Madrid stutter as Valencia prosper

Real Madrid CF slipped three points behind the Spanish Liga pacesetters on Sunday night after a 2-2 home draw against RCD Espanyol, while Valencia CF moved back to the summit courtesy of a slender 1-0 win at Real Valladolid CF.

Raúl double
The champions twice had to come from behind at the Santiago Bernabéu with Raúl González getting both Madrid goals. The visitors took the lead in the 21st-minute when Raúl Tamudo was upended in the area by Gabriel Heinze and converted the spot-kick himself for his first goal in 15 appearances at the famous stadium. Raúl headed Madrid level four minutes later only for Luis García to slide in to give the lead back to Espanyol. The scoring was completed on the stroke of half-time when some nifty footwork from Raúl helped him guide the ball into the bottom corner.

Valencia top
Manuel Fernandes was the star of the show for Valencia, meanwhile, the Portuguese midfielder capping a commanding display by firing in the only goal of the game with 54 minutes gone at Valladolid. Collecting David Villa's back-heel, Fernandes buried his shot low into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to put the visitors top alongside Villarreal CF. Two points behind them, Sevilla FC had a far more comprehensive win to savour as they saw off Athletic Club Bilbao 4-0 for their third consecutive Spanish Liga win.

Málaga fireworks
At the opposite end of the table, Málaga CF also celebrated a 4-0 victory, Eliseu Pereira dos Santos grabbing two of their goals at RC Recreativo de Huelva to help climb away from danger, while plunging their opponents into the bottom three. Elsewhere, a first win of the season lifted Real Sporting de Gijón off the bottom, the promoted side triumphing 2-0 at RCD Mallorca to end a run of five straight losses, while fellow newcomers CD Numancia succumbed 1-0 at RC Deportivo La Coruña. In Sunday's other matches, two goals in the last three minutes earned sixth-placed UD Almería a 2-2 draw at Getafe CF and another late strike handed Real Racing Club a tight 1-0 win at CA Osasuna