La Liga action round-up - Week 3 - September 19/20
Wednesday 23 September 2009
 The game of the week saw Atlético Madrid travel to Camp Nou to take on Barcelona, in a fixture which rarely disappoints. It took all of three minutes for the champions to go ahead, Zlatan Ibrahimovic latching onto a ball from Sergio Busquests before coolly finishing past Roberto. Just 13 minutes later Lionel Messi doubled the home side’s advantage, finishing off a slick move between Xavi and Thierry Heny. Dani Alves scored the goal of the match with a thunderous 30-yard strike before Seydou Keita tapped in for Barca’s 4th, condemning troubled Atlético to a four-goal deficit at the interval. Sergio Agüero and Diego Forlán pulled goals back for the visitors in the 45th and 83rd minute respectively, but Messi applied the icing as the final whistle loomed, finishing off another fine team move and completing a comprehensive 5-2 win over their rivals.
Real Madrid maintained their 100% start to the season with a 5-0 victory over Xerez at the Bernabéu. Cristiano Ronaldo took just 47 seconds to put Los Blancos ahead, dribbling past three Xerez defenders before drilling a low shot into the near post. Madrid toiled until the 75th minute when Ronaldo eased the home side’s worries, firing a header home from a corner. His second goal signalled the end of the visitor’s stubborn defiance as Guti added a third before Karim Benzema opened his Real Madrid account with a sublime strike in the 82nd minute. Ruud Van Nistelrooy completed the rout for Madrid, coming on for Ronaldo with minutes to go and slotting the ball between Renan’s legs to cap his first appearance for 10 months due to injury.
Athletic Bilbao continued their impressive run with a thrilling 3-2 win over Villarreal at the San Mamés. The superb Fernando Llorente opened the scoring for the visitors with a close-range header in the 10th minute, before doubling his side’s lead with a stunning half-volley from the edge of the box. Cani pulled a goal back just five minutes after the break, but Bilbao continued to press and restored their two-goal lead when Javi Martínez headed in from a corner in the 58th minute. Villarreal threatened a comeback when Santi Cazorla curled an exquisite free-kick past Iraizoz in the 85th minute, but Bilbao stood firm and finished off a much-deserved win as they remain unbeaten. Villarreal now lie just above the relegation zone, having only collected two points from their opening three matches.
Valencia dropped their first points as they succumbed to a late equalizer from Sporting Gijón at the Estadio De Mestalla. Diego Barral put the visitors ahead in the seventh minute but Valencia turned on the style and a brace from the imperious David Villa put Los Che ahead after 61 minutes. The points looked secure, yet with just five minutes remaining Gregory headed past a stranded Moya to snatch a point for the visitors.
Mallorca occupy 4th after a convincing 4-0 win over Tenerife, who look to be struggling despite a win the previous week. Sevilla lie in sixth after a 2-0 win over Osasuna, who have one point from the campaign so far, while Espanyol were 3-2 victors in a thrilling encounter with Deportivo La Coruña at the Estadio De Razior. Almeria, Valladolid and Racing Santander gained their first wins of the season with victories over Getafe, Real Zaragoza and Málaga respectively.
Full results
Saturday September 19, 2009
Barcelona 5-2 Atlético Madrid
Málaga 1-2 Racing Santander
Osasuna 0-2 Sevilla
Deportivo 2-3 Espanyol
Mallorca 4-0 Tenerife
Sunday September 20, 2009
Valencia 2-2 Sporting Gijón
Real Madrid 5-0 Xerez
Almeria 1-0 Getafe
Athletic Bilbao 3-2 Villarreal
Zaragoza 1-2 Valladolid
La Liga action round-ups
Week 1 - August 29/30/31, 2009
Week 2 - September 12/13, 2009
Week 3 - September 19/20, 2009
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