08/16/26 03:38:00
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08/16 15:37 CDT Espanyol routs Levante 3-0 and Racing squanders two-goal lead
in return to top tier in Spain
Espanyol routs Levante 3-0 and Racing squanders two-goal lead in return to top
tier in Spain
By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer
MADRID (AP) --- Espanyol got off to a good start by beating Levante 3-0 in the
Spanish league with a pair of goals from Roberto Fernndez in the first weekend
of action across Europe's top domestic leagues on Sunday.
La Liga was the first of the main five leagues in Europe to start, less than a
month after its national team won the World Cup.
Fernndez scored first-half goals and English forward Tyrhys Dolan sealed
Espanyol's opening victory at home with a late score.
Also Sunday, Racing Santander made its return to the top flight after a 14-year
absence with a 2-2 draw against Villarreal, the third-place finisher last
season behind champion Barcelona and second-place Real Madrid.
Barcelona and Jos Mourinho's Real Madrid won't start their campaigns until
next weekend because they had players return late from the World Cup.
Racing led 2-0 at home before Villarreal evened the match with goals a minute
apart late in the first half.
Espanyol finished 11th in the league last season after a strong start that kept
it near the top of the table early on. It later endured an 18-game winless
streak that left it in danger of relegation.
Levante barely escaped demotion last season, finishing in 16th place.
Another game had been scheduled for Sunday, Celta Vigo against Osasuna, but it
had to be postponed because of a fungus outbreak on Celta's Balaidos field. It
was rescheduled to Aug. 27 despite complaints by Osasuna.
Two games took place on Saturday. Alaves defeated 10-man Getafe 3-0 and Sevilla
rallied to beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1.
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