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In the match in Madrid, without Zinedine Zidane, the Royal club faced fierce resistance from "Betis" from the start of the match, but the hosts had better attacking opportunities: in the tenth minute, Michael Owen, who started the match instead of the injured Raul after a pass from Santiago Solari, sent the ball into Doblas' goal with his right foot from the center of the penalty area.
The result was doubled in the 40th minute by attacking defender Roberto Carlos, who scored from a penalty shot from about 7 meters out. Later, the Brazilian's goal was described as a "gift from God" by Betis coach Serra Ferreras. In the 53rd minute, Real's goalkeeper Iker Casillas had to leave the field due to pain in his right leg. In his place, the second goalkeeper, Cesar, took over the defense of the Royal club's goal.
Although Edu reduced the lead in the 59th minute, Real needed just two minutes to send the ball into the net with a header from Ivan Helguera after a pass from Walter Samuel. Despite both teams having plenty of chances to score until the end of the match, the result remained unchanged and the hosts celebrated the victory.
Another important match took place in Seville, where Sevilla played to a draw with Valencia in a beautiful and intense match. Valencia, led by assistant coach Antonio Lopez in the absence of injured goalkeeper Canizares and suspended defender Baraja, conceded the first goal in the 41st minute, but defender Navarro equalized with a header before the end of the first half. In the second half, Valencia took the lead again thanks to Aimar, who defeated the goalkeeper after a pass from Fabio Aurelio, who was recovering from a year-long injury.
However, the visitors' joy was short-lived, as Julio Baptista equalized from the penalty spot ten minutes later. The penalty was awarded for a handball by David Navarro in the penalty area. It is worth mentioning that in the 82nd minute, after Ayala's foul, Baptista had another chance to score from the penalty spot, but he failed to score for the second time.
An important victory was also achieved by "Villarreal", who moved up to third place in the table after defeating one of the tournament's underdogs, Mallorca, at home. Although the hosts fell behind after an own goal by Javi Venta in the 16th minute, two goals in the second half helped them secure the victory.
An unexpected result was recorded in Getafe, where the home team played to a draw with Deportivo La Coruna, who are considered favorites. Despite having five times more shots on goal, the visitors only needed one chance to equalize with the La Coruna team. This was already the twelfth draw for Deportivo this season - in this respect, the La Coruna team is in first place in La Liga.
In other matches of the round, Real Sociedad defeated Zaragoza's players, Racing Santander unexpectedly celebrated a victory at home against Atletico Madrid, and Malaga beat Athletic Bilbao, who had withdrawn from the UEFA Cup, by 1-0. The matches between Levante and Numancia and between Albacete and Zaragoza ended with the same result - 1-1.
Wednesday results:
Osasuna 1 - 1 Pamplona
38' [0 - 1] Richard Morales
82' [1 - 1] Antonio Pacheco
La Coruna 1 - 1
42' [0 - 1] Diego Tristan
73' [1 - 1] Fernandez Gabi
Valencia 1 - 1 Sorijos
21' [0 - 1] Patricio Graff
41' [1 - 1] Felix Ettien
Athletic Bilbao 1 - 0
2' [1 - 0] Antonio Juan Rodriguez
Atletico Madrid 2 - 1
12' [0 - 1] Fernando Torres
39' [1 - 1] Mario Regueiro
51' [2 - 1] David Aganzo
Real Sociedad 2 - 1
32' [0 - 1] Alberto Zapater
45' [1 - 1] Valeri Karpin
75' [2 - 1] Jose Barkero
Getafe 2 - 2
41' [1 - 0] Jesuli
45' [1 - 1] David Navarro
61' [1 - 2] Pablo Aimar
68' [2 - 2] Cesar Julio Baptista
Malaga 2 - 1
16' [0 - 1] Rodriguez Javi Venta (own goal)
62' [1 - 1] Luciano Figueroa
84' [2 - 1] Diego Forlan
Real Madrid 3 - 1 Sevilla
10' [1 - 0] Michael Owen
40' [2 - 0] Roberto Carlos
59' [2 - 1] Luis Edu
61' [3 - 1] Ivan Helguera
