4. WORLD: Real Madrid defeats Barca in Spanish clasico
- by Soccer America , Oct 22, 2006
Real captain Raul scored on a header off a ball served into the box by Sergio Ramos after only three minutes. Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy hit the second goal in the 51st minute, poking in Robinho's cross.
"This team is now playing like a team, it has both spirit and quality," Real coach Fabio Capello said. "These are three important points in that they bring us closer to Barca and provide an important psychological boost."
Barcelona is now tied for first with Valencia, a 1-0 winner over Osasuna on David Villa's fifth goal of the season. Sevilla, a 2-1 winner over promoted Gimnastic Tarragona on a pair of goals from from Mali international Frederic Kanoute, is third a point behind. Real Madrid is tied for fourth place with Deportivo Coruna two points behind Barca and Valencia.
ENGLAND. Manchester United and Chelsea both won to set the pace in the Premier League. Offseason signings Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack both scored their first EPL goals in a 2-1 home win over Portsmouth, while Paul Scholes marked his 500th game for Manchester United with a goal in a 2-0 home victory over Liverpool. Two penalty saves in the last four minutes by Jussi Jaaskelainen were the difference in third-place Bolton Wanderers' 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers. Arsenal beat Reading, 4-0, away to move into fourth with 17 points.
FRANCE. Once again, it's Lyon in a runaway. Five-time champion OL crushed second-place Marseille, 4-1, away to open an eight-point gap after 10 matches. Brazilian Juninho scored two goals, and French U-21 international Karim Benzema and Swede Kim Kallstrom had one apiece.
GERMANY. Werder Bremen took the Bundesliga lead with Schalke 04 thanks to a 3-1 win over defending champion Bayern Munich. Brazilian Diego and Pierre Wome gave Werder a 2-0 lead before Roy Makaay scored for Bayern. A Lucio own goal extended Werder's lead in the second half. Schalke 04 beat Hannover 96, 2-1.
ITALY. Palermo pulled the upset of the Serie A season with a 2-0 win at AC Milan thanks to goals from Marco Bresciano and Amauri. The Sicilian club moved into a share of first place with Inter Milan, which was held to a 0-0 draw at Udinese. In Serie B, Juventus moved off the bottom and into the positive column with its sixth successive win, a 1-0 victory at Triestina. It had two points after it began the season with minus-17.
NETHERLANDS. Ajax thrashed Feyenoord, 4-0, away in the Eredividie showdown before Amsterdam and Rotterdam giants. Two goals each for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Kenneth Perez gave first-place Ajax the victory. Feyenoord, which had Pierre van Hooijdonk and Sebastian Pardo sent off, is ninth, 10 points behind after only eight games.
