Real Madrid players celebrate a goal by forward Gonzalo Higuain in a 2011-2012 Primera Liga match against Real Sociedad, Oct 30, 2011. (Photo: Osports)
Real Madrid went to the top of the BBVA Primera Liga table this weekend in Spain after a 1-0 win away to Real Sociedad.
Gonzalo Higuain's ninth minute goal, his tenth of the season, was enough to give Jose Mourinho's side a narrow win against a rival that defended deep, but lacked the ability to trouble the Real Madrid defense more than once in the entire 90 minutes.
Madrid went top of the table as a result of Levante's 2-0 defeat away to Osasuna. The side that had started the round of games top of the league slipped to their first defeat of the campaign after first half goals from Alvaro Cejudo and Nino.
Levante also drop behind FC Barcelona after Barcelona's 5-0 thrashing of Mallorca in the Camp Nou Stadium on Saturday night.
Leo Messi responded to his critics with a 30 minute hat-trick in the first half as Barcelona romped to a comfortable win. Youngster Isaac Cuenca scored his first goal for the club and Dani Alves added a fifth in the last minute of the game.
The weekend had started with Villarreal winning 2-0 at home to Rayo Vallecano to take the pressure off coach Juan Carlos Garrido. Bruno Rodriguez and Borja Valero scored for Villarreal, however, the win was spoiled by injuries suffered to Marcos Senna, Marco Ruben and Cani and the team faces an injury crisis ahead of Tuesday's Champions League at home to Manchester City.
Valencia moved into the top four with a 3-1 home win against Getafe. Sofiane Feghouli scored twice and Aritz Aduriz added the third with a touch of fortune to assure the win.
Sunday began with Athletic Club Bilbao extending their unbeaten run in the league to six matches with a 1-1 draw away to Sporting Gijon. Markel Susaeta scored first for the visitors, but a deflected Mate Bilic shot assured what was a fair result in the El Molinon Stadium.
Christian Stauni's second half penalty gave Racing Santander their first win of the season with a 1-0 triumph over Betis. Betis had the misfortune of seeing two shots bounce back off the woodwork, but the side coached by Pepe Mel have now lost their last six matches.
Atletico Madrid striker Adrian Lopez scored twice to lift some pressure off coach Gregorio Manzano as Atletico defeated Zaragoza 3-1 in the Vicente Calderon.
Antonio Dominguez scored Atletico's other goal in a match marked by the continued protests from the crowd against club President Enrique Cerezo and General Director, Miguel Angel Gil.
Malaga v Espanyol was a late kick off while Sevilla entertain Granada on Monday night to end the round of matches.
