A moment of brilliance from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka’s first competitive goal for his new club secured Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal in the Primera Liga on Wednesday evening.
Ronaldo struck early after a brilliant turn on the halfway line saw the Portugal international escape the attentions of his marker before he raced towards the penalty area, stepped inside two defenders and drilled a low 20-yard shot past Diego Lopez.
Kaka slotted home a second-half penalty to seal the Whites’ fourth successive win of the season, and pull Madrid level with league leaders Barcelona. Villarreal had been reduced to 10 men by the time of the second goal after captain Gonzalo Rodriguez had been sent off in 35th minute.
A solid Tenerife performance saw them put an end to Athletic Bilbao’s perfect start to the season with a 1-0 win as the visitors paid the price for rotating the squad. Mikel Alonso scored the only goal of the game three minutes from time to give the Islanders a deserved win against a disappointing Athletic side,
Getafe bounced back from going a goal down early on to win 3-1 and inflict a first defeat of the season on Valencia. David Villa put Valencia ahead with his fifth goal of the season but a brace from Manu del Moral and a free-kick from Pedro Leon saw Getafe earn their second win of the season.
Almeria striker Pablo Piatti struck in the last minute at the Vicente Calderon to seal a 2-2 draw and deny Atletico Madrid their first win of the season. Diego Forlan, who missed a first-half penalty, had seemingly given the hosts all three points with his 56th-minute strike before Piatti intervened with his second of the evening, heaping further pressure on Atletico coach Abel Resino. The Argentinian’s first goal in the 27th minute had been equalised almost immediately by Cleber Santana.
Espanyol bagged their first competitive win at their new Cornella-El Prat stadium thanks to a narrow 2-1 victory over Malaga. The Catalans fought back from behind after Fernando Fernandez had given Malaga the lead with a deflected strike just short of the half-hour mark. Ben Sahar struck to level the scores after 55 minutes and Ivan Alonso bagged the winner 10 minutes from time.
Jorge Galan came off the bench to fire Osasuna to their first victory of the season at nine-man Real Valladolid and lift Jose Antonio Camacho’s side out of the drop zone. Walter Pandiani put the Pamplona outfit ahead after 25 minutes and it all looked to be going the visitors’ way when Luis Prieto saw red four minutes before the interval. Valladolid substitute Diego Costa got the hosts back on level terms three minutes after the restart but Galan bagged the winner 17 minutes from time. Cesar Arzo completed a disappointing evening for Valladolid eight minutes from time when he was given his marching orders for a foul on Galan.
Xerez remain rooted to the foot of the table following a 3-0 home defeat to Deportivo La Coruna. Xerez went behind after 26 minutes when Juca scored a cracking free-kick and the game was effectively over when Leandro Gioda headed into his own net after 68 minutes. Substitute Riki added a third to give Deportivo a comfortable win.
