Getafe 2 Osasuna 1
Racing Santander 0 Valencia 1
Sevilla 2 Real Madrid 1
Sporting Gijon 4 Mallorca 1
Valladolid 2 Athletic Bilbao 2
Villarreal 0 Espanyol 0
Xerez 1 Malaga 1
Atletico Madrid 2 Real Zaragoza 1
Barcelona 1 Almeria 0
Tenerife 0 Deportivo La Coruna 1
So, this was the weekend the juggernaut was halted - for now. Manuel Pellegrini looked on perplexed as, without both Lassana Diarra and Cristiano Ronaldo, his stratospherically expensive side fell to a 2-1 defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. This was despite the best efforts of Iker Casillas, who pulled off several great saves, including one where, after a Navas square pass was hit across the six yard box, he moved from one post to the other to block Diego Capel's tap-in. Outstanding. Nevertheless, he could do little about the two goals, from Renato and Jesus Navas. Pepe got a goal in between, but Sevilla dominated and move level on points with the Galacticos. Its something of a triumph for Manolo Jiminez, whose abilities continue to be questioned. In partnership with the (usually) reliable Monchi, he has quietly assembled quite a side, but whether they have the depth to keep up with the Big Two is open to question.
Barcelona were far from convincing at home to Almeria, and have Pedro to thank for his lovely solo goal to get past Hugo Sanchez's stubborn outfit. Almeria have scored just 5 from 6 matches, showing just how much the departure of Alvaro Negredo has hurt them. Deportivo move into fourth after a narrow victory over Tenerife, thanks to a solitary Colotto strike; Valencia leapfrog Mallorca after a win at Racing. Racing look dirt poor this season, particularly up front, and it was somewhat fitting that big Nikola Zigic, who scored so many goals in 1 1/2 seasons in Cantabria, should be the one to bring about their downfall here. Mallorca were hammered at Sporting Gijon, who looked a far more solid act on last season.
It was all about one (very young) man at Valladolid, where Iker Muniain, Athletic Bilbao's 16-year-old sensation, grabbed a 77th minute equaliser - and in the process becoming the youngest ever scorer in a top flight Spanish match. He looks, putting it mildly, a fair player. Getafe made heavy weather of defeating a below-par Osasuna, former Valladolid winger Pedro Leon eventually getting the winner. Things just get worse and worse for Ernesto Valverde at Villarreal - he was unable to break down his former charges Espanyol at the Madrigal on saturday evening, meaning his new club are 6 matches without a win and only kept off the bottom by lonely Xerex, who finally got their first goal of the season during a 1-1 draw with Malaga. Elsewhere Zaragoza were obviously in a charitable mood, giving Atletico Madrid their first league win of the season at the Calderon, which allows Abel Resino a stay of execution for, ooh, I'd say about a week.
David Villa, with 6 goals, remains the top scorer at this early stage.
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