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On Thursday, the remaining matches of the 9th round of the Spanish championship were played. A surprise defeat was suffered by the former leader of this season's surprise team, Madrid's "Getafe", who lost 3-0 to San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" as visitors, while the 2004 champion "Valencia" failed to take advantage of their dominance at home and lost 0-2 to "Sevilla". The hosts took the lead already in the fourth minute, when midfielder Mikel Aranburu scored a goal from 20 meters. Later, Turkish national team striker Nihat doubled the score with a close-range shot, and towards the end of the first half, Xabi Prieto successfully converted a penalty earned by Serbian player Darko Kovacevic. "Valencia" failed to take advantage of their dominance and beat goalkeeper Andres Palop's goal, so they had to admit the victory of "Sevilla" 0-2. Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano scored a goal with his heel into Santiago Canizares' goal, and at the beginning of the second half, the score doubled when Argentine defender Roberto Ayala scored an own goal from Daniel Alves' cross. "Special" Madrid "Atletico" won 3-0 against "Cadiz". Argentine goalkeeper Maxi Rodriguez put the hosts in front after Antonio Lopez's pass. In the second half, defender Pablo Ibanez directed a corner kick lifted by Martino Petrov into the goal, and at the end of the match, another Argentine Luciano Galletti added another point. A rather unexpected 1-1 draw came in the match between "Alaves" and Barcelona's "Espanyol". Defender Josu Sarriegi headed home in the 13th minute to put the hosts ahead, but just a few minutes later, Luis Garcia equalized after a pass from Ivano de la Pena. J.Sarriegi, the goal scorer, was sent off the field in the 63rd minute for a foul on Raul Tamudo, but "Espanyol" did not take advantage of the numerical superiority and at the very end of the match, John Aloisi's shot hit the crossbar. The sixth match out of nine this season ended with a draw for "Zaragoza", but this time the Zaragoza players left the field disappointed - the match, in which they dominated, ended 1-1 with "Racing Santander". The hosts took the lead after Diego Milito's header, but later failed to capitalize on great opportunities to increase the score and paid for it at the end of the match - former "Real" forward David Aganzo took advantage of a defensive mistake to level the score. After this round, unexpectedly, Pamplona's "Osasuna" is leading the league table. On Wednesday, they defeated "Athletic Bilbao" 3-2 in a dramatic match.
Thursday's Results:
San Sebastian 3 - 0 Madrid
4' [1 - 0] Mikel Aranburu
17' [2 - 0] Nihat Kahveci
41' [3 - 0] Xavier Prieto (pen.)
Barcelona 1 - 1 Espanyol
13' [1 - 0] Josu Sarriegi
15' [1 - 1] Luis Garcia
63' Josu Sarriegi sent off ("Alaves")
Osasuna 1 - 1 Racing Santander
37' [1 - 0] Diego Milito
70' [1 - 1] David Aganzo
Valencia 0 - 2 Sevilla
19' [0 - 1] Luis Fabiano
48' [0 - 2] Roberto Ayala (own goal)
Top Scorers:
1. Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona) - 9 goals;
2-3. Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - 7;
2-3. David Villa (Valencia) - 7;
4-5. Fernando Baiano (Celta Vigo) - 5;
4-5. Raul (Real Madrid) - 5;
6-15. Ivan Riki (Getafe) - 4;
6-15. Nene (Alaves) - 4;
6-15. Ronaldinho (Barcelona) - 4;
6-15. Daniel Gueiza (Getafe) - 4;
6-15. Salva (Malaga) - 4;
6-15. Jose Mari (Villarreal) - 4;
6-15. Juan Riquelme (Villarreal) - 4;
6-15. Ricardo Oliveira (Real Betis) - 4;
6-15. Darko Kovacevic (Real Sociedad) - 4;
6-15. Diego Milito (Zaragoza) - 4;
