Spanish La Liga Roundup(4/10/07 - 5/10/07)

Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the table to two points after a 2-0 victory over Recreativo Huelva. Bernd Schuster's side had the better of the first half, with Van Nistelrooy in particular going close a couple of times, although Casillas also had to make a couple of important saves to keep the scores level at the break. Robben hit the post after the restart, and Van Nistelrooy finally opened the scoring after Raúl set him up later in the second half. There were some nervous moments though before Higuaín ran on to Guti's pass to put the game beyond Recre's reach in the dying minutes.

Barcelona are up to second after a 3-0 win over Atlético Madrid. Frank Rijkaard's side were two up early on, Deco opening the scoring on the quarter hour mark after Abbiati spilled a Messi cross into his path, and Messi picking up a return pass from Ronaldinho to make it two a few minutes later. And it was virtually one way traffic until Xavi got on the end of a cross from substitute Giovani to score a third goal in the last minute.

Villarreal drop to third though after losing 3-2 at Osasuna. Rossi gave Pellegrini's side a momentary lead, but a Javi Venta own goal and a strike by Dady turned the scoreline around. Godin levelled the scores once again before the break, but a spectacular shot from Javi García ten minutes from the end gave the Pamplona based side the three points, even though they ended with nine men after Josetxo and Ricardo were sent off near the end.

Mallorca came back from two down to beat Getafe 4-2, the second time in a row they have done so in the San Moix stadium. Sousa opened the scoring for the visitors in second minute, and added an impressive second just a couple of minutes in to the second half. But Ibagaza got one back with a hotly disputed penalty, and although Pereyra was sent off, two from Arango and another from Ramis left the Madrid based side further down in the drop zone.

Zaragoza bounced back from their midweek elimination from the UEFA cup, beating bottom club Levante 3-0 to move level with Atlético and Mallorca in the top half of the table. All the goals came in the second half, Sergio García starting things off after Diego Milito put him through, and Oliveira coming on to score two more later on.

Sevilla suffered their fourth league defeat of the season though, losing 0-1 to a Deportivo side who started the weekend in the bottom three. Verdú hit the post for the visitors early on, but otherwise the Andalusians had the better chances. However Riki got what was to prove the only goal after Guardado set him up midway through the second half.

Athletic Bilbao have yet to win at the San Mamés stadium this season, and they were held to a 1-1 draw this weekend by newcomers Almería. Etxeberría put the Basque side ahead on the half hour mark, his first goal at home in three and a half years. But Del Horno was sent off later in the first half for a hard tackle on Bruno, and Felipe Melo saved a point when he headed in Corona's corner after the restart.

Murcia and Betis cancelled each other out in a 0-0 draw, a result which keeps both in mid-table. The best chances in an otherwise dull match came in the first half, Caffa firing a free kick against the crossbar and Baiano replying with a shot which Ricardo turned on to the post.

Finally Racing Santander beat Valladolid 2-0 in the last game of the evening, taking the Cantabrians up to ninth and leaving their opponents in the drop zone. Both goals came from Racing's new signings after the break, Smolarek getting the first and Tchite making it two in the final minute. Llorente was sent off for the visitors right at the end. (07.10.07)

Valencia's run of five league wins in a row came to an end when they were beaten 1-2 by Espanyol. Baraja headed the home side into the lead in the fifth minute from Villa's corner, but Riera, celebrating his call up for Spain, equalised a quarter of an hour later. And Luis García ran on to Valdo's long pass to beat Hildebrand near the end and take his side up to fifth, now only two points behind their opponents

Barclays Weekend Review( 4/10/07 - 5/10/07)

Manchester United 4-0 Wigan Athletic

Carlos Tevez opened United's account eight minutes into the second period, before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a double and Wayne Rooney wrapped up the scoring. The Red Devils' sixth straight league win did come at a price with the loss through injury of Louis Saha before the match and Nemanja Vidic and John O'Shea during it.

Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham United

A first-half free-kick from Craig Gardner was enough to secure victory for Martin O'Neill's men at Villa Park. Gardner, who scored from a set-piece against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, found the back of Robert Green's net with the aid of a deflection off Danny Gabbidon. West Ham striker Dean Ashton injured his knee in the match, and may be doubtful for England's upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Arsenal 3-2 Sunderland

The Gunners returned to the top of the table with this win. The hosts had raced ahead through a brilliant free-kick from Robin van Persie and Philippe Senderos' close-range effort before the Black Cats pulled a goal back through Ross Wallace. The visitors were then level after the break when Kenwyne Jones headed in - only for van Persie to grab victory 10 minutes from time. Sunderland defender Paul McShane was sent off in stoppage time for clattering into Alexander Hleb.

Reading 1-0 Derby County

Kevin Doyle's second-half header helped Steve Coppell's men to their third win of the season. The defeat leaves Derby rooted to the bottom of the table, while Reading climb away from the relegation zone. Coppell will hope that striker Doyle can continue to refind the form he was in last season.

Liverpool 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Liverpool needed a late Fernando Torres header to earn a draw at Anfield. Andriy Voronin had put the Reds ahead but goals from Robbie Keane either side of half-time looked like earning Spurs a rare win at Anfield. The Londoners are one spot above the relegation zone after the draw.

Newcastle United 3-2 Everton

Michael Owen came off the bench to score what turned out to be the winner in this match. Nicky Butt gave the home side the lead before half-time, but Andrew Johnson equalised with his first goal of the season after half-time. A flurry of late goals saw Emre put Newcastle back in front and Owen make it 3-1 before Shay Given's own goal.

Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Chelsea

Chelsea earned a valuable three points at the Reebok Stadium against Bolton. With Didier Drogba suspended, manager Avram Grant watched another striker, Salomon Kalou, score the only goal of the match before half-time. Bolton remain in the relegation zone with a trip to Arsenal next up.

Manchester City 3-1 Middlesbrough

Elano backed up his impressive performance against Newcastle last weekend with two goals in this match. He scored back-to-back goals after a Chris Riggott own-goal had given City a 10th minute lead. Ben Hutchinson scored a late consolation for Boro.

Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Birmingham City

Blackburn put their Uefa Cup exit at the hands of Larissa behind them with this win. David Bentley put them into the lead and a penalty from Benni McCarthy made it 2-0. Cameron Jerome reduced the arrears but Steve Bruce's men could not find an equaliser.

Fulham 0-2 Portsmouth

An impressive second-half display from Pompey was enough to see off Lawrie Sanchez's Fulham at Craven Cottage. The in-form Benjani put Pompey into the lead and Hermann Hreidarsson made it 2-0. Harry Redknapp's side go up to fifth off the back of this comfortable victory, while Fulham drop into the relegation zone.

Spanish La Liga Roundup(29/9/07 - 30/9/07)

Real Madrid held on to top spot with a 0-1 win over city neighbours Getafe on Sunday evening. The home side were unlucky not to take the lead before the break, Manu hitting the post and Casillas making a couple of important saves, and they had more chances before Sergio Ramos turned in Robben's cross for the only goal of the game.

Villarreal stay in second place after a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, Fuentes heading the winner from Senna's cross in the second half. And Valencia are still third after they beat Recreativo 0-1, an early goal from David Villa enough to take the three points.

Atlético Madrid are only a point outside of the top four though after they beat Osasuna 2-0, their fourth win in a row. Raúl García opened the scoring against his old side, and Agüero wrapped things up late on. And Espanyol are sixth after a 1-0 victory over Deportivo, Tamudo scoring on the stroke of half time to leave the Galicians down in the bottom three.

It was a day for single goal victories though, with Racing Santander also winning 0-1 at Almería with a strike from Garay. There were more goals in the other two games though, Betis beating Mallorca 3-0 for their first win of the season, and Murcia winning 1-4 at Valladolid, who played for over an hour with nine men after Cifuentes and Butelle were sent off.

Barcelona moved to the top of the table pending Sunday's games after hammering bottom club Levante 1-4. Frank Rijkaard's side dominated throughout, with Messi twice setting up Henry to give the visitors a two goal lead at the break. Three minutes after the restart Henry picked up a deflected Deco pass to complete his hat-trick, and two minutes later Messi himself made it four. With one eye on Tuesday's Champions League game, Rijkaard rested key players, and Riganó hit the post before Viquiera finally scored from the penalty spot later on.

Earlier in the evening Zaragoza beat Sevilla 2-0 to move ahead of their opponents in the table. Virtually all the chances in the first half fell to the visitors, and Kone somehow missed the target again after cutting past three players just a minute after the restart. But substitute D'Alessandro beat César with a well struck free kick minutes later, and Sergio García added a second near the end to make it four defeats in a row for the Andalusians. (29.09.07)

Barclays Weekend Review( 29/9/07 - 1/10/07)

Everton 2-0 Middlesbrough
Everton kept their first clean sheet of the season in this victory. Defender Joleon Lescott gave the Toffees a first-half lead with his third Barclays Premier League goal of the season and Steven Pienaar doubled the advantage in the second-half with his first goal for the club.

Birmingham City 0-1 Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo's second-half strike handed Sir Alex Ferguson's men a precious away win. The victory kept them second in the table.

Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
Both sides had their chances at Stamford Bridge, but the Blues slipped seven points off leaders Arsenal with this draw. To make matters worse, captain John Terry fractured his cheekbone and Didier Drogba was sent-off for a second bookable offence in the second-half.

Manchester City 3-1 Newcastle United
Obafemi Martins gave the visitors the lead on the half-hour mark, only for Martin Petrov to equalise for City ten minutes later. Emile Mpenza netted after the break and Elano made sure of the points with a free-kick late on.

Derby County 1-1 Bolton Wanderers
Kenny Miller gave the home side a 19th minute lead but Nicolas Anelka equalised for Wanderers on the half-hour mark to take his Barclays Premier League goal tally to five.

Portsmouth 7-4 Reading
Portsmouth ran out winners in an amazing 11-goal match at Fratton Park. Benjani Mwaruwari struck a hat-trick, with Hermann Hreidarsson, Nico Kranjcar, Sean Davis and Sulley Muntari (penalty) scoring the others. Stephen Hunt, Dave Kitson, Shane Long and Nicky Shorey (penalty) scored for the visitors.

Sunderland 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Two goals in three second-half minutes from David Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz handed Blackburn Rovers this away win. Grant Leadbitter scored late on for the home side.

Wigan Athletic 0-1 Liverpool
A second-half goal from Yossi Benayoun kept Liverpool in touch with leaders Arsenal.

West Ham United 0-1 Arsenal
Robin van Persie's first-half effort was enough to beat Alan Curbishley's West Ham United at Upton Park.