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On Sunday, the 35th round matches of the Spanish championship were played. An impressive victory was achieved at home by the eleven of "Valencia", strengthening their position in the battle for second place and preventing the footballers of "Barcelona" from securing the Spanish champions' title today. Meanwhile, Madrid's "Real" only needed one goal to defeat their neighbors on the tournament table, the footballers of "Osasuna", away and maintain a two-point gap from "Valencia". In the matches held in Valencia, the hosts took the lead in the middle of the first half when Ruben Baraja sent the ball into the net after a pass from Pablo Aimar that was left unmarked in the penalty area. Less than ten minutes later, the score was doubled by P. Aimar, who had been hospitalized just two weeks ago with meningitis but quickly recovered, scoring after a pass from Emiliano Moretti from the left side. At the beginning of the second half, E. Moretti was fouled in the penalty area and the opportunity to take the penalty kick was given to David Villa, who is vying for the title of the top scorer in the Spanish championship. Unlike his main competitor Samuel Eto'o in Saturday's match, Villa successfully converted the penalty kick and scored his 23rd goal of the season, closing the gap to S. Eto'o to just one goal. Meanwhile, in Pamplona, a completely different match took place. The first opportunity to take the lead was created by the footballers of "Osasuna", but the penalty kick from about 20 meters missed the goal completely. However, it was the footballers of "Real" who first took the lead when in the beginning of the second half, the Brazilian Julio Baptista was fouled in the penalty area and awarded a penalty, which he successfully converted himself. Midway through the second half, the footballers of "Osasuna" missed a great opportunity to equalize the score - the penalty kick taken by Francisco Punalio was excellently saved by "Real" goalkeeper Iker Casillas. However, this same player could have been the "double yellow card" of the Royal club, as he was sent off the field with ten minutes remaining until the end of the match. Nevertheless, although "Real" were under pressure in their penalty area towards the end of the match, "Osasuna" failed to change the score. Both matches on Sunday ended in a 1-1 draw. Almost all hopes of playing in at least the UEFA Cup next year were lost by "Villarreal", who could not defeat Madrid's "Getafe" away, while the repeat of the King's Cup final between "Zaragoza" and "Espanyol" ended in a 1-1 draw. "Racing Santander" achieved a crucial victory in the tense match in Malaga and moved four points clear of the relegation zone. However, this defeat for the eleven of "Malaga" meant that they no longer have even theoretical hopes of staying in the top Spanish league. An essential victory was also achieved by "Mallorca", who unexpectedly defeated the footballers of "Atletico" in Madrid by a minimal score, moving four points clear of the relegation zone. Another important victory was secured by "Sevilla", who practically secured a spot in the UEFA Cup by defeating the footballers of "Real Sociedad" 2-1 away in a match in which nine players ended. Today's matches are still being played in Pamplona, where "Osasuna" will face Madrid's "Real". Statistics: Pamplona 0 - 1 Madrid 51` [0 - 1] Julio Baptista (penalty kick) 81` Iker Casillas was sent off the field ("Real") Madrid 1 - 1 1` [1 - 0] Gavilan 3` [1 - 1] Guillermo Franco 2 - 3 17` [0 - 1] Javi Casquero 26` [1 - 1] Alexis 31` [2 - 1] Alexis 53` [2 - 2] Antonito 80` [2 - 3] Juanjo San Sebastiano 1 - 2 58` [0 - 1] Jesus Navas 69` [0 - 2] Pepe Marti (penalty kick) 87` [1 - 2] Jordi (own goal) 68` Aitor Lopez Rekarte was sent off the field ("Real Sociedad") 84` Nihat Kahveci was sent off the field ("Real Sociedad") 1 - 1 Barcelona 10` [1 - 0] Ewerthon 67` [1 - 1] Jarque 90` Jarque was sent off the field ("Espanyol") Madrid 0 - 1 79` [0 - 1] Jonas Guttierez 3 - 0 Vitoria 24` [1 - 0] Ruben Baraja 33` [2 - 0] Pablo Aimar 50` [3 - 0] David Villa (penalty kick) Top scorers: 1. Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona) - 24 goals; 2. David Villa (Valencia) - 23; 3. Ronaldinho (Barcelona) - 16;
