Real Madrid suffer shock loss to trail Barcelona by five points

Real Madrid crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat to city neighbors Getafe in the second round of the Spanish La Liga season Sunday.

After being held 1-1 by Valencia in their opener, Jose Mourinho’s champions are left with a solitary point after two games, trailing arch rivals Barcelona by five points.

Gonzalo Higuain put Real ahead after 26 minutes and they appeared set for a routine derby victory.

But Juan Valera was unmarked as he headed Getafe level after 52 minutes from a free kick.

Real’s star-studded attack led by Cristiano Ronaldo pressed for the winner, but it was the home side who grabbed their second with Abdelaziz Barrada scoring in the 74th minute after an assist by Adrian Colunga.

Earlier, Lionel Messi came to Barcelona’s rescue with a late double as they beat Osasuna 2-1 to go top of the standings on goal difference from Rayo Vallecano after two games.

New Barca coach Tito Vilanova had been sent off for complaining to the referee as they trailed to a 17th-minute goal from Joseba Llorente.

The former European champions had wasted a string of chances until Messi struck in the 75th and 80th minutes.

Osasuna’s Francisco Punal was shown red for his protests after Messi’s first goal, claiming he was offside.

Barcelona and Real Madrid will resume their rivalry Wednesday as the Catalans take a 3-2 lead to the Santiago Bernabeu after first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

In Serie A, the start of the season has seen contrasting fortunes for the Milan clubs.

AC Milan, runners-up last season, lost 1-0 in the San Siro to newly promoted Sampdoria with Andrea Costa scoring the winner in the second half.

But Inter Milan showed their city rivals how it should be done with a 3-0 win at another promoted side, Pescara, to top the early standings with Napoli, who won 3-0 at Palermo.

On Saturday, Juventus began their defense of the title with a 2-0 victory at home to Parma.