Michael Owen and Ivan Helguera scored three minutes apart late in the second half and Real Madrid rallied past Osasuna 2-1 on Sunday to give coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo a record seventh straight victory since taking over the club.
The victory on a wind-swept field kept Madrid four points behind Spanish league leader FC Barcelona and enabled Luxemburgo, who was appointed coach in December, to break Luis Carniglia’s record for a first-year manager set in the 1958/59 season.
FC Barcelona, who won 4-1 at Zaragoza on Saturday, lead the standings with 54 points. Sevilla, who moved into third with a 2-1 victory over Villarreal earlier in the day, have 41.
Elsewhere, it was: Real Sociedad 3, Racing Santander 1; Espanyol 2, Getafe 0; Numancia 0, Malaga 1; Mallorca 2, Albacete 1; Atletico Madrid 0, Levante 0; and Athletic Bilbao 4, Real Betis 4.
In Saturday’s other game, Deportivo la Coruna beat Valencia 2-1.
Wintry weather at the El Sadar Stadium, with hard rain and blustery winds, made playing conditions difficult, causing the ball skip along wet grass and flutter when in flight.
Osasuna led in the 36th minute as striker Pierre Webo showed a deft first touch to line up a shot at an acute angle that goalkeeper Iker Casillas couldn’t stop.
The Cameroon player was forced to leave the game in the 54th minute because of injury and was replaced by Australian forward John Aloisi. Osasuna responded to the change, with Valdo Lopes forcing Casillas into a flying left-handed save in the 56th minute.
Two further saves in 10 minutes kept Madrid in the game until Owen headed a low ball into Ricardo Sanzol’s goal in the 77th minute after a Roberto Carlos free kick.
Three minutes later, Helguera pounced on a fumble by Sanzol that dropped the ball at the defender’s feet following a curling free kick by David Beckham.
Brazilian forward Julio Baptista scored twice to lead Sevilla to their third win in four games and push it past Valencia. Baptista scored on a header in the 36th minute after a throw-in and converted a penalty two minutes later.
Athletic Bilbao rallied from a three-goal deficit after 25 minutes to a 4-4 draw with Betis.
Brazilian forward Ricardo Oliveira scored in the fifth and 25th to spark Betis, and added a third in the 80th to deadlock the match.
Joaquin Sanchez beat the offside trap and sidestepped Bilbao goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia to score Betis’s other goal in the 12th minute.
Bilbao began their rally with goals by Ismael Urzaiz in the 32nd and 35th minutes, and Carlos Gurpegui equalised in the 47th before midfielder Fran Yeste put his side ahead in the 70th.
In Sociedad, goals by Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci in the 11th and 35th minutes and another by Mikel Aranburu in the eighth minute to pace Sociedad.
Brazil right-back Anderson Silva pulled one back for Racing in the 58th minute.
At Vicente Calderon Stadium, Atletico fans voiced their disapproval of management’s plans possibly to sell the stadium by shouting slogans.
The home crowd’s frustration deepened as Atletico failed to capitalise on Levante defender Jose Antonio Culebras’s ejection in the 18th minute as a result of a second yellow card for a clumsy tackle on Fernando Torres.
At Mallorca, Luis Garcia set up the equaliser and scored the winner to give Mallorca their second win in three weeks. Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez scored in the 28th minute to put Albacete ahead, but Garcia set up Antoni ”Tuni” Adrover in the 53rd minute and then converted a penalty in the 72nd minute for Mallorca, who had lost five of six before going unbeaten in their past three.
At Numancia, Juan Rodriguez pounced on goalkeeper Juan Barrero’s fumble in the 45th minute to give Malaga their third victory in five weeks.
The match was Fernando Correa’s first since he tested positive for a banned substance after Uruguay’s World Cup qualifier with Venezuela on March 31. Spanish television reported the substance was cocaine.
In Madrid, Antonio Soldevilla and Raul Tamudo scored in injury time to lead Espanyol. Soldevilla scored from a crowded penalty area before Tamudo converted a penalty a minute later. — Sapa-AP