Madrid : Julio Baptista scored a spectacular overhead kick in stoppage time Saturday as Malaga rallied for a 3-2 home win against Getafe to take the provisional lead in the Spanish league.The victory means Malaga tops the standings on 13 points with a better goal difference than Valencia, which earned a 1-0 home win against Granada earlier in the day thanks to Sergio Canales' fourth-minute goal.Real Betis, which has 12 points in third place, hosts Levante on Sunday.
Also Sunday, Barcelona visits Sporting Gijon and Real Madrid travels to Espanyol. In other Saturday results, Hernan Perez's late header earned Villarreal a 2-2 draw against Zaragoza, Osasuna had a 2-2 draw at home against Mallorca, and Racing Santander drew 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano.
After a first half of scant scoring opportunities, the second half between Malaga and Getafe burst into life. Pedro Leon gave the visitors the lead in the 54th minute, before Ruud van Nistelrooy equalized for Malaga 10 minutes later.Miku put Getafe back in front in the 74th and the Madrid club looked to be heading for victory as the clock ticked down.
But Medhi Lacen was sent off for Getafe after getting a second yellow card just a minute later. And in the final minute of regulation, Enzo Maresca scrambled the ball into the net to level the scores after Getafe goalkeeper Jordi Codina made a mess of a cross from the left.
Not satisfied with a share of the points, Maresca crossed into the box in stoppage time and Baptista executed an acrobatic overhead kick to clinch the victory. Despite taking an early lead against Granada, Valencia struggled to convert possession into goals after Canales' opener.
Roberto Soldado, looking to add to his six goals so far this season, had a flicked header saved by Granada goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez in the 13th minute and Canales shot wide with an effort from the edge of the box soon after.Valencia fullback Jeremy Mathieu raced forward and shot wide with another early chance and the pressure continued after the break with Pablo Piatti stubbing a weak shot wide from close range.
Alexandre Geijo made an opportunity for himself, cutting across the defense and unleashing a low shot from the edge of the box in the 63rd, but the ball veered wide. Granada improved as the second half wore on and could have punished Valencia's inefficiency when Inigo Lopez hit the bar.
Valencia had a golden opportunity to increase the margin in stoppage time, but Fernandez saved at point0-blank range from Jonas after Soldado's square pass. Earlier Saturday, Zaragoza twice took the lead at the Madrigal Stadium, with Luis Garcia scoring in the 34th minute and Pablo Barrera re-establishing the advantage just before halftime.
Giuseppe Rossi chipped a penalty to level the scores for the first time in the 41st minute and Perez found space at a corner to ensure a share of the points for Villarreal in the 84th, four minutes after Maurizio Lanzaro was sent off for Zaragoza.Elsewhere, Tomer Hemed scored two penalties as Mallorca rallied to a 2-2 draw at Osasuna in Miguel Angel Nadal's first match as caretaker coach following the resignation of Danish legend Michael Laudrup on Tuesday. Raul Garcia got both goals for Osasuna.In Santander, Raul Tamudo gave Rayo Vallecano the lead against Racing in the 20th minute, but the home side equalized through Adrian in the 59th.AP
