Second division - day 23

Tenerife hold on to second spot for another week after beating struggling Eibar 2-0. Pablo Sicilia headed the Canary Islanders in to the lead midway through the first half, but it was not until injury time that Nino added the second. No less than seven sides are separated by only two points from third placed Zaragoza down though, with Salamanca level with Marcelino's side after thrashing bottom club Sevilla Atlético 6-0, and Castellón are also on 37 points after beating Celta 1-2 earlier in the day.

Down in the lower reaches of the table, Córdoba are out of the relegation spots after a 3-0 win over Alavés. The defeat meant the end for Alavés coach Manix Mandiola after just six weeks in charge. Alicante sink further down into the drop zone though after a 1-1 draw at Girona. Elsewhere Huesca came back from two goals down to beat Gimnàstic 3-2, and Elche and Las Palmas cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw. (08.02.09)

Xerez are going from strength to strength, and a 0-2 victory at Albacete took them six points clear at the top pending Sunday's games. Momo opened the scoring with only a minute on the clock, and Calle added the second after the restart. Zaragoza are up to third after a late 1-1 draw against direct rivals Real Sociedad. Abreu put the Basque side ahead on the half hour mark, but Ewerthon levelled the scores in the last minute with a hotly disputed penalty.

Rayo Vallecano are level on points with Zaragoza though after a 1-0 win over another of the promotion favourites, Hércules. Coke got the only goal in the twelfth minute to take his side a point above their opponents in the table. Levante are only two points off the top three as well after a 2-1 win over Murcia. Miguel Pérez and Geijo put the locals two up before Bruno got one back from the penalty spot later on. (07.02.09)