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Valencia fail to fire again
November 14, 2004 14:05 IST
Struggling Spanish champions Valencia failed to win for their tenth straight match on Saturday as they were held 0-0 at home by Real Zaragoza in the Primera Liga.
Valencia, seventh in the standings and 10 points behind leaders Barcelona, came out hungry in a bid to end their poor run but failed to threaten Zaragoza's goal despite dominating territory.
Their first chance came more than 30 minutes into the first half when Mohamed Sissoko's powerful right-foot volley was blocked by Luis Garcia.
Coach Claudio Ranieri brought off Marco Di Vaio and replaced him with Mista in the second half but Valencia continued to splutter. When Ruben Baraja did manage to find the net in the dying minutes the goal was disallowed for offside.
Deportivo Coruna, by contrast, got back on track when a retaken penalty from Diego Tristan gave them a 1-0 win over high-flying Levante.
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The hosts, who face elimination from the Champions League and are languishing in the middle of the Primera Liga, made a nervous start and the Levante forwards looked far more dangerous.Depor managed to hold the visitors off, however, and won a penalty in the second half after Cesar was pulled back in the area.
The referee ordered a retake after Pedro Munitis encroached into the area early but a calm Diego Tristan tucked the ball home to give Depor a winning lead.
Espanyol moved into second place after overcoming Racing Santander 2-1 with an early goal from Dani Garcia and a late penalty from leading striker Maxi Rodriguez.
Barcelona play at Real Betis on Sunday while third-placed Real Madrid can reclaim second spot if they win at home to Albacete.
Basement club Numancia caused a surprise after coming back from a goal down to beat high-flying Sevilla 2-1, a spectacular effort by Antonio Jose Gonzalez finding the net from 60 metres.
Primera Liga newcomers Getafe followed up last week's defeat of Valencia with a 1-0 victory over Malaga.