First division, day 2

Sevilla stay top of the table after beating Real Sociedad 1-3 on Sunday evening. Juande Ramos's side took the lead with just over a quarter of an hour gone when Renato nipped in to score after Martí's corner, and Kanouté headed the second past a passive defence in the second half. Dragutinovic made it three with a long shot with a couple of minutes to go, and substitute Díaz de Cerio got a late consolation before the final whistle.

Getafe joined Sevilla, Barcelona and Valencia on six points after a1-0 win over Racing Santander. Güiza and Paunovic both had chances as the home side dominated the first half, but it wasn't until the hour mark that they took the lead when Güiza picked up a long pass from Nacho to beat Toño. After that the locals shut up shop, and Racing hardly managed a shot at Pato Abbondanzieri's goal.

A hat-trick for Van Nistelrooy as Real Madrid beat nine man Levante 1-4 to move up to sixth in the table. The ex Manchester United striker beat Caballero with a shot on the turn early on, and Cassano added a second after picking up a long ball from Beckham a few minutes later. The hosts were left with ten men when Dehú was sent off for a foul on Van Nistelrooy, but Ettien fired one back a few minutes later. Van Nistelrooy got two more in the second half though, and it could have been more had Cavallero not saved a penalty from the Dutch striker in between.

Betis showed they are not missing Joaquín with a 3-0 win against Athletic Bilbao. His place on the right wing was taken by home grown player Maldonado, who produced the play of the night to set up Edu for the second goal close to half time. Juanito had given the Andalusians the lead earlier on, and Capi rounded things off after a quick passing move late in the second half.

A 3-0 result at Zaragoza as well, where the locals got their revenge for last season's cup final against Espanyol. Despite having Ponzio sent off for insulting the referee, Víctor Fernández's side went ahead close to the break when Aimar turned in Cuartero's cross. Numbers were evened up when Edu Costa was shown a second yellow card, and Diego Milito and Oscar González added two more goals in quick succession near the end for the final result.

Villarreal's ex midfielder Cazorla got the only goal for Recreativo against his old club as the Andalusians ran out 0-1 winners. And another of Pellegrini's rejects, López Vallejo, also produced a great performance, in particular keeping out efforts from Riquelme and Diego Forlán in the opening minutes.

Nàstic played their first home game in the top flight in over 50 years, but in the end they lost 1-2 to Celta. Baiano hit the post before opening the scoring with a half-hit shot just four minutes after the restart, but Portillo equalised from the penalty spot before Nené struck the winner a quarter of an hour from the end.

Finally the match between Mallorca and Deportivo ended 0-0, the only draw of the weekend. There were pre-match festivities as the San Moix ground changed it's name to ONO stadium, but the game itself was very dull, with the first real shot at goal not coming until well in to the second half. (10.09.06)

Barcelona top the table pending Sunday's games after strolling to a 3-0 victory over Osasuna. Frank Rijkaard's side only took 90 seconds to open the scoring, Eto'o poking the ball past Ricardo after Deco and Ronaldinho finished off a team move. Eto'o scored an opportunist second and set up Messi for a third before the break, but it could have been five as the hosts over-ran their opponents. However with a Champions League game in three days time they took their foot off the accelerator and controlled the game up to the final whistle.

Valencia join Barcelona on maximum points after beating Atlético Madrid 0-1. Both sides came in to the game having won their opening matches, but it was the visitors who took the lead, David Villa latching on to Vicente's cross to beat Leo Franco in the seventh minute. Both sides had chances after that, in particular a couple of efforts from Villa and a shot from half time substitute Agüero which Ayala cleared off the line, but otherwise the main incidents of note were the sendings off of Moretti and then Fernando Torres in the second half. (09.09.06)