Higuaín gets Madrid back on track

Juande Ramos enjoyed his first Liga win as Real Madrid CF coach as the Spanish titleholders moved up to fifth in the standings with a slender 1-0 victory over high-flying Valencia CF, before Club Atlético de Madrid did their best to upstage their city rivals by moving second with a 3-2 win at RCD Espanyol.

Rapid start
Appointed as Bernd Schuster's replacement last week, Ramos made his reacquaintance with the Spanish game by losing 2-0 at leaders FC Barcelona, but his charges set about Valencia hungry to get back to winning ways. Gonzalo Higuaín was fielded up front, with Raúl González starting on the bench due to illness, and the Argentinian got his name on the scoresheet with just four minutes gone, firing in with his left foot after Arjen Robben had blazed a trail down the right flank.

Red card
Robben's fellow Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart then curled an effort on to a post, but Valencia gradually recovered and came close through David Villa on more than one occasion in the first half. Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas then made a superb save to deny Rubén Baraja before Higuaín hit the woodwork at the other end, yet Valencia's chances took a dent when Carlos Marchena received a second yellow card with 23 minutes left. Madrid were able to hold on to move within nine points of Barcelona, who visit sixth-placed Villarreal CF on Sunday.

Late flurry
Atlético are eight points shy, meanwhile, after they were made to wait for their triumph in Barcelona. Maxi Rodríguez set Los Colchoneros on their way with a mere seven minutes on the clock, but Sergio Sánchez put the home side back on level terms in the 58th minute and the scoreline remained unchanged until Sergio Agüero made Atlético's pressure pay with nine minutes left. Maxi then provided the cushion of a third goal in stoppage time and the visitors needed it too, with substitute Valdo responding almost immediately for Espanyol.