Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Racing Santander. Messi scored from the penalty spot for Barca in the 71st minute after Christian blocked an Alves cross with his arm. Five minutes later, Jonathan Pereira deflected a free kick past the Barcelona keep Valdés to level the match and that’s how it remained.
Sevilla came out on top in a high scoring game against Sporting Gijón, winning the match 4-3. Bilic opened the scoring for Sporting in the 18th minute and then added a second two minutes later.
Barely a minute had passed when Jonathan Pereira pulled one back for Sevilla. There was then 15 minutes without a goal but then Kanouté made it two apiece after getting on the end of a cross from Maresca. A minute later Kanouté returned the compliment and Maresca slotted the ball home off the post to give Sevilla the lead.
Bilic then got his third for Sporting, a penalty awarded after Squillaci brought down Carmelo inside the area, and the first half ended at 3-3.
In the 60th minute, Kanouté got his second of the night, lurking in just the right spot to collect a rebound and whack it into the back of the net.
In the other match played on Saturday, Valladolid beat Atlético Madrid 2-1, Vivar Dorado and Baraja (penalty) scoring for the home side and Agüero getting one back for Atlético.