PRIMERA LIGA: PROMOTED NUMANCIA spoiled Pep Guardiola's league debut as Barcelona coach, winning 1-0 at home in the Primera Liga yesterday.
The second division champions broke away to score through midfielder Mario early in the first half and Barcelona wasted a host of chances as they laboured to find an equaliser.
Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi both hit the woodwork but Numancia's rearguard held firm to give their new coach Sergio Kresic a winning start.
League champions Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 at Deportivo La Coruna. The Deportiva striker Mista headed in from a free kick after 27 minutes as the home side took the game to Real but the Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy volleyed an equaliser just after the restart.
Alberto Lopo headed Depor back in front from a corner soon after.
The performance of the day came from Atletico Madrid, who stormed to the top of the standings with a 4-0 demolition of another newly promoted side, Malaga.
Netherlands defender John Heitinga opened the scoring on his league debut and Uruguay striker Diego Forlan added two more before the break, the second from the penalty spot.
Florent Sinama Pongolle made it four near the end.
Last year's runners-up, Villarreal, were held to a 1-1 draw away to Osasuna.
SERIE A: FRANCESCO VALIANI scored a stunning goal as promoted Bologna beat AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro yesterday to spoil Ronaldinho's Serie A debut.
Midfielder Valiani blasted the ball home from outside the box in the 79th minute after Massimo Ambrosini had cancelled out Marco Di Vaio's goal for Bologna in the first half.
Last year's runners-up, AS Roma, drew 1-1 with Napoli. Juventus also drew 1-1 at Fiorentina in yesterday's late game, which meant none of Italy's big four made a winning start, after champions Inter Milan were held 1-1 at Sampdoria on Saturday.
Di Vaio, a close-season signing from Genoa, dented the San Siro's excitement at Ronaldinho's debut in the 18th minute with a fine diagonal strike. The Brazilian had a hand in the equaliser, floating a cross into the area four minutes before the break for Ambrosini to head home.
Ronaldinho went on to create a string of chances his team-mates failed to put away.
One fell to Andriy Shevchenko, who could not find the net with only the goalkeeper to beat at the start of the second half after coming off the bench to mark his return to Milan following two troubled seasons at Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho failed to get off to a winning start as Inter Milan manager when they were held at Sampdoria. Gennaro Delvecchio poked the ball home in the 68th minute to earn the home side a point. Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had controlled a looping pass from Brazilian midfielder Mancini with his chest and guided the ball into the far corner to give the champions the lead in the first half.
In Florence, Alberto Gilardino spun away from marker Olof Mellberg to fire into the Juventus net and earn the home side a point in the 89th minute.
Pavel Nedved had opened the score in the 39th minute.
