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On Wednesday in Spain, the fourth round matches of "La Liga" were played. Defending champions "Barcelona" played a 2-2 draw at home with "Valencia", who plays in the Champions League. Meanwhile, "Villarreal" lost 1-2 at home to Vigo "Celta", who became the league leaders at least until the next round, and "Real Sociedad" defeated Madrid's "Atletico" 3-2.
In the match at Nou Camp stadium, both goalkeepers made grave mistakes, but "Valencia" goalkeeper S.Canizares will be more dissatisfied with his performance, as he allowed Deco from Portugal to equalize the score at the end of the match.
In a fierce match, the hosts took the lead first - Frenchman Ludovicas Giuly received a pass from Samuel Eto'o at the end of the first half and sent the ball to the far corner of the goal. However, "Barca" did not enjoy their lead for long - "Valencia" forward David Villa scored two goals in a couple of minutes. In the 53rd minute, he converted his own earned penalty, and a minute later took advantage of a mistake by "Barca" goalkeeper Victor Valdes and sent the ball into the goal.
However, in the 80th minute, "Barca" managed to equalize the score - S.Canizares failed to catch Ronaldinho's cross and Brazilian-born Portuguese Deco sent the ball into the net.
In La Coruna, local "Deportivo" played a 1-1 draw with Sevilla's "Betis" team. The intense match was marked by the referee disallowing three goals. The visitors took the lead first, as "Betis" attacking leader R.Oliveira directed a great pass from Joaquino into the goal. However, the score was equalized at the end of the first half by Diego Tristan, who converted his own earned penalty.
The most beautiful goal of Wednesday was scored in Getafe, where the match between "Getafe" and "Mallorca" ended in a 1-1 draw. The hosts took the lead in the 7th minute and appeared to continue their excellent season start, but with two minutes left until full time, "Mallorca" player Fernando Navarro scored from 40 meters.
The match in Malaga ended in a 0-0 draw, where the home team faced "Alaves". However, the "Malaga" players will be more disappointed, as a shot by Duda hit the post in the first half, and defender Salvo Ballestos' shot was cleared off the goal line in the second half. The hosts finished the match with ten men, as Anderson Silva received a second yellow card in the 87th minute.
After narrowly defeating Madrid's "Real" in the previous round, this time Barcelona's "Espanyol" had to admit the minimal advantage of "Racing Santander". The only goal, after a series of rebounds, was scored by former "Sevilla" forward Antonito. At the end of the match, "Espanyol" defender Alberto Lopo received a red card.
Another team that provided surprises in the previous round, Madrid's "Atletico", lost 3-2 in a tough match against San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" team while playing as the visitors. Although it seemed for 20 minutes that the team led by Carlos Bianchi would have an easy walk in the park after goals by Fernando Torres and Mateja Kezman, hope was restored to the hosts by Serbian Darko Kovacevic, who scored early in the second half.
Later, the score was equalized after a serious injury by Turkish player Nihat, who received a pass from former "Atletico" player Alvaro Novo and scored a goal. In extra time, exploiting the defenders' mistakes, Darko Kovacevic secured the victory.
In Zaragoza, the local team celebrated a 3-1 victory over Pamplona's "Osasuna". In the first half, the "Osasuna" goalkeeper Ricardo excellently protected his goal, but in the beginning of the second half, one of the Milito brothers, Diego, who came from "Genoa", headed the ball into the goal after a great pass from Brazilian Savio, leading the hosts to the victory. With 10 minutes left in the match, Sergio Garcia doubled the score, and two minutes later, Savio made the result overwhelming. However, the guests managed to soften the result - Frenchman Ludovicas Delporte scored a penalty in the 85th minute.
In Seville, "Sevilla" played a 0-0 draw with "Cadiz", but it was actually the visitors who were more dissatisfied with the result - they failed to convert a penalty kick.
The unexpectedly defeated last season's discovery "Villarreal" lost at home 2-1 to Vigo "Celta" team, who returned to "La Liga". Two goals by Brazilian Fernando Baiano - one after a pass from former "Liverpool" defender Antonio Nunez, and the other after an individual run - allowed the visitors to build a lead that was enough for the victory, although Juan Roman Riquelme brought hope back to the hosts, scoring a penalty at the end of the match.
The only remaining match of the fourth round will be played on Thursday in Madrid between the local team "Real" and Bilbao's "Athletic". By the way, last season "Athletic" was one of the least favorite opponents for the Royal club.
