Real 1 : 0 Real Betis
Saturday, September 23, 2006

Midfielder Mahamadou Diarra scored his first goal for Real Madrid to earn a 1-0 win at Real Betis that sent them top of the Primera Liga on Saturday.

The Mali midfielder, signed from Olympique Lyon in the close season for 26 million euros ($33.33 million), sent a bullet header past keeper Toni Doblas from a corner after six minutes.

Real started brightly and threatened to overrun a lethargic looking Betis in the opening quarter but they quickly ran out of steam and seemed happy to settle for a narrow win over Javier Irureta's side.

Betis finished with 10 men when midfielder Nano was shown a red card for elbowing Diarra as they jumped for the ball in injury time.

Real's dour victory was soured by what appeared to be a serious knee injury to Brazilian right back Cincinho, who suffered a suspected torn cruciate ligament after turning awkwardly just before the half hour mark.

Four teams are in a position to dislodge Real from top spot on Sunday.

Champions Barcelona and Valencia, two of only three teams with a 100 percent record after three games this season, meet at the Nou Camp in the game of the weekend on Sunday.

Sevilla, the other team with a perfect start, travel to a rejuvenated Atletico Madrid.

Discuss in: Forum | Message board