Full review of the weekend's La Liga action which saw Real Madrid close the gap on league leaders, Barcelona.
Barcelona appeared destined to take maximum points from their trip to Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday, but were ultimately forced to settle for a 1-1 draw.
Pep Guardiola's side struggled for long periods at Reyno de Navarra, but in-form Seydou Keita eventually fired them in front 18 minutes from time.
That looked to be enough for the visitors, but an ! unfortunate own goal from Gerard Pique deep into stoppage time hauled the scores level.
That result will have been welcomed at Santiago Bernabeu after Real Madrid closed the gap at the summit with a 2-0 success over city neighbours Getafe.
Manuel Pellegrini had seen his position as coach called into question following a tough week for the capital giants, but they responded in fine style this weekend.
They were on the back foot early on and saw their cause severely hindered by the 28th minute dismissal of Raul Albiol.
The hosts rallied, though, and Argentine frontman Gonzalo Higuain stole the headlines as he bagged a quick-fire brace shortly after half time.
Sevilla are now third in the Primera Liga standings after they saw off struggling Xerez 2-0.
Alvaro Negredo and Luis Fabiano got the goals to settle another local derby.
Atletico Madrid's woes continued in their latest outing as they went down 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao.
Quique Sanchez Flores was unfortunate to be on the losing si! de in hi s first league match in charge of Atletico after seeing his team hit the woodwork twice during the closing stages.However, Javi Martinez's 19th minute header did the damage as Athletic were able to hold on.
On Sunday, Valencia continued their fine start to the season after seeing off bottom club Malaga 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from defender David Navarro.
Navarro headed home in the 69th minute to help Valencia, who have now won nine of their 15 competitive games - including two Europa League play-off matches - while losing just once, climb back up to fourth and to within five points of leaders Barcelona.
Mallorca continued their impressive start to the season with a 1-0 victory at the expense of strugglers Racing Santander.
Gregorio Manzano's island outfit find themselves in exclusive company in the upper echelons of the table and they again proved too strong at Son Moix thanks to Pierre Webo's 18th-minute goal.
In contrast,! Juan Carlos Mandia's Racing side have struggled to find any momentum and have now picked up only seven points from their opening nine games.
Espanyol saw their hopes of a fourth win of the season go up in smoke after conceding a 94th-minute equaliser at home to Valladolid.
The Catalans went ahead through Luis Garcia after 51 minutes and looked to be heading to a hard-fought victory as time ticked away.
But substitute Haris Medunjanin snatched a point for the visitors with a screamer deep into added time, after Espanyol had endured a nervous period at the end of normal time.
Tenerife coach Jose Luis Oltra's worst fears were realised as erstwhile strugglers Villarreal finally clicked into gear to in a 5-0 win.
Oltra had warned it was only a matter of time before the Villarreal 'beast' woke up after a dismal start to the season, which had seen them take just three points from their opening seven games before sneaking a first win against Mala! ga.
Joseba Llorente set Ernesto Valverde's side on the ! way to g lory with the opener in the 16th minute, and Villarreal blitzed Tenerife with three goals in just seven minutes immediately after half-time.
Real Zaragoza moved up to 12th place after edging out a lacklustre Almeria 2-1.
Marcelino Garcia Toral's side went ahead through Angel Lafita just short of the half-hour mark and Ruben Pulido put the hosts two up after 35 minutes.
And although Juanma Ortiz quickly pulled a goal back for Almeria, the Andalusians were unable to make further inroads against a Zaragoza side that held on comfortably for their third win of the season.
Match Reports
