Second division - day 1

The dull start to the second division was confirmed on Sunday, with a total of only 16 goals being scored in the eleven games which took place over the weekend. Albacete move top after beating Levante 3-0, ahead of Atlético on goal average.

Other than that only Badajoz and newly promoted Xerez recorded victories, both by 1-0, over Recreativo and Sporting. Xerez's manager Bernd Schuster got his manager's licence approved shortly before the game began.

All three relegated teams drew, with Oviedo and Numancia following Racing's example of the day before, Oviedo drawing 1-1 with Extremadura and Numancia sharing the points with Salamanca after leading two nil at half time.

In the day's other games, ten man Córdoba drew 1-1 with Leganés and the match between Murcia and Eibar ended goal-less. (27.08.01)

Atlético Madrid started the new season with a 2-0 victory over Jaén to send a message that this year they intend to go back up. New manager Luis Aragonés included eight new signings in his starting line up, but it was youngster Fernando Torres who finally broke down the Jaén defence halfway through the second half. Substitute Dani added the second near the end.

The other three matches played on Saturday only produced one goal between them. That was scored by Burgos, who took all three points at Poli Ejido in the match between two of the newly promoted teams. José Mari got the goal in the second half.

Another team who came up last season, Gimnastic Tarragona, managed a valiant 0-0 draw against a team who were two divisions above them last season, Racing Santander.

It was the same score too in the match between Elche and Racing Ferrol, suggesting that the second division will once again be low scoring and evenly balanced. (26.08.01)