First division, day 1
Sevilla rounded off
the extended opening weekend of the league with a 4-0 win over Levante
which takes them right to the top of the table. The Andalusians were full of
confidence after beating Barcelona on Friday, and Kanouté put them ahead
in only the eighth minute. Kepa got the second midway through the first half
after Navas and Alves combined to set him up, and the Spanish under 21 striker
completed a hat-trick with two more after the restart. (29.08.06)
Barcelona bounced
back from their European Supercup defeat to win their opening league match at
Celta 2-3. although they fell behind when Baiano beat Valdés
shortly before half time, strikes from Eto'o and Messi early in the second half
turned the scoreline around. Gustavo López levelled the scores once
again, but the hosts were left with ten men when Iriney was sent off and
substitute Gudjohnsen volleyed home the winner just two minutes from the end.
(28.08.06)
A disappointing start for
the new look Real Madrid, Fabio Capello's side being held to a dull 0-0
draw by Villarreal in the Bernabeu stadium. The coach included his four
new signings in the starting line up, but other than a couple of efforts either
side of half time by Cassano and Van Nistelrooy the visiting defence was hardly
troubled, and Casillas had some work to do before the final whistle.
With two matches still to
go, the new leaders are currently Getafe. Bernd Schuster's team finished
off a disappointing week for Osasuna, their 0-2 victory coming just a
few days after the Pamplona based side were eliminated from the Champions
League. Celestini opened the scoring with a long shot in the second half, and
Nacho wrapped things up a few minutes later.
Osasuna are already missing
their old coach Javier Aguirre, who led his new side Atlético
Madrid to their first opening day win for over ten years. Fernando Torres
got the only goal early on in a 0-1 victory at Racing Santander, but
they did well to hold on to the end after debutant Seitaridis was sent off
close to half time.
A much changed Deportivo
La Coruña also recorded a good 3-2 win over Zaragoza, despite
going behind to an early Diego Milito goal. Juan Rodríguez equalised and
Sergio converted a controversial penalty before half time. And after Juanfran
got himself sent off for the visitors, Arizmendi increased the lead before
Ewerthon got one back near the end.
The biggest surprise of the
day though came at Montjuic, where new boys Nàstic beat
neighbours Espanyol 0-1. The hosts arranged a special welcome for the
Tarragona based side, who were returning to the top flight for the first time
in over 50 years, but they probably regretted it after Campano beat Kameni on a
quick breakaway at the beginning of the second half.
Another of the newly
promoted sides Recreativo scraped a point in the last minute in a 1-1
draw with Mallorca. Arango appeared to have given the visitors the
victory when he struck a spectacular volley past Toño four minutes from
the end, but Cazorla equalised in injury time with a shot which Prats could
only push back in to his own net.
The last game of the evening
also ended in a 1-1 draw, Real Sociedad levelling the scores near the
end with a goal from Aranburu against Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao.
Athletic's opener close to half time was shrouded in controversy, the referee's
assistant signalling a penalty for hand ball when it appeared that, if
anything, the ball had hit Aduriz on the arm. Aduriz himself converted the
kick. (27.08.06)
Valencia opened the
new season with a 2-1 win over Betis in a packed Mestalla stadium. New
signing Fernando Morientes opened the scoring for the Chés on the half
hour mark after David Villa and Edu combined to set him up, but Xisco headed an
equaliser from Romero's cross against the run of play soon after the restart.
Raúl Albiol restored the lead though just eight minutes later after the
visiting defence had failed to clear a corner, and only some good goalkeeping
by Doblas prevented the home side from winning by a bigger margin. (26.08.06)
|