Osasuna drop first home points of season against Racing

Posted at 2:03 PM, February 28, 2006

Second-placed Osasuna  dropped their first home points of the season when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Racing Santander in the Primera Liga on Sunday.

French midfielder Ludovic Delporte put Osasuna in front on the half hour with a marvellous curling free kick, but Santander striker Antonito poached an equaliser on the stroke of halftime that put an end to the Navarrans' perfect home record.

The result means Barcelona are assured of the symbolic title of winter champions given to the team that leads the standings at the halfway mark in the season.

The Spanish champions continued their imperious progress with a 2-1 victory over city rivals Espanyol on Saturday to chalk up their 15th straight win in all competitions.

Barca lead the table with 43 points from 18 games, Osasuna are four points back on 39, seven ahead of third-placed Deportivo Coruna who won 2-1 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Valencia have a chance to leapfrog the Galicians if they beat out-of-sorts Atletico Madrid in one of Sunday's late matches, with Real Madrid facing a tricky game at Villarreal.