La Liga round-up
Athletico Madrid 1-0 Villareal
Salva’s 41st minute strike proved decisive taking Athletico to 4th in La Liga and leaving Villareal 4th from bottom. Luis Amaranto Perea was dismissed late on for a second bookable offence.
Athletic Bibao 2-1 Real Madrid
The crisis at Real Madrid grows with every match as they slumped to their seventh defeat in ten La Liga ties stretching back to last season.
The Galacticos have managed just four goals in their last six games prompting further speculation surrounding the appointment of a new manager.
Deportivo 1-1 Betis
Second half strikes from Ricardo Oliviera and Victor split the points at the Riazor. Both teams remain in the bottom half of the table.
Espanyol 1-0 Malaga
Ivan De La Pena’s 49th minute goal maintained Espanyol’s strong start to the season. The Catalan side occupy 3rd position in the championship just behind neighbours Barca.
Valancia 2-0 Racing Santander
Valencia maintained their unbeaten run in the league at home to Santander. Vicente struck in the 25th minute from a free kick before turning provider for new signing Stefano Fiore to score his first for his new side.
At the top of the table Valencia still lead Barcelona on goals scored with both teams on the same goal difference.
Zaragoza 4-3 Levante
Manchev and Moreno scored two goals each as Zaragoza gained the upper hand in this close tie. Manchev’s strikes put the visitors in the lead but they couldn’t hold out conceding three in the second half.
Osasuna 2-1 Getafe
Osasuna move fifth in the league following their third win of the season at home to Getafe. Two first half goals from Moha and Milosevic secured the points before Pachon halved the deficit for the visitors.
Numancia 0-0 Albacete
Both coaches viewed this game as a possible ‘six pointer’ only a month into the season; as a result neither was willing to over commit players to the attack. The game was a stale encounter with plenty of spirit but little in the way of invention.
Mallorca 1-3 Barcelona
Barcelona continued their stunning early season form to run out 3-1 winners against Mallorca. Henrik Larson opened the scoring before Samuel Eto’o hit twice against his old club, first from the penalty spot following a foul on Ronaldinho and minutes later expertly chipping the keeper from a Larson through ball. Eto’o’s celebrations were muted as a mark of respect for his old club.
Sevilla 2-1 Real Sociedad
Sevilla join a host of teams on ten points after coming back from a goal down to beat Real Sociedad. Sergio Ramos and Dario Silva cancelled out Adriano Rossato’s free kick. Sevilla teenager Jesus Navas was a constant threat hitting the underside of the bar from one run inside the Real box.
