Barcelona and Real leave it late

Published on Sunday 28 September 2008 23:57

SPANISH giants Barcelona and Real Madrid grabbed last-gasp 2-1 away victories after a rash of red cards and crowd trouble in the Primera Liga.

Barcelona came from behind to beat Espanyol with a Lionel Messi penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Crowd disturbances forced the referee to take the players off the pitch for ten minutes, and Thierry Henry equalised after the game restarted. Ferran Corominas had opened the scoring for Espanyol after 20 minutes.

Ruud van Nistelrooy gave Real Madrid the points at Real Betis, where each team had a player sent off. Gabriel Heinze opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a close-range header, but Betis equalised when Madrid defender Marcelo conceded a penalty and was sent off. Sergio Garcia netted after his spot kick was saved. Garcia was later sent off.

Celtic's Champions League opponents Villarreal won 1-0 at Sporting Gijon thanks to striker Giuseppe Rossi, while David Villa scored twice as Valencia joined Villarreal at the top after coming back to beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-2 at the Mestalla.

In France, Lyon extended their lead to six points with a 2-1 home win over Nancy, who play the second leg of their Uefa Cup tie at Motherwell on Thursday. Karim Benzema and Fred struck for the champions, with Pascal Berenguer replying.