo, but it made no difference as they wasted a number of opportunities to open the scoring, and were emphatically booed off by their supporters at the final whistle. The only highlight for 'Los Maños' was the man-of-the-match performance from second-half sub Jermaine Pennant, who put two delicious crosses in that really should have lead to goals. Xerez fans can be proud of the way their team fought for the point after Victor Sanchez was subject to a shocking decision from the ref when he was sent off for an innocuous challenge on Eliseu. The draw is no use to either team, with both en route to second division football unless things change around rapidly. Their fans deserve more.
(0-1) 2' Juanlu, (1-1) 60' Goitom
Tenerife fall into the relegation zone to make it all three promoted clubs from last year in the bottom three. Juanlu had given them a cracking start inside two minutes when he fired in after Diego Alves had parried a Kome shot. But from then on Almería set about the visitors in search of an equaliser that came about after an hour when they broke out from a Tenerife corner and Soriano set Goitom free with an exquisite pass for the striker to fire in neatly past Aragoneses. Juanma Lillo has steadied the ship since replacing Hugo Sanchez, whilst Oltra could well find himself out of a job if their poor form continues. Another frustrating draw between two sides stuck in a relegation struggle and in desparate need of points.
Racing Santander 1 - 1 Real Valladolid
(0-1) 19' Pinillos (o.g), 59' Canales
The young star from Santander, Sergio Canales, ensured his name would be splashed all over the back pages once again as he scored a stunning goal to earn his team a draw against Real Valladolid. The 18 year old has alerted interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla and teams from the Premiership with his all-action performances and goals. Today he netted another beautiful effort when he took down a Munitis ball into the area and lifted it delicately over the advancing keeper, Villar, to cancel out Pinillos unlucky own goal. A superb strike, his first in El Sardinero, and his stock rises even higher.
Malaga 1 - 0 Getafe
(1-0) 85' Baha
A feisty match that lacked any serious quality and was settled by second half substitute Baha, when he timed his run to perfection with five minutes left to nod in Jesus Gamezs cross. Getafe had to play with ten from the 30th minute onwards as their Ghanian midfielder Boateng was sent off for a second yellow, and the players were absolutely livid with the referee at the final whistle as they felt they were subject to some shocking decisions from the man in black. Málaga lift themselves out of the relegation zone for the first time since matchday 6, although their performance was far from convincing, whilst Getafe see their march towards the UEFA spots halted.