The La Liga title race simply refuses to go according to plan. Just as Barcelona looked set to break down, Real Madrid did them an umpteenth favour. Well, actually it was Ronald Koeman's Valencia that blew the title race open for the Catalans.
And for once, Barcelona managed to overcome their gremlins and pick up a win, beating Valladolid 4-1 thanks to some great work from Bojan Krkic.
Villarreal motored into contention for the title with a 2-1 win over Levante, while Atletico stunned Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan to consolidate their fourth place.
Racing Santander continue to surprise, and moved further up the table after beating Recreativo, with Espanyol dropping into seventh after a rather shocking 4-0 defeat at the hands of Real Murcia.
Real Zaragoza were held at home by brave Almeria, who sit comfortably in the top half, while Mallorca rode on Juan Arango's wonder-goal to pick up a narrow win against Deportivo.
Elsewhere, Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao picked up narrow 1-0 wins against Osasuna and Getafe respectively, wins that see them claw away from the drop zone.
Goalkeepers
Timo Hildebrand (Valencia): To put it simply, the German put in one of the most incredible goalkeeping displays of the season to pave the way for Valencia's famous win at the Bernabeu.
Defenders
Andoni Iraola (Athletic Bilbao): Had Jamie Gavilan - and anyone else who dared take him on - in his pocket all evening, and displayed his usual ebullience in attack for the Basques.
Alvaro Mejia (Real Murcia): Had his work cut out against the likes of Raul Tamudo and Luis Garcia, but barely let his opponents get a sniff of goal as his teammates went on a rampage at the other end.
Juanito (Real Betis): The Betis skipper has had a very poor season, but was spot on for once as they pulled three points clear of the drop zone.
Cesar Navas (Racing Santander): With Garay out injured, the onus was on him to quell the attacking threat posed by Florent Sinama-Pongolle. Did it commendably to help Racing into fifth.
Midfielders
Abel (Real Murcia): The Seville born midfielder was the star of Murcia's show as they hit four past Espanyol to give their survival hopes a much needed boost.
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona): Yet again, the midfielder was Barcelona's most impressive player on the pitch, scoring the all-important second goal after the break and being involved in most of Barcelona's good moves.
Matias Fernandez (Villarreal): The prodigous Chilean put in a man-of-the-match performance to guide Villarreal past an improved Levante side, and to within six points of leaders Real Madrid.
Forwards
Bojan Krkic (Barcelona): The prodigous youngster had his best game in a Barcelona shirt yet, setting up Samuel Eto'o with a cross after some good work on the left, and then scoring twice in the second half to put the game beyond Valladolid. With some more composure, he could easily have had a couple more.
Raul (Real Madrid): The Merengue skipper was perhaps one of the few Madrid players who could keep their heads high on Sunday. A fabulous display up front to rattle Valencia almost single-handedly. A pity his teammates let him down.
David Villa (Valencia): A typically mobile display from the Spanish international, leaving Cannavaro for dead more than once, and forcing Pepe into a couple of tactical fouls too. A smart goal followed up with a crisp penalty to lay the foundations of his team's win.
Hildebrand
Iraola Mejia Juanito Navas
Iniesta Abel Fernandez
Krkic Villa Raul
Honourable Mentions
Samuel Eto'o is the first to deserve mention for one of his better displays of the season, which included a well-taken goal early on and a selfless assist for Bojan later. Murcia's Ivan Alonso also came close to making the team for a brace that stunned Espanyol. Sergio Aguero was also in impressive from against Sevilla, once again.
Valencia's Ivan Helguera also had a superb second half after an early error against Raul, while Mallorca's David Navarro also did very well against Depor. In midfield, Athletic's Fran Yeste and Almeria's Jose Ortiz put in commendable displays.
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