Zaragoza opened up a three point lead at the top with a 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Xerez. Paco Flores' side were looking to bounce back after their thrashing at Elche the week before, and bore down on Mora's goal right from the start. However their attack quickly petered out, and Schuster's men had a couple of chances of their own before the break. Immediately after the restart though Zaragoza took the lead, Yordi forcing Mora to turn his first effort for a corner and then heading the dead ball kick past the keeper. The visitors ended the game with ten men after Pineda picked up a second booking in injury time, and they drop down the table below Murcia and Elche to sixth place.

Levante scraped a last minute 1-1 draw against Las Palmas despite playing for much of the second half with ten men. Both sides tested each other out in the first half, with the only chances falling to the locals, Félix and Carpintero both going close from Mijatovic corners. Lima put the Canary Islanders ahead though five minutes after the interval, scrambling the ball home after a free kick, and a minute later Mijatovic was sent off with a straight red card. The referee added eight minutes of extra time at the end, and with one remaining Descarga forced the ball home to keep his side in second place.

Sporting Gijon beat Getafe 0-1 to extend their winning run to four games. The only goal came in the sixth minute when Pindado blocked a shot from the on-form David Villa, and Juan scored from the rebound. Local manager Felines brought on Mario and Iñaqui at half time and for a few minutes the Madrid based side looked like getting an equaliser. But the Asturians held on to take the three points and move above their opponents up to tenth place, a far cry from the bottom spot they occupied only a couple of months ago.

Numancia won their first away match of the season, beating Eibar 1-2. It was a controversial game, in which referee Castillo Estevez upset the crowd by sending off local players Urzelai and Garitano in the second half and awarding a controversial penalty to the visitors for a supposed foul by Garitano on Pacheta. The Basque side were defending an unbeaten home record, and went ahead just before the break when Jorge Sánchez headed in a cross from Zubizarreta. However Kome equalised soon after the restart, and Suffo converted the penalty to take his side to the brink of safety. (22.12.02)

Third placed Albacete were ahead twice in their away match at a rainy Compostela on Saturday evening, but ended up drawing 3-3 to miss out on the chance to move to the top of the table pending Sunday's games. Alvaro gave the home side the lead after Roa failed to hold on to the ball, but the visitors came back with two goals from Basti before the break, both following free kicks. Cabarcos headed an equaliser after the break, but only a minute later Pablo forced the ball in off the post to restore the lead. Maikel though squared the match again a quarter of an hour from the end to keep his side just above the drop zone.

Murcia closed up to within a point of Albacete in fourth place after beating struggling Córdoba 1-0. The only goal came in the fifth minute when Setvalls headed in a cross from Ismael, although David Vidal's side could have scored a couple more, especially from David Karanka who had clear chances in both halves. The visitors almost saved a point though at the end when Ramón's free kick went just over the bar. Córdoba have still not scored away from home all season though, and they are now firmly down in next to bottom place.

Elche moved up to fifth, a point behind Murcia, after keeping up their unbeaten away record with a 0-3 victory at Almería. The home side had a goal disallowed in the second minute, but found themselves behind soon afterwards when Nino headed home Melgar's cross. The visitors were reduced to ten men with half an hour on the clock when Curro Montoya picked up a second booking, but Nino scored a second goal after the break, and Meca made it three in the dying minutes.

The match between Tenerife and Salamanca ended without goals, the eleventh draw of the season for the Canary Island side. Their manager Ewald Lienen lined up with only Paunovic in attack, but the Yugoslav midfielder did his best, having a penalty appeal turned down early on and hitting the foot of the post with a header before the break. Barata came on to join him in the second half, but the visitors were firm at the back and held on for their sixth game in a row without defeat.

Terrassa stopped their slide down the table with a 1-0 win over Badajoz. The Catalans had gone six games without a win, but a single goal from Gibanel midway through the first half was enough to give them the three points. Three players were sent off in the last twenty minutes of the game, Marcos Mato and Jorge Zafra for the visitors and in the last minute Rubén for the locals. Badajoz drop to sixteenth, and with manager Conhé about to leave the job after his license was rejected, the club are once more in trouble.

Racing Ferrol and Poli Ejido cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw and lose ground on the top sides. The first half was a dull affair, with only David Pérez for the home side and Luis Gil for the Andalucians testing the two keepers. Both goals came in the last quarter of an hour, with Arturo giving the visitors the lead following an indirect free kick. Kike made a good save from Dutil a few minutes later, but Burle equalising in acrobatic fashion after Ramis headed on the resulting corner. Ejido's Traversa was sent off in the last minute for a foul on Raúl López.

The relegation battle between Oviedo and Leganés ended in a 1-1 draw, a result which did no good for either side. The visitors went in front in the ninth minute with an individualist effort from Villa, but were left with ten men before the interval when Pulido was given his marching orders for a hard tackle on Pablo Díaz. Oviedo finally managed to save a point when Pablo Díaz followed up after Raúl saved Geni's penalty kick with a quarter of an hour to go, but the Asturians stay in last place having still not won at home this season. (21.12.02)