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During the 11th round of matches in the Spanish championship held on Sunday, the favorites secured victories, while struggling with a crisis of forwards, "Barcelona" refuted the skeptics' predictions and defeated "Mallorca" 4-1, returning to the first place in the league table.
Playing without injured forwards Samuel Eto'o, Javier Saviola, and Lionel Messi, Barcelona players in Mallorca took the lead 2-0 after two goals from Icelandic Eidur Gudjohnsen. Both times the Icelandic player found himself alone against the opponent's goalkeeper.
Although Victor softened the result, goalkeeper Andres Iniesta and veteran forward Santi Ezquerro secured Barcelona's victory.
After this victory, Barcelona returned to the top of the league table. In second place is "Sevilla", who on Saturday convincingly defeated "Valencia" 3-0, who are also struggling with injuries, and in third place with 23 points is Madrid's "Real", who on Saturday at home beat Santander's "Racing" 3-1.
In the fourth position is "Zaragoza", who on Sunday defeated "Gimnastic" from Tarragona 3-0. The hosts took the lead after a goal from Argentinian international defender Pablo Aimar, and later goals were added by defenders Oscar and Gerard Pique.
Two goals from Portuguese international midfielder Maniche and one from Fernando Torres helped "Atletico" beat "Levante" 3-0 in Valencia and rise to fifth place in the league table.
Meanwhile, in the matchup of underdogs between "Real Sociedad" and Seville's "Betis" in San Sebastian, a goalless draw was recorded. This means that the Basque club, which recently changed its coach, has not yet secured a victory.
"Recreativo" from Huelva continues to surprise everyone. After a long break, the club returned to the top league and jumped to sixth place, beating last season's third-place finishers, Pamplona's "Osasuna", by 2-0 at home. However, this year the latter team is playing very poorly - they lost their coach in the summer and were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in the qualifying rounds, currently occupying an unexpected 18th place in the Spanish championship.
In the last Sunday match - the Galician derby - victory was celebrated by Vigo's "Celta", who defeated "Deportivo" in La Coruna with a minimal result. This was the first defeat for "Deportivo" at home. Moreover, in Sunday's match they dominated for about one and a half periods, but with about fifteen minutes left to play, a pass from Jonathan Aspas led the visitors ahead, with Brazilian forward Nene scoring. The hosts ended the match with ten players, as defender Alberto Lopo received a red card at the end of the second half.
Statistics
La Coruna's "Deportivo" 0 - 1 Vigo "Celta"
74` [0 - 1] Nene
89` Alberto Lopo ("Deportivo") sent off
"Mallorca" 1 - 4 "Barcelona"
41` [0 - 1] Eidur Gudjohnsen
58` [0 - 2] Eidur Gudjohnsen
70` [1 - 2] Victor
86` [1 - 3] Andres Iniesta
90` [1 - 4] Santiago Ezquerro
82` Fernando Varela ("Mallorca") sent off
Valencia's "Levante" 0 - 3 Madrid's "Atletico"
34` [0 - 1] Fernando Torres (pen.)
69` [0 - 2] Maniche
75` [0 - 3] Maniche
65` Cesar ("Levante") sent off
Barcelona's "Espanyol" 3 - 2 "Athletic Bilbao"
48` [0 - 1] Francisco Yeste (pen.)
54` [1 - 1] Raul Tamudo
61` [2 - 1] Raul Tamudo
67` [2 - 2] Aritz Aduriz
90` [3 - 2] Walter Pandiani
San Sebastian's "Real Sociedad" 0 - 0 Seville's "Betis"
"Zaragoza" 3 - 0 Tarragona's "Gimnastic"
50` [1 - 0] Pablo Aimar
54` [2 - 0] Oscar
70` [3 - 0] Gerard Pique
Huelva's "Recreativo" 2 - 0 Pamplona's "Osasuna"
45` [1 - 0] Javi Guerrero
76` [2 - 0] Ikechukwu Uche
"Villarreal" 1 - 0 Madrid's "Getafe"
52` [1 - 0] Roberto Abbondanzieri (own goal)
Top Scorers
1. Frederic Kanoute ("Sevilla") - 9 goals;
2-4. Ronaldinho ("Barcelona") - 8;
2-4. Ruud van Nistelrooy ("Real") - 8;
2-4. Diego Milito ("Zaragoza") - 8;
5-6. Fernando Morientes ("Valencia") - 5;
5-6. David Villa ("Valencia") - 5.
League Table
