Matchday 11 - Round-up

All the talk at the beginning of the weekend was about the spat between Manuel Preciado and Jose Mourinho in the run up to Real Madrid's trip to the Molinon to play Sporting de Gijon and Mourinho came away smiling but also relieved after his side squeezed out three hard fought points with a 0-1 win in Asturias. Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal ten minutes from time after a heated physical battle; the encounter threatened to boil over when Alberto Botia was sent off for a lunging foul on Cristiano Ronaldo in stoppage time but the real stand-off apparently came in the cark park after the game where Preciado made some unseemly gestures at the Real team bus. Unfortunately there were no cameras on hand to capture the incident so events vary depending on who describes them.

Twenty-four hours earlier, matchday eleven got underway in the Basque country where Athletic Bilbao struck early through Fernando Llorente and then held on to beat Almeria 1-0 despite having a man sent off at the end of both halves. Joaquin Caparros' men could have had an even earlier lead if Mikel San Jose had converted his penalty effort but they did not have to wait long for Llorente to convert Igor Martinez's fine cross. Koikili and Xabi Castillo both saw red for fouls on Henok Goitom but Almeria failed to put up much resistance at San Mames are were incapable of mounting a comeback.

Diego Forlan hit top form for the first time this season to help Atletico Madrid end a run of four league games without a win at home to Osasuna. The Uruguayan star scored twice and provided an assist for Sergio Aguero as the rojiblancos triumphed 3-0 at the Vicente Calderon. Osasuna were not push-overs on this occasion but were denied by some telling interventions from David De Gea and were handicapped by the second half dismissal of their international left-back Nacho Monreal.

Lionel Messi stole the show in the matchday eleven centre piece as he scored twice in the second half to guide Barcelona to a 3-1 win over Villarreal at the Camp Nou. Nilmar cancelled out David Villa's early goal with a fine individual effort in the opening period but Messi eventually proved to be the difference between two of the most exciting attacking teams in Europe.

A last minute Alvaro Negredo goal gave Sevilla a 1-2 victory over Real Zaragoza at the Romareda on Sunday. Gregorio Manzano's team started well, going ahead through Luis Fabiano in the course of a quiet first half but their grip on the game was loosened when Nicolas Bertolo levelled with his head and then Fernando Navarro was sent off for a professional foul. However, Sevilla's attacking superiority eventually shone through and substitute Negredo pounced on Jiri Jarosik's mistake to provide the late winner. 

Deportivo La Coruna extended their unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions thanks to a bit of luck and the fortuitous intervention of the woodwork on a couple of occasions at the Iberostar stadium. Emilio Nsue headed onto the post and Michael Pereira slammed the crossbar in the first half but Daniel Aranzubia's workload was otherwise relatively light as Real Mallorca were held to a 0-0 draw in Palma. 

Carlos Kameni was the main protagonist of Racing Santander's 0-0 draw with Espanyol at the Campos de Sport del Sardinero on Sunday as he pulled off a string of important saves, including a penalty stop to deny Ariel Nalhuelpan from eleven yards, to earn Mauricio Pochettino's side a useful point on the road. Both goalkeepers deserve credit for the clean sheets but under fire Racing boss Miguel Angel Portugal was the more disappointed of the two managers as his side wasted the clearer chances.

Malaga recorded a 1-0 win over Levante at the Rosaleda to give the Andalusians their first points at home this season and maintain Manuel Pellegrini's 100% record at his new club but they did not deserve a draw, much less a win, as Luis Garcia Plaza's men created far more chances but were denied by poor fortune and the Malaga crossbar. Eliseu's winning goal, at least, was an absolute cracker from twenty-five yards.

Hercules ended a run of seven matches without a win when they came from behind to beat fellow promoted club Real Sociedad 2-1 at the Jose Rico Perez. Electric French teenager Antoine Griezmann gave the visitors the initiative but Esteban Vigo was left pleasantly surprised by a second half turn around that saw high profile summer signings David Trezeguet and Royston Drenthe both get on the scoresheet.

Valencia moved back into the last Champions League qualification spot on matchday eleven as they inflicted a 2-0 defeat on a woefully inept Getafe side at Mestalla. Tino Costa scored Valencia's 4000th goal in the Primera Division to open the scoring and Unai Emery's captain David Navarro finished Michel's men off in the second half after a dominant display by Los Che.