© EuroFootball.com
Although on Saturday in Madrid, "Real" was trailing 1-3 after the first half in the 34th round of the Spanish championship against Barcelona's "Espanyol", they ultimately showed character and celebrated a 4-3 victory, temporarily rising to the top of the tournament table. In other Saturday matches, "Sevilla", in third place, defeated Huelva's "Recreativo" at home.
At home, "Real" was behind after the first half when Uruguayan Walter Pandiani scored a hat-trick in 19 minutes: first, after Guti lost the ball, Jonatas passed to Rufete, who made a successful pass from the right, which was converted by W.Pandiani; ten minutes later in a similar situation, the Uruguayan doubled the lead; although Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy reduced the deficit after a pass from Roberto Carlos, W.Pandiani restored the two-goal advantage after a pass from Moha.
"Real" besieged the "Espanyol" goal with all their might from the start of the second half and it paid off: in the fourth minute of the second half, "Real" captain Raul softened the score. Later, on-loan from "Arsenal" Jose Antonio Reyes equalized, taking advantage of "Espanyol" goalkeeper Carlos Kameni colliding with his own defender, and at the end of the match, the young Gonzalo Higuain lifted the entire "Santiago Bernabeu" on their feet by securing an impressive victory.
Meanwhile, in the matches held in Seville, the hosts surged ahead after Italian Enzo Maresca's goal. At the end of the second half, Brazilian Luis Fabiano doubled the lead with a precise shot from the penalty spot, and at the very end of the match, Jesus Vazquez reduced the score successfully converting an eleven-meter penalty.
