La Primera

Raul propels Madrid to victory

Team of the round

Real Madrid 4

Villareal 1

Raul Gonzalez Blanco was the star of the day, scoring the first and last goals for the whites. The game began with great surprise in the 3rd minute with a goal from Villareal's star- Romanian international Gheroge Craioveanu. Raul soon came into the action with a great individual score in the 35th minute. Mijatovic scored a memorable goal to take the lead in the 50th- following a floating pass by Seedorf into the area. Savio added his in the 58th off a Morientes pass which he shot across the goal and into the back of the net. Raul finished off a great night with a shot from a Hierro pass. Real Madrid looked dominant at all times, and are now on top of the league.

Espanyol 2

Tenerife 1

An exciting match in Barcelona was marked by the great performance of Argentine striker Juan Esnaider for Espanyol. He scored the 1st off of a free kick and was dangerous all night. Paraguayan Miguel Benitez added the 2nd, also off a set piece. Espanyol looked very dominant, while Tenerife was shaky and dependent on keeper Navarro Montoya and midfielder Emerson.

Real Sociedad 3

Oviedo 3

A thriller in the Basque country. Real Sociedad was up 3-2 until the dying minutes when Manel equalized for Real Oviedo. Sa Pinto was a notable presence- returning from his 1 year suspension and scoring a goal in his Spanish league debut.

Salamanca 0

Mallorca 0

A game in which both teams lost men to red cards yet were unable to score. Salamanca seemed the dominant team but were unable to score.

Valencia 1

Atletico Madrid 0

An exciting game played before 50,000 in Valencia's Mestalla stadium. Adrian Ilie continued to demonstrate his quality with a fine performance. A great run and maneuver on the left wing led to a cross met by Angulo for the winner- the first goal of the 98-99 season. Bjorkland and Roche were notable for Valencia on the defense, whereas Lardin created much danger for Atletico.

Celta 0

Deportivo 0

The Galician derbi was intense and scoreless. Michel Salgado continued to be superb for Celta on the right flank. Ziani played notably well for Deportivo. Djalminha continued his trend of being invisible early in the league and was taken out early.

Extremadura 0

Valladolid 0

A dull encounter in which Kalla, Camerun international, was the only notable player, His tireless work defending the Extremadura colors was truly well-done.

Racing 0

Barcelona 0

Barcelona were dominated by small Racing Santander in this match. Barcelona was saved only by Rudd Hesp, their goalkeeper to whom they owe everything to after a night of solid stops and critical saves. The likes of Figo, Cocu, Luis Enrique, and Rivaldo were continually dominated by the strong Santander defenders.

Alaves 0

Real Betis 0

A rather dull encounter in which Betis's Brasilian star Denilson failed to shine. Played in Bilbao's San Mames stadium due to construction on the Alaves staduim.

Zaragoza 2

Atheltic Bilbao 0

An upset in Zaragoza. Yugoslavian star Milosevic shone in this encounter, combining well with Zaragoza teammate "Kily" Gonzalez. In a fine play by the afore mentioned players, a great combination was set up, allowing Argentine striker Gustavo Lopez to score the definitive 2-0.

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