Málaga 1 - Real Madrid 3

Málaga: Arnau; Josemi, Fernando Sanz, Litos (Diego Alonso 80'), Valcarce; Gerardo (Manu 44'), Romero, Miguel Angel, Duda; Leko (Edgar 58'); Salva. 4-4-1-1.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Michel Salgado, Pavón, Raúl Bravo, Roberto Carlos; Beckham, Cambiasso; Figo (Nuñez 93'), Raúl (Guti 44'), Zidane (Solari 74'); Ronaldo. 4-2-3-1.

Team changes: Málaga: Miguel Angel, Leko for Manu, Insúa / Madrid: Roberto Carlos, Cambiasso, Ronaldo for Rubén, Iván Helguera, Portillo.

Goals:
0-1. 13. Ronaldo. Tap in on far post after Zidane headed on Beckham corner.
0-2. 73. Beckham. Bent ball over wall after working short free kick with Figo.
1-2. 78. Edgar. Controlled long throw on chest and hit bicycle kick past Casillas.
1-3. 86. Guti. Took pass from Figo on left of area and chipped ball past keeper.

Real Madrid stayed two points behind Depor in second place with a 1-3 win over Málaga. It was not one of the best performances though from the Galacticos, fresh from their opening win in the Champions League, and fans who had paid the inflated price of up to €200 euros for a ticket only had a couple of moments to remember.

Ronaldo gave the league champions a good start in the twelfth minute after Zidane headed on Beckham's corner, but otherwise neither side caused too many problems for the opposing keeper before the break. Zidane tried his luck with a long shot from midfield which Arnau just managed to get to, and at the other end substitute Manu almost caught out Casillas with a cross-come-shot which hit the bar.

But with the locals coming back into the game, Beckham worked a set-piece free kick with Figo to send Arnau the wrong way and bend his shot into the far corner of the net. The home side got one back five minutes later, a spectacular overhead kick from Edgar which had the crowd on their feet. But with four minutes to go an otherwise quiet Figo cut in and found Guti (who had replaced the injured Raúl just before the break), and he had no trouble lifting the ball past Arnau to put the game out of Málaga's reach. The Andalucians ended the weekend in next to bottom spot with only one point from their first four games