La Liga : Sneijder saves Schuster's job

Real Madrid 1 - 0 Recreativo Huelva

Real Madrid's embattled coach Bernd Schuster was happy to close to within two points of leaders Barcelona with a 1-0 home win over Recreativo Huelva on Saturday, but admitted the growing injury list at the Santiago Bernabeu was a major concern.

A deflected shot from Wesley Sneijder on 39 minutes ensured Schuster's 50th league match in charge of Real was a win to ease the pressure, but it was not all good news, with Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain spraining his ankle.

Real move into second above Villarreal, who lost 3-0 at home to Valladolid, and now trail Barcelona by two points although Pep Guardiola's side have a game in hand against Getafe on Sunday.

See the highlight;

Villarreal 0 - 3 Valladolid

Villarreal fell to their first league defeat since April with Valladolid surprise 3-0 winners at El Madrigal. Jonathan Sesma scored a brace and Luis Prieto added a third in a sensational first half as Valladolid, who beat Real Madrid 1-0 last weekend, took another big scalp.

In fact, Valladolid are becoming a bogey team for Villarreal, having crushed them 5-1 on their own ground in a pre-season friendly. Villarreal slip to third, a point behind Real and three adrift of Barca, and their first defeat of the campaign is a setback ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League home match against Manchester United.

Sevilla 0 - 0 Valencia

In Saturday's showpiece match, title contenders Sevilla and Valencia shared the spoils in a 0-0 draw at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Sevilla's Brazilian Luis Fabiano had scored a hat-trick for his country in their 6-2 friendly win over Portugal and Valencia's David Villa had scored in Spain's 3-0 win over Chile, but despite the striking talent on show there were no goals in Seville.

Valencia drop one place to fourth while Sevilla stay fifth, with both sides four points behind pacesetters Barcelona who have played one game less. Juan Mata went close for Valencia early on, while Frederic Kanoute almost broke the deadlock for Sevilla with a spectacular acrobatic effort which was parried by Renan Brito. The result, combined with the Villarreal loss, was perfect for Real, now two points ahead of Sevilla and Valencia, who surge up to second. fifa

Current results;

Real Madrid 1 - 0 Recreativo Huelva
Villarreal 0 - 3 Valladolid
Sevilla 0 - 0 Valencia
.......
Mallorca ? - ? Malaga
Numancia ? - ? Atletico Madrid
Osasuna ? - ? Almeria
Racing Santander ? - ? Espanyol
Sporting Gijon ? - ? Real Betis
Barcelona ? - ? Getafe
Deportivo La Coruna ? - ? Athletic Bilbao