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Over the weekend, the 5th round matches of the Spanish championship ("La Liga") were played, in which victories were celebrated by football giants: "Barcelona", Madrid's "Real" and "Valencia". However, the club that leads the tournament table with a modest budget is Vigo's "Celta", who defeated "Sevilla" club 2-1 on Sunday.
The defending champions "Barcelona" achieved a convincing victory on Saturday, defeating Sevilla's "Betis" club 4-1 away from home. The hosts played most of the match with ten men as Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira was sent off from the field in the 21st minute for insulting the referee. "Barcelona's" striker Samuel Eto'o missed a penalty at the start of the match, but the Dutchman Mark van Bommel scored the opening goal with a header. "Betis" managed to equalize when Spain's defender Juanito scored a header from a lifted penalty kick. However, S. Eto'o redeemed himself for the missed penalty by scoring two goals, leading "Barca" to a 3-1 victory. Just a few minutes before the end of the match, wearing "Barcelona" shirts, Santiago Ezquerro scored his first goal.
Madrid's "Real" also achieved a convincing victory on Sunday, defeating the newly promoted "Alaves" club 3-0 away from home. Brazilian Ronaldo scored two goals - one with a strong shot and the other after an individual run, while midfielder Guti scored the third goal in added time.
2004 Spanish champions "Valencia" secured a 2-1 victory against San Sebastiano's "Real Sociedad". In the match on Saturday, "Valencia" took the initiative from the start and capitalized on their advantage with two goals: Pablo Aimar scored with a header 10 minutes before half-time, and newcomer David Villa added the second goal at the start of the second half, his fifth of the season. "Real Sociedad" striker Nihat Kahveci reduced the deficit with a close-range shot after a pass from Darko Kovacevic, but the hosts couldn't do more.
"Zaragoza" and La Coruna's "Deportivo" clubs also left the field without defeats, playing a 1-1 draw. "Zaragoza" took the lead through former "Genoa" striker Diego Milito's header from Savio's cross, but Diego Tristan equalized at the end of the first half with a header from Pedro Munitis' lifted penalty kick.
"Villarreal" secured their first victory of the season, defeating Barcelona's "Espanyol" club 2-1 away from home. The "Yellow Submarine" took the lead with Josico's goal after a corner kick. Although Luis Garcia equalized, Marcos Senna restored the advantage.
Surprisingly, "Getafe" secured a victory in the Madrid derby against "Atletico". Despite playing with ten men for the last half-hour due to Mario Cotelo being sent off for a foul on Bulgarian Martin Petrov, Mariano Pernia scored the winning goal in the 70th minute with a strong penalty kick.
On Sunday, victories were also achieved by the clubs "Malaga" and "Osasuna", defeating "Mallorca" and "Cadiz" respectively, while the match between Bilbao's "Athletic" and "Racing Santander" ended in a goalless draw.
Matchday 5 results:
"Atletico" 0 - 1 "Getafe" 71` [0 - 1] Mario Andres Pernia
"Espanyol" 1 - 2 "Villarreal" 44` [0 - 1] Josico 60` [1 - 1] Luis Garcia 66` [1 - 2] Marcos Senna
"Valencia" 2 - 1 "Real Sociedad" 34` [1 - 0] Pablo Aimar 46` [2 - 0] David Villa 62` [2 - 1] Nihat Kahveci
"Zaragoza 1 - 1 "Deportivo" 13` [1 - 0] Diego Milito 45` [1 - 1] Diego Tristan
"Betis" 1 - 4 "Barcelona" 20` [0 - 1] Mark van Bommel 38` [1 - 1] Juanito 58` [1 - 2] Samuel Eto`o 77` [1 - 3] Samuel Eto`o 89` [1 - 4] Santiago Ezquerro
"Alaves" 0 - 3 "Real" 60` [0 - 1] Ronaldo 82` [0 - 2] Ronaldo 90` [0 - 3] Guti
"Mallorca 1 - 4 "Malaga" 28` [0 - 1] Salva 30` [0 - 2] Duda 56` [0 - 3] Duda 58` [0 - 4] Edgar 77` [1 - 4] Lampros Choutos
"Osasuna" 2 - 0 "Cadiz" 26` [1 - 0] David Lopez 89` [2 - 0] Moha
"Athletic Bilbao" 0 - 0 "Racing Santander"
"Celta" 2 - 1 "Sevilla" 1` [1 - 0] Fernando Baiano 15` [2 - 0] Borja Oubina 54` [2 - 1] Enzo Maresca (pen.)
