Real Madrid missed their chance to move to the top of the the table for the first time this season after they were beaten 2-1 in Santander last night. Everything seemed to be going well for Fabio Capello's men at half-time when they led by Raúl's 32nd minute goal after an accomplished forty-five minutes of stylish and coherent football.

There had been no signs of the calamitous events to come that saw the visitors concede two penalties -both of which were converted by Garay- and have two players sent off (Helguera and Mejías). To add to their troubles, Higuain was stretchered off with a serious-looking ankle injury fifteen minutes from time.

Television replays suggest that the first of the two penalties may have been harsh as Diarra appeared to have won the ball cleanly in a challenge with Scaloni, but there were no such doubts about the second, conceded by Cannavaro in time added-on for a tug on Nikola Zigic.

The defeat leaves Real in third place, two points behind leaders Barcelona, who take on Real Mallorca at the Nou Camp this evening without Ronaldinho, who is recovering from a bout of tonsilitis.

The game of the weekend (Canal+, 9pm CET), however, pits second-placed, Sevilla, against fifth-placed, Valencia, who are in need of a psychological boost following their midweek Champions League elimination at the hands of Chelsea.

Liga table, 14th April
1  Barcelona  56
2  Sevilla  55
3  Real Madrid  54*
4  Real Zaragoza  50
5  Valencia  50
6  Atletico Madrid  47
7  Racing Santander  47*
8  Recreativo de Huelva  45
9  Espanyol  41
10 Getafe  39
11 Deportivo La Coruna  39
12 Villarreal  38
13 Real Mallorca  36
14 Osasuna  35
15 Real Betis  33*
16 Athletic Bilbao  29
17 Levante  29
18 Celta Vigo  27
19 Real Sociedad  24*
20 Gimnastic de Tarragona  21
*played 30, the rest have played 29

Saturday, 14th April
R Santander 2-1 Real Madrid 
Real Betis 0-1 Real Sociedad

Sunday, 15th April
Athl Bilbao - Espanyol  
Atl Madrid - Levante  
Celta Vigo - Deportivo  
Getafe - Villarreal  
Gimnastic - Real Zaragoza  
Osasuna - Recreativo  
Barcelona - Mallorca 
Valencia - Sevilla