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After playing the majority of the matches of the 29th round of the Spanish championship on Wednesday, taking advantage of stumbles by "Valencia" and Madrid's "Real", Pamplona's "Osasuna" climbed to second place in the standings by defeating San Sebastiano's "Real Sociedad" 2-0 at home.
The Royal club managed to salvage a draw only in extra time against "Zaragoza", who took the lead from the beginning of the second half, with Diego Milito scoring. The equalizer was scored in the second minute of extra time by Brazilian Ronaldo.
The match in Valencia unfolded differently, where "Valencia" took the lead after 38 minutes with Ruben Baraja's penalty goal, but just before the break, defender Miguel Angel Angulo was sent off with a second yellow card. Taking advantage of their numerical superiority, "Villarreal" leveled the score in the second half, with Diego Forlan scoring 20 minutes before the end of the match. The visitors could have snatched the victory, but Valencia's goalkeeper Santiago Canizares saved Juan Roman Riquelme's 11-meter penalty.
Pamplona's "Osasuna" made the most of these setbacks, securing their third consecutive win and moving up to second place in the standings. "Osasuna" players surged forward after Inaki Munoz's goal, and the team captain Patxi Punal doubled the lead as the match approached its end, successfully converting a penalty earned by Pierre Webo.
Meanwhile, the players of "Mallorca", who changed their coach, continued to climb the standings, this time defeating "Cadiz" players at home with a minimal result.
The match was dramatic for "Athletic Bilbao", who scored the equalizer against Barcelona's "Espanyol" at home in the sixth minute of extra time. The hosts had the opportunity to take the lead, but young Aritzas Aduriz failed to convert an 11-meter penalty. Just a few minutes later, "Espanyol" once again confirmed the unwritten rule of football "if you don't score, they will" and took the lead with Juanfran's goal.
Two distant penalty kicks allowed La Coruna's "Deportivo" to secure their first victory in three months at the "El Riazor" stadium. Although "Malaga" took the lead at the end of the first half with a goal from Portuguese player Duda, Victor's two penalty kicks allowed "Deportivo" to celebrate victory. "Malaga's" hopes of securing at least a point were dashed in extra time when Juan Rodriguez and Alexis were sent off.
The last matches of the 29th round will be played on Thursday in Madrid, where local "Atletico" will face "Sevilla".
