Playing their first top-flight home match at Estadio Chapin in its 62-year history, Xerez was flying high in the opening half-hour Sunday against Athletic Bilbao.

Cuco Ziganda put his side out in a 4-3-3, and the Andalucians were attacking with verve. Bilbao was on its back foot until Xerez midfielder Abel handled a free kick by Fran Yeste is his own box, giving the visitors a penalty.

Athletic midfielder Javi Martinez struck his penalty well, but Renan, Xerez’s Brazilian keeper, was even better, diving to his left and making the save.

Renan looked to the heavens and yelled, and soon thereafter his teammates were back on the gas pedal. It was only a matter of time before Xerez scored its first-ever goal in La Liga.

That goal came in the 32nd minute. On a cross from the right flank, David Prieto stuck his leg out and got to it just before the keeper, who, wrong-footed, helplessly watched the ball go behind him into the net.

There were just three small problems. The cross came from Bilbao winger Susaeta. The helpless keeper was Renan. The net into which Prieto had just scored was his own.

After bossing most of the play, Xerez was down a goal.

And down a goal they would stay, try as they did to get an equalizer. Xerez deserve credit for playing some good football. But for all of their possession and intricate passing, the home side was simply impotent in front of goal.

It was always going to be a tough road for Xerez to stay up this season, and two games in its already looking bleak, thanks to that front line. Center forward Mario Bermejo is tough and scrappy, but he’s on his 12th club in 14 years for a reason. Armenteros failed to make much impact in a game in which his team had the majority of the possession. Momo, scorer of a team-best 17 goals last season, squandered some good opportunities and will find first division defenses much tougher to handle.

And this was a game from which Xerez needed a result, too, as their next task is to head into the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend for a match against Real Madrid. Assuming that will make it zero points out of nine, it’s already looking difficult.

Bilbao, meanwhile, are one of just four teams with a perfect record – Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia the others. And after a home match Thursday against Austria Vienna in the UEFA Europa League, the Basques’ next two league matches are home to a stumbling Villarreal and away to Tenerife. Athletic will be hoping to eat up some points early to avoid being dragged into another relegation battle.

With Susaeta – who was excellent against Xerez – Javi Martinez and Yeste in the midfield and the big man Fernando Llorente up front, there is quality in this Bilbao squad. And that is to say nothing of 16-year old wunderkind Iker Muniain, who, in 28 minutes as a substitute, managed to draw five fouls – including a straight red card on Xerez left back Jesus Mendoza for a ludicrous sliding challenge in the 87th minute.

Other results:

Getafe 0-2 Barcelona
Barca manager Pep Guardiola put out a B+ squad Saturday, with Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Dani Alves all on the bench. Andres Iniesta, healthy for the first time since the Champions League final in May, was also available as a substitute.

After 58 scoreless minutes – during which Getafe hit the woodwork twice – on came Messi and Iniesta for Pedro and Jeffren. Game, set, match. Less than 10 minutes after the changes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic just got a toe to an Eric Abidal cross to score his second goal in as many league games for Barca. In the 80th, Ibrahimovic crossed to Messi in the box for Barca’s second.

Atletico de Madrid 1, Racing Santander 1
Oh dear.

Things have already gone pear-shaped for Atletico, with thousands of supporters staging a protest against the club’s board of directors – and this was before a rather shocking draw against a Santander team down to 10 men after Jose Angel Crespo’s dismissal less than two minutes into the second half.

Atletico’s next league match? Saturday night at the Camp Nou. This could get even uglier.

Espanyol 0-3 Real Madrid
Starting with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, Madrid withstood an early flurry from the home side – playing its first league game in the new, beautiful Estadi Cornella-El Prat – before taking a lead on 39 minutes through a strike from Esteban Granero.

Ronaldo came on in the 66th minute for Karim Benzema, and scored just before full-time. Guti got one in the 77th minute for Madrid. For whatever it’s worth, Espanyol are bottom of the table through two matches.

Sevilla 4-1 Zaragoza
Luis Fabiano, now a fixture in Brazil’s first XI, opened his La Liga account with a brace against promoted Zaragoza. The Sevillistas can now breathe a little easier after a poor display in their team’s 2-0 season-opening loss at Valencia.

Zaragoza got some bad news after the game, as striker Ikechukwu Uche was found to have torn the ACL in his left knee, effectively ending his season.

Villarreal 1-1 Mallorca
This was not the start the “Yellow Submarine” was envisioning. After drawing 1-1 at Osasuna to begin the year, Villarreal had to settle for a point once more against seemingly inferior opponents. Borja Valero’s 75th minute goal canceled out a strike from Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi 21 minutes earlier, as that’s now four points from six for Mallorca with a home match against promoted Tenerife upcoming.

Sporting Gijon 1-0 Almeria
Dire, feeble, abject…whatever word you wish to describe Almeria, it fits.

Visiting El Molinon Sunday and going down just six minutes in to a Diego Castro goal, the Andalucian side mustered zero shots on target. And this after a 0-0 home draw against Valladolid, who were playing with 10 men the final 77 minutes in Week 1.

Manager Hugo Sanchez has his work cut out for him with this lot.

Deportivo la Coruna 1-0 Malaga
Defender Filipe Kasmirski scored the game-winner eight minutes from time for the hosts, who have looked solid early on this season and have winnable matches (home to Espanyol, at Xerez, home to Villarreal) coming up.

Tenerife 2-1 Osasuna
Promoted Tenerife showed some class in a deserved win over the boys from Pamplona, with second half goals from Nino and Ricardinho sandwiched around Walter Pandiani’s second score in as many matches.

Valladolid 2-4 Valencia
After an impressive home win over Sevilla to start the season, Valencia ran rampant Sunday, scoring four goals inside the first hour at Valladolid. David Villa bagged a brace for the visitors, with David Silva and Juan Mata getting the others. A few more showings like this (they’re home to Gijon next weekend) and Valencia may be talked about as potential challengers to the Barcelona-Madrid hegemony.

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