van Nistelroy scores hat trick for Real Madrid in Primera Liga
Ruud van Nistelrooy got his Real Madrid career off to a flying start with a hat-trick in only his second league outing, as Real Madrid cruised to a 4-1 victory over nine-man Levante at the Ciudad de Valencia.
Ruud van Nistelrooy got his Real Madrid career off to a flying start with a hat-trick in only his second league outing, as Real Madrid cruised to a 4-1 victory over nine-man Levante at the Ciudad de Valencia.
Van Nistelrooy, who also missed a late penalty kick, showed all of his trademark attacking instincts and paid off the first instalment of his sizeable transfer from Manchester United. Antonio Cassano also scored for Real.
Felix Ettien got Levante's lone goal, as they battled back against the odds following red cards against Frederic Dehu and Diego Camacho. The win moves Madrid up to fifth, behind a quartet of clubs who have won both of their opening two games.
A goal by Daniel Guiza enabled Getafe to hold off Racing Santander, 1-0, while Sevilla's early-season promise continued with a 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad.
Both sides scored in a thrilling final minute, but an early goal from Dernei Renato and a second from Fredi Kanoute secured victory.
Sevilla's Ivica Dragutinovic and Sociedad's Inigo Diaz De Cerio were the men to swap late scores, but their contributions came too late to have any real impact.
Barcelona and Valencia both won on Saturday to maintain their perfect marks. David Villa's early goal gave Valencia a 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid and defending champions Barca proved far too strong for Osasuna at the Nou Camp.
Samuel Eto'o netted twice for the Catalan giants with Argentina playmaker Lionel Messi netting the other in a 3-0 victory.
Newly promoted Recreativo Huelva joined star-studded Madrid with four points after a stunning 1-0 win at Villarreal. Santi Cazorla's late strike gave the visitors victory.
Goals from Juanito, Edu and Jesus Capi handed Real Betis a 3-0 win against Athletic Bilbao, while Deportivo La Coruna has held to a goalless draw at Real Mallorca.
Real Zaragoza made light of the 32nd-minute dismissal of Leonardo Ponzio to hold off Espanyol, 3-0, thanks to goals from Pablo Aimar, Diego Milito and Gonzalez Oscar. The Catalan side also had a man - Eduardo Costa - sent off in the 68th minute, when the score was 1-0.
Celta Vigo won 2-1 at Gimnastic Tarragona - Anderson Nene grabbing the winner with 15 minutes to go.