Real Madrid face early season crisis after being humbled by neighbours Getafe
Monday 27 August 2012
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The La Liga season may only be two games old but a sense of crisis is building at Real Madrid after Jose Mourinho's side were humbled by neighbours Getafe 2-1 and already trail Barcelona by five points in the table.
A smart 27th-minute finish from Gonzalo Higuain looked to have set Real on their way but the visitors' defence cracked twice in the second half as goals from Juan Valera and Abdelaziz Barrada gave Getafe a famous win. Real's Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao was then sent off in added time
Barcelona had to come from behind to win 2-1 at 10-man Osasuna. Predictably Lionel Messi got both of Barça's goals in the second half after Joseba Llorente put Osasuna ahead in the 17th minute.
In Italy, Milan, who are hoping to bring Kaka back to the club on loan from Real Madrid, slumped to a 1-0 defeat to newly-promoted Sampdoria at San Siro.
Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain's poor start to the season continued in France as they were held 0-0 at home by Bordeaux.
Steve McClaren's FC Twente lead the Eredivisie after beating NEC 3-1 yesterday for their third straight win of the season.
The victory left Twente as the only team in the Dutch top flight with a 100 per cent record after three rounds. Luc Castaignos opened the scoring for Twente and Russian striker Dmitry Bulykin made it 2-0, heading home a pass from Dusan Tadic. Leroy Fer made it 3-0 at half-time from the penalty spot.
Evander Sno pulled a late goal back for NEC, angering McClaren. "This team's going to give me a heart attack," he said. "We can't keep a clean sheet. The last 10, 15 minutes was not in control."
The United States striker Jozy Altidore hit the post but could not add to his league-leading tally of four goals in his first two matches as SC Heerenveen held his AZ side to a scoreless draw.
Jonathan Reis scored both goals as Vitesse Arnhem beat Willem II 2-0, Feyenoord won 2-1 at Heracles and PSV beat FC Groningen 3-1.
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