After two games in Spain, Valencia are the early pacesetters, following their 3-0 victory over Recreativo Huelva.
An early strike from Vicente put Valencia in the driving seat. However, they did not add to their tally until the final 3 minutes, when substitute John Carew fired in two goals tosecure a comfortable win for the home side.
Celta Vigo have also secured maximum points from their opening two games. They maintained their 100% record with a resounding 3-1 home win over Mallorca. Goals from Catanha and Jesus Jesuli saw the hosts go in two goals in front at the interval. Fernando Nino looked to have set up a frantic finish when he struck for the visitors twelve minutes from time, but Mallorca hopes were dispelled four minutes later, when Jesuli ended the game as a contest with his second goal of the match.
Real Sociedad are another side who have got into the winning habit early on in the season. They pulled off a fine 3-1 win at Espanyol, assisted somewhat by the first half dismissal of Antonio Soldevilla for the home side. Darko Kovacevic gave Real the lead soon after, and once Mikel Aramburu doubled the advantage shortly into the second half, the three points were never in doubt. Raul Tamudu’s strike ten minutes from the end did little to put Real off their game, and Kovacevic sealed the win for the visitors in the dying minutes, with his second goal of the game.
The game between Real Betis and Real Madrid was abandoned after 44 minutes following repeated failure of the floodlights. The darkness originally caused the game to be delayed for some 20 minutes, and it became clear that the problem had not been resolved when the lights failed just before half-time. Betis were leading 1-0 at this stage through a 35th minute strike by Capi from outside the box. However, Betis’ lead will not be lost, as normal practice in Spain in these circumstances dictates that the remainder of the game will be played on a re-arranged date.
Barcelona earned their first win of the season, with a 2-0 away defeat of Athletic Bilbao. The visitors scored through Luis Enrique and Argentina striker Javier Saviola. Patrick Kluivert had a particularly impressive game, playing a vital part in both goals.
Deportivo La Coruna prepared well for the start of their Champions League campaign this week, with a 2-1 win at Osasuna. However, the home side will feel a bit aggrieved at not taking anything from the game. They outplayed their opponents for long spells of the match, but paid the price for not turning their possession into goals when Roy Makaay’s late double cancelled out Manuel Vidrio’s opener. Despite only gaining one point from the six available so far,
In the other games, Malaga made it two wins out of two, at the expense of Rayo Vallecano. They won 2-1 thanks to second half goals from Dely Valdes and Kizito Musampa, after Elvir Bolic opened the scoring for Rayo.
Valladolid have also gained maximum points from their two games. A Gonzalo Colsa goal was enough to secure all three points against Villarreal. Racing Santander won at Alaves with asolitary goal from Bodipo and Atletico Madrid and Sevilla shared the only draw of the weekend in La Liga. Garcia Moises opened the scoring for Sevilla from the penalty spot, but Atletico hit back in the second half, with Fernando Torres securing a 1-1 draw for the home side.
