Real go top after Higuain strike

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MADRID, Spain -- Gonzalo Higuain sent Real Madrid to the top of the Spanish Primera Liga when he scored an 89th minute winner to clinch a 4-3 victory at home to UEFA Cup finalists Espanyol on Saturday.

Espanyol's cup final opponents Sevilla stayed third by beating Recreativo Huelva 2-1.

Espanyol had led 3-1 after Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani completed a 19-minute hat-trick in the 34th minute.

Pandiani was on target after 15 and 26 minutes before Ruud van Nistelrooy pulled one back after half an hour.

Pandiani completed his treble and Espanyol held their 3-1 lead until the 449th minute when Raul raised Real's hopes of a revival.

Eight minutes later Jose Antonio Reyes equalized and with a minute left the 19-year-old Higuain hit the winner which lifted Real one point above previous leaders Barcelona, are at home to Real Betis on Sunday.

It was the first home goal that French-born Argentine Higuain had scored for Madrid.

Pandiani opened the scoring and silenced the capacity 75,000 crowd in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium from just outside the six-yard box, after Francisco Rufete had outpaced his markers down the right wing.

The same combination worked to perfection again just 11 minutes later to put Espanyol firmly in the driving seat, despite leaving four key men back home in Barcelona ahead of the midweek final.

Van Nistelrooy, the Spanish first division's top scorer, pulled one back from close range four minutes later, to notch up his 22nd goal of the season after a pass from Roberto Carlos.

Pandiani then grabbed his third after 34 minutes to again leave Real facing an uphill battle.

Some terrible marking from Real left Pandiani the time to lob the ball past Real's stunned goalkeeper Iker Casillas from near the penalty spot ,thanks to a perfect pass from Moha El Yaagoubi.

Fightback

Real's fightback started four minutes into the second half after captain Raul Gonzalez sent the ball through the legs of Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.

Kameni's night went from bad to worse after 57 minutes when he came out of his goal too quickly and collided with his own defender Francisco Chica, leaving the pair on the ground and an open net for Jose Antonio Reyes to score.

If Kameni was to blame for Real's third goal then the culprit for giving away the winner was definitely Chica, who was robbed by Higuain out on the left flank.

Higuain then played a neat one-two with van Nistelrooy before finding the net with his right foot to give Real coach Fabio Capello plenty to celebrate on the sidelines.

Barcelona will try to reclaim the top spot in La Liga and put behind them their dismal 4-0 loss in the Spanish Cup at Getafe on Thursday when they face Betis

"We left a very bad image (on Thursday). We owe our supporters and the club. We have to regain the sympathy of our fans," said Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard at a press conference on Saturday.

"We know we have to give them something so that they can get behind us. We are working to win the league and all the players want to win but they are going to have to suffer, fight and react on the pitch.

"Whether or not the team is capable of doing this, we will only know at the end of the season. We are conscious of the fact, though, that we have to work hard to give the fans back some happiness," added Rijkaard.

Sevilla took a 12th minute lead against Recreativo.Maresca rifled home a volley from just inside the area after chesting down Luis Fabiano's flick-on.

The home team were denied in the 64th minuite when Navas kept the ball in play with an amazing burst of speed, and Puerto knocked it into the net, but the linesman had already flagged for a goal-kick

It seemed a harsh decision because the ball did not cappear to cross the byline.

Sevilla looked to have wrpped up victory when Luciano Fabiano converted an 81st minute penalty after being fouled, but with a minute left Huelva scored from the spot rhough Jesul Vazquez.

Murcia promoted

Murcia secured promotion from the Spanish second division when they drew 1-1 with Ponferradina.

Valladolid had already gained promotion to the top flight of Spanish football and the pair could be joined by Almeria if they win at Lorca on Sunday.

Next season Murcia celebrate their centenary and they will be hoping to do better than they did in their last stint in the first division.

They won the Spanish second division title in 2003 only to be immediately relegated after finishing bottom of the first division the following year.

Murcia have spent 17 previous seasons in the Spanish first division but never finished higher than 11th.

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