With Valencia losing to Barcelona last weekend, Real went top following an unbeaten start to the season. And whilst goals may have previously been in short supply, there is little to argue with Jose Mourinho’s current record.
Last weekend’s victory has seen him become the first manager at Real Madrid to go unbeaten during their first ten league games in charge. And this week there was something of a party atmosphere at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid thrashed Racing Santander 6-1.
Madrid raced into a six goal lead as Ronaldo scored four along with goals from Higuain and Ozil before Diop scored a consolation for the visitors. The win saw Madrid stay top but the chasing pack were all able to maintain pressure on Real.
Barcelona travelled to bottom side Zaragoza, who were without a win in seven games. The home side adopted a physical approach against the Catalans, which made for a difficult game for any neutrals watching.
As in midweek against Copenhagen though, Lionel Messi proved the difference, scoring just before half time to settle any nerves. Barcelona’s cause was helped even more at the start of the second half, as Zaragoza defender Leonardo Ponzio saw red. Messi then added a second on 66 minutes to seal a solid, if unspectacular win for the defending champions.
Elsewhere, Valencia’s poor week continued, with a home defeat to Real Mallorca. Michael Laudrup’s side took control early in the game as Gonzalo Castro converted a penalty on seven minutes before adding a second with his head on 29 minutes.
Roberto Soldado did convert the game’s second penalty seven minutes later, but the home side ultimately failed to equalise, leaving Valencia four points off Madrid in fourth.
Sunday saw both Osasuna and Getafe enjoy impressive 3-0 home wins. Getafe entertained Sporting Gijon in a game which remained relatively tight for much of the match. Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng had given the Dark Blues the lead after eleven minutes, but it wasn’t until 52 minutes and the award of a penalty to the home side, that the game turned away from Gijon.
Adrian Colunga converted the penalty before Villarreal loanee Ivan Marcano added a third on the hour mark. The win saw Getafe stay seventh on thirteen points.
Osasuna meanwhile, faced Malaga in a game that was seen as a must win with both sides currently sitting at the wrong end of the table.
This time, the home side took control early on, though once again it was decided by a penalty. Iranian midfielder Javad Nekounam converted the kick on three minutes before his national counterpart Masoud Shojaei added a second before the break. Carlos Aranda then added the third on 56 minutes as Osasuna moved to 11th in the table.
The win saw Osasuna leap over Hercules and Levante who both dropped points. Hercules saw a potentially valuable away win at Almeria evaporate in frustrating fashion.
Haedo Valdez had given the away side the lead on 38 minutes as the visitors looked to build on a relatively impressive start to the campaign. But Almeria snatched a point late on, with Leonardo Ulloa scoring six minutes from time.
Levante meanwhile travelled to the increasingly imposing Espanyol. The Barcelona based club took the lead on 13 minutes through Jesus Datolo. Levante then had to play the last half hour of the game with ten men , as Xisco Nadal saw red.
From here, the home side were in cruise control with Jose Callejon adding a second just after 80 minutes. But Levante rallied late on with Christian Stuani scoring three minutes later. Yet it was not enough to prevent defeat which left them one point behind Hercules and Osasuna, in 13th place.
The big games of the day came at Sevilla and Villarreal. The former entertained a competitive Athletic Bilbao side in what was the highlight of the weekend’s games.
Goals from Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute put Sevilla 2-0 up at half time. The Brazilian added a third on 62 minutes before Fernando Llorente scored two in four minutes to set up a tense finale.
But the striker’s efforts were to go unmerited as Sevilla added another goal from the spot via Kanoute. Igor Gabilondo pulled back a third for Bilbao in added on time but by then the game was all but over, as Sevilla continue a recovery after their poor start to the season.
Villarreal were also looking to get back on track following last Monday’s 2-2 draw with Hercules which saw them fail to reach top spot in the La Liga. They faced a tough task against Athletico Madrid, who enjoyed an impressive 3-0 Europa league victory in mid week.
Fortunately, home advantage proved to be the ideal motivator, as midfielder Cani finished off a surging run from Brazilian Nilmar to score after just nine minutes. Giuseppe Rossi added a second just after the break in what proved to be a classy and comfortable win for Villarreal who are now seven games unbeaten and just one point off Real Madrid.
With young stars like Rossi and Nilmar currently firing on all cylinders, the Yellow Submarines could be the ones to watch in the league this season...