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This season's surprise of the Spanish championship, Pamplona's "Osasuna," continues to speed up - on Saturday, in the 11th round match, they defeated San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" 2-1 as guests. Goalkeeper Raul Garcia, in great form, scored with a header in the 33rd minute to put the Pamplona team ahead, but Real Sociedad's midfielder Xavier Prieto equalized with a precise shot from the penalty spot at the end of the first half. However, in the 67th minute, defender Carlos Cuellar scored the winning goal, directing the ball into the net after Patxi Punalo's penalty kick. After this victory, "Osasuna" secured the top spot in the standings and leads defending champion "Barcelona" by five points, who will play on Sunday against Madrid's "Getafe" team, unexpectedly holding the fourth place. In other evening matches, former Spanish national team coach Javier Clemente made his debut as head coach of the bottom-ranked Bilbao "Athletic," ending in a 1-1 draw with Barcelona's "Espanyol." In the late night matches, UEFA Champions League participants "Villarreal" unexpectedly defeated "Valencia" with a minimal result at home. In the first half, the hosts had both a gameplay and territorial advantage, which they took advantage of when Argentinean Luciano Figueroa scored in the 24th minute after a defender's mistake. This was his second goal of the season. This attack was initiated with a great pass into the penalty area by recently naturalized Spanish and aspiring Spanish national team player Marcos Senna. In the second half, the field view changed completely, but "Valencia" lacked sharpness in the attack. In one episode, "Valencia" players shot three times in a row towards the goal, but thanks to the goalkeeper and luck, "Villarreal" managed to keep their goal "dry." Saturday results: San Sebastian 1 - 2 Pamplona 33' [0 - 1] Raul Garcia 43' [1 - 1] Xavier Prieto (penalty) 67' [1 - 2] Carlos Cuellar Barcelona 1 - 1 Espanyol 20' [0 - 1] Luis Prieto 87' [1 - 1] Corominas Villarreal 1 - 0 Valencia 24' [1 - 0] Luciano Figueroa
