Beckham brilliance lifts Madrid

A fine free-kick from Real Madrid CF's David Beckham and smart goals from FC Barcelona new signings Ludovic Giuly and Henrik Larsson allowed both teams to maintain their perfect records in the Primera División on Saturday.

Stunning set piece
England captain Beckham sent the ball sailing over the wall and then dipping sharply into the far corner from 23 metres to give Real a 1-0 win against promoted CD Numancia at the Santiago Bernabéu. Real made a confident start against their modest opponents and were only denied an early lead by some sharp saves from Numancia goalkeeper Alvaro Nunez before Beckham scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 17th minute.

Missed chances
The visitors were allowed back into the match after half-time, although Raúl González missed two acceptable opportunities, created by Ronaldo and Luís Figo, to extend the lead and substitute Michael Owen also shot straight at the goalkeeper when set up by Figo.

Barça boost
At the Camp Nou, French midfield player Giuly paved the way for Barça's authoritative 2-0 victory against Sevilla FC with his second goal in two games when his sharp close-range shot deflected in ten minutes before half-time. Former Celtic FC striker Larsson opened his account for the Catalan side with a well-taken second, bursting into the area to volley in a fine cross from Portugal midfield player Deco midway through the second half.

Athletic in charge
Earlier, champions Valencia CF were forced to come from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw at Athletic Club Bilbao. Striker Ismael Urzaiz finished off a slick counterattack in the 15th minute and defender Andoni Iraola added another from the penalty spot to put Athletic in charge. 

Valencia fightback
Claudio Ranieri's side eventually came to life in the second half and pulled a goal back when Italy striker Marco Di Vaio rifled in from a long pass from Miguel Angulo. Thirteen minutes from time, substitute Angulo levelled from Pablo Aimar's clever header to earn a point.