Primera Liga reports

Brief reports of Primera Liga matches played at the weekend:

Played on Sunday:

REAL BETIS 2 BARCELONA 1

Real Betis inflicted a first defeat of the season on leaders Barca, narrowing their lead to four points over second-placed rivals Real Madrid ahead of their meeting next weekend.

A dramatic and fast-paced first half ended goalless but Edu found the net in the 49th minute to give the home side the lead and prolific scorer Ricardo Oliveira got a second 20 minutes later after an error by defender Carles Puyol.

Barca got a goal back when Gerard headed in a cross from Deco but despite creating several strong opportunities were unable to find an equaliser.

REAL MADRID 6 ALBACETE 1

Real powered to their most impressive win of the season, albeit helped by an off-form Albacete, with first-half goals from Ronaldo, Zidane and Raul.

Walter Samuel and substitute Michael Owen scored after the break before Ronaldo rounded off the demolition in injury time.

The visitors had equalised in the 15th minute when Francisco fired home but the parity was brief as their defence crumbled under Real's attacking onslaught.

REAL MALLORCA 1 ATLETICO MADRID 1

Atletico salvaged a 1-1 draw against a cautious Mallorca side after a sluggish start to the game, leaving their hosts languishing at the bottom of the table.

Mallorca, under new coach Hector Cuper, kept things tight defensively and went ahead in the 29th minute when Juan Arango found the top corner of the net after a dubious foul.

Atletico stepped up the pace in the second half and equalised in the 84th minute with a header from Gonzalo Colsa.

Played on Saturday:

ATHLETIC 2 VILLARREAL 1

Inconsistent Athletic managed to get back on track when an early second half double from centre-forward Ismael Urzaiz gave them a valuable victory against in-form Villarreal.

An aggressive but fruitless first half was interrupted for around 15 minutes when the floodlights at the San Mames ground failed but the hosts seemed untroubled and their tenacity paid off at the start of the second half.

Jose Mari put Villarreal back in the running with an impressive diving header on the hour but they were unable to find an equaliser.

DEPORTIVO CORUNA 1 LEVANTE 0

Depor halted Levante's run of good form and shored up their own shaky confidence with a hard-earned win from a retaken penalty by Diego Tristan.

The hosts, who were knocked out of the King's Cup by second division Elche on Wednesday and are languishing midway down the Primera Liga, made a nervous start to the match while Levante dominated.

However, Bernd Schuster's men could not find the net and a penalty in the 56th minute after Cesar was pulled back in the area gave Depor the break they capitalised on.

A calm Diego Tristan netted the ball twice when the referee ordered a retake after Pedro Munitis had encroached into the area before the kick was taken.

ESPANYOL 2 RACING SANTANDER 1

Maxi Rodriguez helped high-flying Espanyol overcome the absence of striker Raul Tamudo with a late penalty that clinched victory against Racing Santander.

Espanyol took an early lead in the 11th minute when Dani Garcia powered the ball into the net after a blocked shot from Ferran Corominas landed at his feet.

Racing looked like they might salvage a draw when Javi Guerrero netted a header in the 56th minute, but Maxi managed to notch up his third goal in two games in the 80th minute before ruining a good night's work by getting sent off for diving.

GETAFE 1 MALAGA 0

The Primera Liga newcomers followed up last week's defeat of struggling Valencia with a narrow victory over Malaga in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

In a tight first half, both sides found it hard to create openings but after the break Francisco Gallardo put Getafe ahead when he found the net after a corner from Gabi.

NUMANCIA 2 SEVILLA 1

Basement side Numancia served up the surprise of the evening when an extraordinary 60-metre shot from defender Antonio Gonzalez bounced over the keeper to seal just their second victory of the season.

The hosts had looked set to become the latest victims of high-flying Seville when they went behind after a persistent Antonio Puerta scored shortly after an hour.

But Aldo Osorio slotted a header home in the 82nd minute and Antonio's unexpected contribution gave them a win that will encourage new coach Maximo Hernandez.

OSASUNA 1 REAL SOCIEDAD 0

Osasuna made a slow start against Real Sociedad but moved up a gear in the second half to score a single goal that was enough to end a run of three defeats.

Initially Sociedad looked more threatening while the hosts attacked without conviction.

Osasuna gained control in the second half, however, and Richard Javier Morales secured the win in the 71st minute.

VALENCIA 0 REAL ZARAGOZA 0

Slumping Valencia registered their tenth match without a victory in all competitions after limping to a home draw against Zaragoza.

Last year's champions came out keen to end their run of poor form but were barely able to get near the Zaragoza goal in the first half.

They threatened more after the break but failed to find the net and their fate was sealed when a late goal from Ruben Baraja was disallowed for offside.