Luis Garcia 48th-minute goal gave Espanyol a 1-0 win over Valladolid.
Luis Garcia 48th-minute goal gave Espanyol a 1-0 win over Valladolid. In the opening match of the Spanish league season on Saturday.
The first goal of the new campaign came after striker Garcia received Ivan De La Pena’s pass before unleashing a shot past Valladolid goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.
Espanyol’s victory at its Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium made for an encouraging start for coach Bartolome “Tintin” Marquez, who replaced Ernesto Valverde at the end of last season. Valverde is now in charge of Greek club Olympiakos.
It also boosted the morale of the Barcelona-based team, which appears close to losing Spain midfielder Albert Riera to Liverpool and Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta to Manchester City.
Later Saturday, Valencia hosted Mallorca, aiming for a first victory to help banish the memory of a disappointing last season.
On Sunday, defending champion Real Madrid begins its bid for a third straight title at Deportivo La Coruna, where it hasn’t won since 1991.
FC Barcelona will be under new coach Pep Guardiola for its visit to promoted Numancia, while last season’s runner-up Villarreal plays at Osasuna.
Also Sunday, it’s: Athletic Bilbao vs. Almeria; Atletico Madrid vs. Malaga; Real Betis vs. Recreativo Huelva; Sporting Gijon vs. Getafe; and Racing Santander vs. Sevilla.
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Le Mans rallies past Nantes 4-1.
Le Mans rallied from a goal down to beat Nantes 4-1 on Saturday and put pressure on the leaders in the French league.
Thorstein Helstad collected a through ball from Fredrik Stromstad to equalize for Le Mans in the 22nd minute after Senegal midfielder Guirane Ndaw had put Nantes ahead with a header in the 20th. Mali international Modibo Maiga made it 2-1 with a powerful shot from 20 meters in the 45th, and Le Mans used two late goals to seal the win.
Mathieu Coutadeur made it 3-1 in the 83rd, shooting past Nantes goalkeeper Tony Heurtebis after Ivory Coast forward Gervinho had broken through on the right flank. Gervinho added the fourth goal on a counterattack in stoppage time.
Le Mans now has nine points from four matches and can top the standings if Marseille does not to beat Sochaux later Saturday and if defending champion Lyon fails to win in Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
Bordeaux plays Lille and Rennes takes on Toulouse on Sunday.
Also Saturday, it was: Caen 0, Paris Saint-Germain 1; Grenoble 1, Monaco 0; Lorient 0, Auxerre 2; Nancy 2, Le Havre 1; Nice 2, Valenciennes 0.
Habib Bamogo opened the scoring for Nice with a diagonal shot in the 53rd, before forward Loic Remy cut inside to add the second with a low curling shot in the 86th.
Valenciennes midfielder Siaka Tiene was sent off in the 32nd for blocking a shot with his hand over the goal line. Remy sent the ensuing penalty kick over the crossbar.
Nice has nine points and is tied with Le Mans and Grenoble.
In Grenoble, Daniel Moreira volleyed home in the 18th with an assist from Nassim Akrour.
In Lorient, Poland forward Ireneusz Jelen beat goalkeeper Fabien Audard from close range in the 33rd, and Benoit Pedretti doubled the lead for Auxerre with a long-range strike in the 74th.
Brazilian defender Andre Luiz scored the winner for Nancy with a header in the 88th. Cedric Faure had put Le Havre ahead with a 25-meter drive into the top corner in the 23rd, before Jonathan Brison equalized with a half-volley in the 72nd.
In Caen, PSG forward Guillaume Hoarau diverted in a cross from winger Jerome Rothen in the fifth minute.
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Olympiakos beats Asteras 3-1 in Greek league.
Luciano Galetti scored two goals in three minutes to lead Olympiakos to a 3-1 win over visiting Asteras on Saturday in the first round of the Greek league.
Darko Kovasevic netted Olympiakos’ third goal while Daniel Cezarek scored for the visitors.
The hosts charged forward from the start, squandering a major scoring opportunity when Asteras defender Marcelao cleared the ball off the line after a shot by Costas Mitroglou in the 22nd minute. Brazilian striker Diogo introduced himself five minutes later, when the new signing had a powerful shot from the edge of the area that sailed over Giorgos Abaris’ crossbar.
But it was Cezarek who gave the visitors the lead with a penalty in first half injury time, after Christos Patsatzoglou had fouled Paulo Milano.
Galetti leveled in the 60th with a blistering shot and made it 2-1 in the 63rd by converting a penalty after Diogo had been fouled.
Kovasevic sealed the win in the 80th by deflecting Domi’s shot, as the defending champion bounced back from losing to Anorthosis Famagusta in Champions League qualifying on Wednesday.
Also Saturday, PAOK won 2-0 at OFI and Ergotelis won 2-1 at newcomer Panthrakikos.
On Sunday, it’s: Aris vs. Levadiakos; Iraklis vs. Panserraikos; Panionios vs. Xanthi; AEK vs. Panathinaikos; and Larissa vs. Thrasivoulos.
