MADRID, 20 September 2004 — Ronaldo missed a penalty and Walter Samuel and Michel Salgado were both sent off as Real Madrid lost 1-0 at Espanyol on a night of self-inflicted misery on Saturday.
Real Zaragoza maintained their excellent start to the season with a 4-3 home win over Albacate yesterday. Two goals from Javi Moreno and close-range strikes from former Real Madrid winger Savio and forward David Villa took last season’s King’s Cup winners into a share of the provisional lead.
With three games played, Zaragoza have seven points, along with Espanyol, Osasuna and Valencia. Three days after a humiliating 3-0 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen, Real went behind to a 42nd minute goal from Maxi Rodriguez but missed a chance to equalize early in the second half when Ronaldo’s spot kick was turned away.
Samuel, the Argentine center-back signed for 25 million euros ($30.45 million) from Roma, received a second yellow card in the 74th minute and Salgado followed him off in injury-time after landing an elbow on Ivan de la Pena. Valencia scored a 3-1 win at home to Real Sociedad. Marco Di Vaio scored the opening two goals for the champions and Mista added a third before Mikel Arteta pulled one back from the penalty spot.
Osasuna also have seven points after edging past Real Betis 3-2. Real, who had eked out 1-0 wins in each of their first two league games, slipped to sixth on six points.
Chelsea Held to Goalless Draw by Spurs
Chelsea were held to a 0-0 home draw by Tottenham Hotspur yesterday and remain two points behind champions Arsenal in second place after the weekend’s Premier League action. A thrilling match at Stamford Bridge ended with both sides retaining their unbeaten starts to the season but with Spurs unable to end a 14-year, 29-match wait for a league victory over Chelsea.
Tottenham climbed to fifth place on 10 points, six behind Arsenal and two short of Chelsea, who have been held goalless in their last two league games. Everton beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at home yesterday to climb to third on 13. Newcastle United marked their first Premier League match under Graeme Souness with a 2-1 win at Southampton, their first away league victory in 17 attempts going back 11 months, and climbed to eighth on eight points.
At Goodison Park, Everton continued their terrific start despite the sale of Wayne Rooney to Manchester United with a 47th-minute winner from Marcus Bent.
Montella Hat Trick Not Enough for Roma
AS Roma suffered a surprise 4-3 defeat at promoted Messina despite a hat trick from striker Vincenzo Montella in Serie A yesterday.
Thanks to Montella Roma led 3-2 before goals from Domenico Giampa’ and Riccardo Zampagna gave the Sicilians, playing their first top-flight home game for 39 years, a memorable victory.
Champions AC Milan left it late at Bologna with an 84th minute penalty from Andriy Shevchenko and an injury-time strike from Brazilian Kaka securing a 2-0 win. Two goals from David Trezeguet led Juventus to a comfortable 2-0 victory at home to Atalanta while Lazio were held to a 1-1 draw against visiting Reggina. On Saturday, Inter Milan could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Palermo.
Auxerre Demolish 10-Man Metz 4-0 to Go Top
In-form AJ Auxerre crushed 10-man Metz 4-0 to claim top spot in Ligue 1 yesterday.
Striker Benjani Mwaruwari scored twice in the first 20 minutes to put the Burgundy side on the winning track before Bonaventure Kalou wrapped up the victory in the 24th.
Metz were reduced to 10 men when midfielder Venn Toure was sent off for a second bookable offense just past the hour.
The home side added a fourth goal thanks to midfielder Lionel Mathis after 68 minutes to seal their most convincing victory so far this season. Bottom club Nice fought back to beat Sochaux 2-1 at home for their first league success this season.
Stuttgart Off the Top After Draw at 10-man Hertha
VfB Stuttgart failed to hold on to top spot in the Bundesliga after being held to a 0-0 draw at 10-man Hertha Berlin yesterday. Stuttgart remain undefeated after five games and are now in second place, just one point behind VfL Wolfsburg, who moved into first place with a 2-1 win at Hansa Rostock on Saturday. SC Freiburg and VfL Bochum settled on a 1-1 draw in the other game played yesterday.
