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The leaders of the 2006 Spanish Championship ended the year completely differently: Sevilla, taking the first place, ended the 16th round match with a crushing 4-0 victory at home against Deportivo, while Real Madrid, in third place, suffered a crushing defeat at home against Recreativo Huelva with a score of 0-3. Although Recreativo had requested to postpone the match as three team fans and the bus driver who were transporting them died in a car accident on the way to Madrid, the match took place on time. The visitors started the match more actively, as Raul headed the ball into the net after a shot by Santiago Cazorla. On loan from Liverpool, striker Florent Sinama Pongolle put the visitors ahead with a clever shot past this year's best European and World player, Italian Fabio Cannavaro, ten minutes before halftime. During halftime, Real strategist Fabio Capello decided to strengthen the team's attack and Brazilian Emerson's defensive plan was replaced by his compatriot Robinho on the field. However, this did not bring the expected result and at the beginning of the second half, Nigerian national team striker Ikechukwu Uche outsmarted F. Cannavaro and Guti again and doubled the score. Real created their best chance in the middle of the second half, but a shot by substitute Jose Antonio Reyes was successfully blocked by Recreativo goalkeeper Lopez Vallejo. With about five minutes left to play, defender Emilio Viqueira shook Iker Casillas's crossbar with an impressive shot from over 20 meters. However, this did not prevent Recreativo from scoring their third goal, as a penalty was awarded in extra time after Mejia fouled against S. Cazorla, which E. Viqueira successfully converted, thus securing a stunning victory for Recreativo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Meanwhile, one of Real's main rivals for the championship title, Sevilla, ended the year with an impressive victory at home against crisis-hit Deportivo La Coruna. The most prolific player in the Spanish Championship missed a great opportunity to score in the seventh minute, but redeemed his mistake in the middle of the first half when he took advantage of an error by Deportivo goalkeeper Dudu Aouate and sent the ball into the net. Although the score remained unchanged until the middle of the second half, Sevilla continued to dominate the field. In the 63rd minute, after a foul on Brazilian Luis Fabiano, an eleven-meter penalty was awarded, which F. Kanoute successfully converted, scoring his sixteenth goal of the season. A few minutes later, the score became overwhelming - after a pass from Daniel Alves from the side, Luis Fabiano headed the ball into the net, and with about 15 minutes left to play, Brazilian D. Alves scored the fourth goal. In other matches, resurgent Osasuna secured another victory, defeating Levante 2-1. On the other hand, Villarreal continued to struggle, losing 2-1 away to Racing Santander. Sevilla's Betis secured their third victory this season, narrowly defeating bottom-placed Gimnastic by one goal. Meanwhile, Espanyol climbed up the standings with a minimal away victory over strong Getafe. The last round of matches will be played on Thursday, when Barcelona will host Atletico Madrid at home.
Statistics:
Celta Vigo 0 - 0 Real Sociedad
Getafe 0 - 1 Espanyol
Gimnastic 0 - 1 Betis
Osasuna 2 - 1 Levante
Racing 2 - 1 Villarreal
Real Madrid 0 - 3 Recreativo
Sevilla 4 - 0 Deportivo
