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In the Spanish championship on Sunday, six more matches of the 28th round took place, which were not short of goals and red cards.
Madrid's "Real" also achieved an important victory that allowed them to move up to third place, narrowly defeating Vigo's "Celta".
At the beginning of the match, both teams had chances to score, but later the game slowed down and the ball spent most of the time in the middle of the field. However, in the 25th minute, the situation unexpectedly turned upside down - Ruud van Nistelrooy fell in the penalty area after minimal contact with goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto and earned a penalty, which he scored, putting "Real" ahead 1-0.
Later, "Celta" could have leveled the score several times, and finally, just before the end of the first half, they did – David Angel received a perfect pass from Nene and left no chances for the opponent's goalkeeper Iker Casillas, rightfully restoring the balance.
In the second half, the situation changed – Vigo completely took the initiative and attacked dangerously, leaving Madrid to defend. Fernando Baiano had a particularly good chance in the 60th minute, but his shot was fantastically saved by I. Casillas, and Habib Bwomono, who was first to the ball, lacked accuracy.
Despite all of "Celta's" efforts, in the 83rd minute, the goal fell into their net and they could only blame themselves. Goalkeeper J.M. Pinto failed to grab Gonzalo Higuain's cross-shot and Brazilian Robinho, who appeared on the field as a substitute, sent the ball into the net with a header.
Facing a difficult situation, the hosts did not give up and went to equalize once again, but their efforts were in vain, as in the final moments of the match, "Real" defender Guti received a red card. In an innocent episode, the footballer fell in the penalty area instead of continuing a dangerous attack and was cautioned. The Spaniard did not calm down and continued to demand a penalty in the last minutes, earning his second yellow card.
Madrid's "Atletico" team, who have not yet secured a place in the top four, lost two important points at home against "Mallorca," finishing with a 1-1 draw.
The hosts took the lead in the first half, playing just over 15 minutes, when young Fernando Torres, after a Jurado pass on the left flank, broke through with a precise shot and left no chance for goalkeeper Miguel Moya.
However, the victory was not enough, as in the second half, after a confusion in the penalty area caused by a Guillermo Pereya pass, Juan Arango, the only one left from his team, sent the ball into the net, securing an important point for Mallorca.
A true goal fest took place in Santander, where the local "Racing" and one of the league's outsiders, Bilbao "Athletic," fought against each other.
In this match, both teams found themselves in the lead – at first, the visitors led 1-0 and 1-2, but later, Racing players were ahead at 4-2 and 4-3.
The climax came in the last ten minutes – in the 82nd minute, an equalizer was scored by Andoni Iraola, but just before the final whistle, a precise shot by Nikolos Zigic secured a dramatic 5-4 victory for the Racing club.
By the way, for the Serbian player, these were the most successful matches in Spain – he scored three goals in less than 20 minutes of the second half and was the main architect of the beautiful victory.
Results for Sunday:
Madrid "Atletico" 1 - 1 "Mallorca" 16' [1 - 0] F. Torres 53' [1 - 1] J.F. Arango
"Getafe" 2 - 2 "Zaragoza" 22' [0 - 1] S. Garcia 36' [0 - 2] A. D'Alessandro 44' [1 - 2] M.D. Moral 61' [2 - 2] F.J. Casquero
"Gimnastic" 1 - 1 "Recreativo" 11' [0 - 1] S. Pongolle 15' [1 - 1] J.G. Portillo 42‘ A. Campano sent off
Santander "Racing" 5 - 4 Bilbao "Athletic" 7' [0 - 1] L. Prieto 59' [1 - 1] C. Fernandez 63' [1 - 2] J. Etxebarria 66' [2 - 2] E.M. Garay (pen.) 70' [3 - 2] N. Zigic 77' [4 - 2] N. Zigic 80' [4 - 3] J. Etxebarria 82' [4 - 4] A. Iraola 89' [5 - 4] N. Zigic
Vigo "Celta" 1 - 2 Madrid "Real" 27' [0 - 1] R.v. Nistelrooy (pen.) 45' [1 - 1] L.R. Angel 83' [1 - 2] Robinho 90' Guti sent off
"Osasuna" 0 - 0 "Sevilla"
League table
