Eto'o boosts unbeaten Barça

By Andy Hall

FC Barcelona remain Spain's only unbeaten side after they maintained their five-point lead at the top of the Primera División with a 3-0 defeat of CA Osasuna, while Sevilla FC moved second following a 2-1 win against Club Atlético de Madrid.

Eto'o brace
Barça have now gone 15 consecutive home games without defeat and top the table with 22 points. The Catalan side had to wait until the last minutes of the first half to go in front though, when Samuel Eto'o latched onto a Ronaldinho pass and drove low past Ricardo Sanzol. The Brazilian made it 2-0 from the penalty spot just before the interval before Eto'o grabbed his second, and Barça's third, in added time after a one-two with Andrés Iniesta.

Capel debut
Sevilla overtook Valencia CF thanks to their win against Atlético in a game that saw 16-year-old Diego Capel become the youngest player in the club’s history. Aitor Ocio opened the scoring on ten minutes with a deflected free-kick before Julio Baptista doubled the lead on 51 minutes with a tremendous shot. Despite a number of chances, Atlético had to settle for a late consolation, with Pablo Ibáñez tapping in from close range in the 90th minute.

Castro header
Rubén Castro, on loan from RC Deportivo La Coruña, scored his first goal for Albacete Balompié with a powerful header to give his temporary side a 1-0 win against Athletic Club Bilbao. Real Zaragoza, who like Athletic sealed victory in the UEFA Cup in midweek, also lost by a solitary goal, with Mario Regueiro’s fourth-minute strike giving Real Racing Club Santander all three points.

Mallorca malaise
Under-fire RCD Mallorca coach Benito Floro received another blow when his side lost 2-1 at the hands of Real Sociedad de Fútbol. Valery Karpin tucked in a 12th-minute spot-kick and although Juan Arango levelled at the start of the second half, Óscar De Paula sealed the three points with a stunning volley five minutes from time. The result leaves Mallorca second from bottom, a place ahead of CD Numancia, who suffered a 4-0 defeat by Villarreal CF with goals from Román Riquelme, Diego Forlán and two from Héctor Font.

Other results
Elsewhere, RCD Espanyol go fourth after a 2-0 victory against Levante UD courtesy of goals from Óscar Serrano and Albert Lopo, while Real Betis Balompié won by the same scoreline at Getafe CF to move into 13th.