Madrid - Espanyol bounced to the top of the Spanish first division with a late 1-0 win Sunday at Recreativo Huelva.

The same as against Valladolid two weeks ago, Espanyol's hero was Spain striker Luis Garcia, who decided to stay in summer while other key players were leaving.

A 0-0 draw in Huelva seemed on the cards. In the 84th minute, though, youngsters Roman Martinez and Jonathan Soriano cleverly set up Garcia, who broke the deadlock with a fierce low drive.

"It was lovely to score that goal," Garcia said. "But we must keep our feet on the ground. This has only just begun."

Espanyol are, so far, the only team to win their first two games.

Just below Espanyol, on four points, are Valencia, Almeria, Sevilla, Getafe and Villarreal.

Almeria and Valencia played out a lively 2-2 draw in Sunday's late match.

Pablo Piatti and Alvaro Negredo twice put Almeria ahead, only for Alexis Ruano and David Villa to hit back for Valencia.

Sevilla beat Sporting Gijon 4-3 on Saturday.

On Sunday, Getafe were held 0-0 by Betis, and Villarreal beat Deportivo Coruna 1-0 on a goal from Euro 2008 reserve Santi Cazorla.

Sunday's five early games produced only four goals.

Osasuna battled out a 1-1 draw at Mallorca, and Malaga were held 0-0 by defensive Athletic Bilbao.

There was no shortage of scoring in the 4-3 thriller between champions Real Madrid and Numancia.

Numancia, who surprisingly beat Barcelona two weeks ago, twice took the lead in the Estadio Bernabeu - only for their defence to cave in.

Juan Moreno gave Numancia a shock early lead, only for veteran Guti to quickly level for Real.

Jose Barkero restored Numancia's lead, but Gonzalo Higuain soon made it 2-2.

Rafael Van der Vaart made it 3-2 for Real with his first goal in La Liga before a clumsy own goal from Domingo Cisma meant that Real finished the first half with a 4-2 lead.

Numancia refused to give up, and Moreno gave them hope by making it 4-3. They battled gamely on until the end, but their defensive errors in the first half had put the game beyond reach.

"We wanted to put on a good show for our travelling fans," said Moreno.

"The only problem was that we couldn't hold on to lead. they were straight back at us every time."

Guti worried aloud about the defence. "We will have to tighten up at the back," he said. "We have conceded five goals in our first two games."

Real are now eighth, level on three points with Atletico Madrid, Numncia, Deportivo Coruna, Valladolid and Huelva.