Madrid end year on high note

Real Madrid CF finished the year on top of Spain's Primera División by defeating RCD Mallorca 3-1 at Son Moix courtesy of goals from captain Raúl González, Ronaldo and Luís Figo.

Raúl header
Fernando Correa pounced on a mistake from Francisco Pavón just inside the area to give the islanders a surprise lead but Madrid equalised through Raúl, who headed in a cross from Figo in added time at the end of the first half. Ronaldo collected his 14th league goal of the season when he found space in the area in the 55th minute to fire an angled shot past goalkeeper Leo Franco and Figo converted a 68th-minute penalty.

Mista winner
Valencia CF briefly went to the summit on Saturday evening after a 1-0 win against Sevilla FC at the Mestalla, but Madrid's victory meant they slipped back to second. Mista scored the only goal when heading in a Vicente Rodríguez corner in the 60th minute.

Own goal
RC Deportivo de La Coruña came from behind to defeat bottom side RCD Espanyol 2-1 and remain third. Jordi Cruyff put the Catalan team ahead in the 16th minute but Alberto Luque equalised on the cusp of half-time. It was Luque who, midway through the second period, forced Moreno Torricelli to concede the decisive own goal as his shot was deflected in.

Cocu earns point
FC Barcelona are ninth after drawing Sunday's late game 1-1 against RC Celta de Vigo. Struggling visitors Celta took a 17th-minute lead through Jesuli, but Barcelona's Phillip Cocu squared the game 20 minutes from the end. Celta moved two points clear of the bottom three.

Maiden victory
Real Valladolid CF ensured Real Sociedad de Fútbol's poor run of league results continued on Saturday by winning at the Anoeta stadium for the first time in their history. The 3-1 loss was Real's 13th consecutive match without a victory, as Nihat Kahveci's opener was reversed by goals from Ariza Makulula, Oscar González and Roberto Losada. Meanwhile, Club Atlético de Madrid and Real Racing Club Santander drew 2-2 at the Vicente Calderón.

Late show
In Sundays's other fixtures, last-gasp goals from Antonio Guayre and José Mari gave Villarreal CF a 3-1 win against Real Betis Balompié, Real Murcia CF went down 2-1 at home to the resurgent Málaga CF, and Real Zaragoza won 1-0 at high-flying CA Osasuna. Albacete Balompié and Club Athletic Bilbao played out a 1-1 draw.