Racing Santander 2 - Atlético de Madrid 1

Racing: Lemmens; Mellberg, Arzeno, Neru, Sietes; Espina, Colsa; Amavisca, Vivar Dorado, Munitis; Salva. 4-2-3-1.
Atlético: Molina; Aguilera, Gamarra, Santi, Capdevila; Bejbl, Hugo Leal, Solari; Valerón; Kiko, Hasselbaink. 4-3-1-2.

Team changes: Racing: Arzeno for Manjarín / Atlético: Gaspar, Roberto, Paunovic for Aguilera, Solari, Kiko.

Goals:
0-1. 05. Roberto. From close range after Hugo Leal pass following a corner.
1-1. 36. Vivar Dorado. Took round defender after a brilliant run by Munitis.
2-1. 51. Vivar Dorado. Flicked over Lemmens after Munitis played it in.

Atlético Madrid's troubles increased a they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in this relegation battle at the foot of the table. Racing manager Gustavo Benítez had a special motivation to win this match, as he had been told by his board that a defeat would mean that they would help him to be successful elsewhere. Despite losing to Sevilla last week, he intended to line up the same side, but a last minute flu bug struck down Manjarín, and he decided to bring back Arzeno in a back line of four. Ranieri decided (probably at the players request) to rest Kiko, still not fully recovered after his long injury. Paunovic came in as support striker, with Valerón moving out to the wing and Robert playing on the other side of midfield. The introduction of Robert appeared to be a good move, as the unsettled midifelder opened the scoring after Hugo Leal had set him up. However, with everyone watching new international Salva, Vivar Dorado crept in through the back door to score a goal in each half and save Benítez for the time being. Ranieri put on three substitutes for the last few minutes, with Solari replacing Capdevila twenty minutes from time, then Baraja for Hugo Leal and Kiko for Gaspar, but with Jimmy Floyd (and Salva for that matter) for once off form, there was no way back. Molina saved from Amavisca near the end, but it didn't matter as Racing recorded only their third home victory this season. They now go above Atlético on goal average, but both are perilously near the bottom. During the match Atlético fans from the 'Frente Atlético'ran amok, ripping up seats and fighting with local fans and police. Away from the field of play, Figueres, one of the teams mentioned in the judge's report as being prejudiced by Atlético's continuity in the first division when they should have been relegated, decided to take legal action against Jesus Gil and his board. Gil's wife declared in court that she was and had been for several years the legal owner of 85% of the company which owned the shares of Atlético, and therefore the case against her husband was not valid, although the court claimed that the share transfers deposited at the mercantile registry were not dated. Meanwhile Jesus Gil and his son Miguel Angel made an impassioned plea in the Madrid press offering to sell their shares (sorry, Mrs. Gil's shares) to any interested buyer to save the club and give them time to clear their names. However if the judge's accusations are true, they don't really own the shares anyway as they never paid for them. The story continues to unfold.

Espanyol 2 - Sevilla 2

Espanyol: Mora; Cristóbal, Pochettino, Nando, Navas; Velamazán, Galca, Sergio, Arteaga; Benítez, Tamudo. 4-4-2.
Sevilla: Olsen; Marchena, Hibic, Héctor; Nando, Quevedo, Tsartas, Angel; Víctor; Juan Carlos, Zalayeta. 3-4-1-2.

Team changes: Espanyol: Nando for Soldevila / Sevilla: Nando for Prieto.

Goals:
1-0. 02. Tamudo. From close range after Olsen blocked a shot from Benítez.
1-1. 28. Tsartas (penalty). After Víctor had his shirt pulled by Sergio.
2-1. 68. Tamudo. First time lob over Olsen after long pass.
2-2. 85. Tsartas (penalty). Doubtful penalty by Galca on Loren.

Referee Bueno Grimal was the main protagonist of this match, awarding two penalties to Sevilla which threw them a lifeline and enabled them to salvage a point against relegation rivals Espanyol. The Catalan club's management are likely to protest to the Spanish Football Federation about the official's performance, especially in awarding the last penalty for a supposed foul by Galca on Jesuli, with television cameras later demonstrating that Galca had won the ball fairly. In all, not very Bueno showed nine yellow cards and turned down two penalty appeals from Espanyol for fouls on Tamudo and substitute Manel. Both teams decided to make one change, and by coincidence each chose to introduce their Nando in to their defences. Tamudo scored very early, but after that it was Sevilla who did most of the attacking, with Mora saving twice from Juan Carlos and tipping a shot from Quevedo onto the crossbar. The first penalty appeared to be quite clear, the cameras catching Sergio's tug on Víctor's shirt, andTsartas put his kick to the left of the keeper. Tamudo, who was a nightmare for the Sevilla defence, again gave his team the lead, before the fatal penalty, which Tsartas this time placed to Mora's right. In this closest of leagues a couple of points could make all the difference, and Espanyol drop to within one place of the relegation zone. Sevilla, whose president Rafael Carrión resigned this week, are still quite a way off safety, still four points adrift of second to bottom Real Sociedad, but if they can string together some good results they could just scrape clear. Actually, in this league, if they win all their remaining matches they could be league champions! Who knows, fact can be stranger than fiction. Anyone want a bet?