Second placed Numancia were on the end of a 5-0 thrashing by Lleida on Saturday evening. The Soria based side had not let in a goal for the first two games but they went behind when Santos beat Juanma midway through the first half. The turning point though really came just a few minutes after the restart, Juanpa getting himself sent off for handling in the area and Bilic converting the resulting penalty. Oscar Rubio made it three just two minutes later, and Juanma Cruz took a return pass from Santos to run through and score a fourth goal a few minutes after that. And Bilic rounded things off with his second of the night after Santos set him up near the end to take the Catalans up into the top three pending Sunday's games.

A victory as well for Lleida's Catalan neighbours Gimnastic Tarragona, who moved off the bottom of the table with a 0-2 win over Valladolid. The locals had started the new campaign with two victories under their belts, and they looked in control when Aduritz hit the bar early on. But Ismael put the visitors into the lead with a shot in off the post which caught Lledó off guard midway through the first half, and Carlos Merino made it two in the second half following a short free kick. The locals could have pulled one back from the penalty spot late on, but Aduritz fired his kick way up into the stands.

Eibar and Albacete picked up their first points of the season in a 1-1 draw. The Basque side were on top early on, with Nené going close twice and Sanzol making a point blank save from a header by Lezaun. But Parri put the visitors ahead with a shot from right of goal in virtually their first attack, and Etxeberría had to be at his best to stop Alvaro from increasing the lead soon afterwards. The hosts levelled the scores with an Alaña penalty though on the stroke of half time after Borrell was fouled by Alvaro, and in the end both sides settled for a point.

Hércules also got off the mark after drawing 2-2 with Almería, although they should have had a win had it not been for mistakes from their keeper Sergio Sánchez. Quique Mateo put the Alicante based side ahead late in the first half with a spectacular shot from outside of the area, but shortly after the visitors had a goal disallowed, Soriano took advantage of a hesitant defence to head home the equaliser. The locals restored the lead with a Moisés penalty after Carlos García was sent off for bringing down the striker himself, but Sánchez let a long shot from Crusat slip through his hands to let his opponents off the hook. (10.09.05)

Levante moved top of the table pending the evening matches after a 1-0 win over Elche on Sunday lunchtime gave them three wins out of three. The Valencia based side had the better chances in a lively first half, Reggi in particular failing to beat Unanua when free on goal. And they should have taken the lead after the restart when the keeper blocked Reggi's shot and Courtois put the rebound wide. Mustapha Riga finally got the winner though after he nipped in between Unanua and Benja to poke the ball into the net, although Nino could have saved a point had Descarga not hooked his lob off the line with keeper Cavallero beaten. Levante ended with ten men after Coutois was shown a second yellow card whilst being substituted. (11.09.05)

Ciudad Murcia are the early leaders in the second division, moving above Levante on goal difference after beating Real Madrid Castilla 2-1, their third straight win in a row. Rivero opened the scoring midway through the first half, following up after Arbeloa cleared an effort from Luque off the line, and Luque himself got the second from the penalty spot in the third minute of the second half after Arbeloa handled in the area. Substitute Barral headed home Jurado's cross later in the half to reduce the gap, but José Juan kept out Soldado a couple of times near the end to ensure the three points. Ciudad are the newest side ever to take the top spot, the club having only been formed in the lower regional divisions six years ago.

Last week's leaders Sporting Gijón drop to third after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Recreativo Huelva. The Asturian side's old coach Marcelino returned to the Molinón stadium in charge of the visitors, and his side dominated play for much of the first half. But the locals took the lead with virtually their first real effort at goal, Gerardo heading Sastre's cross past Luque in the twentieth minute. Recre equalised though in the first minute of the second half, Calle and Juanmi fighting for the ball which eventually flew off a boot and over the keeper's head (reports were divided about which one scored, although the referee gave it to Calle). And the Andalusians could have taken the three points when Dani Bautista crashed a shot against the crossbar later on.

Ciudad's city rivals Real Murcia beat their neighbours Lorca 0-1 and now have six points, although they could have points deducted after the other second division sides denounced them for fielding "ineligible players" over a long standing dispute. The argument is about Murcia's breach of contract over jointly agreed television rights, and although the Spanish federation allowed them to register new signings this summer, the League did not. The dispute is likely to run on for several weeks at least, and could eventually affect the league positions as other clubs are expected to follow suit. The match itself was without too much incident, the goal coming against the run of play close to half time when Castellanos slipped trying to reach a bad back pass from Moro, allowing Richi to nip in and score.

Tenerife also got their second win of the season after beating Málaga B 3-2. The game got off to an electrifying start, with Cristo Marrero putting the home side in front with a near post header from a corner, Usero replying with another header from Calderón's free kick, and Marrero getting his second of the night immediately afterwards, and all with only fifteen minutes on the clock. Jesús Gámez headed an effort from Cristian Alvarez off the line later in the half, but Calderón equalised again with the second half only a minute old. The hosts eventually won it though when Belli headed home a long cross around the hour mark.

Poli Ejido ran out 4-2 victors over Racing Ferrol to join the group on six points in the upper half of the table. Keko headed home the opening goal for the locals from Cristian's cross, and although Baha equalised with a free kick which deflected in off a defender, Pedro Vega took advantage of a hesitant defence to restore the lead on the stroke of half time. The Galicians pushed forward after the break, but they were caught out ten minutes before the end when Marcos Navas (brother of Sevilla's Jesús) scored a brilliant individualist goal on the counter attack. A minute later Juan Carlos Sanz pulled one back with a hotly disputed penalty which cost local manager Pepe Mel a red card for protesting, but Toedtli stroked home a fourth goal for the hosts in injury time to wrap things up.

A second win as well for Xerez, who beat Castellón 2-1 to send the newly promoted side to the bottom of the table. The visitors could have taken the lead when Xavi Moré hit the bar in the twentieth minute, but almost immediately Camuñas got on the end of a Gerard cross to establish the lead for the Andalusians. Ismael could have made it two when he rattled the bar after the restart, and it was his pass in the dying minutes which set up Colorado for him to score. There was still time though for Xavi Moré to pull one back with a long shot from left of the area which beat Julio Iglesias. (11.09.05)