The Hindu : Sport / Football : Nistelrooy, with a hat-trick, revives Real Madrid's fortunes

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Nistelrooy, with a hat-trick, revives Real Madrid's fortunes

— PHOTO: AFP

NEW CLUB, OLD STORY: Ruud van Nistelrooy endeared himself to Real Madrid fans with a stylish hat-trick on Sunday.

MADRID: Real Madrid's Ruud van Nistelrooy and David Beckham rediscovered the understanding they once had at Manchester United as the Spanish giant comfortably won 4-1 at newly-promoted Levante on Sunday.

The pair showed that they still have more in common than a mutual dislike of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson with van Nistelrooy scoring a hat-trick and Beckham making two of Real's goals.

Sevilla retained its place at the top of the Spanish first division with a 3-1 win at Real Sociedad.

In England, Bobby Zamora scored a second-half goal to give West Ham a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in the English Premier League here on Sunday.

Liam Ridgewell gave Villa the lead in the fourth minute after keeper Roy Carroll saved Gareth Barry's header but left the rebound waiting on the goal line for the easy tap in.

AC Milan edges Lazio

AC Milan defeated fellow offenders Lazio 2-1 in its first match of the new Serie A season to reduce the deficit to minus five points.

"Starting on minus eight points weighs heavily on the shoulders," coach Carlo Ancelotti said after a hard-fought victory at the San Siro.

Filippo Inzaghi put Milan ahead with a clinical finish before summer signing Ricardo Oliveira headed the second goal. Lazio's Nigerian striker Stephen Makinwa tapped in an easy chance to reopen the contest, but Milan clung on to the three points, which chipped away at its handicap.

Rolando Bianchi scored a hat-trick for Reggina but still ended up on the losing side in a 4-3 defeat at Palermo, who was 3-0 up after 27 minutes.

Newly-promoted Catania, whose last appearance in the top flight was in the 1983-84 season, won 1-0 at Cagliari.

The results:

English Premier League: West Ham 1 drew with Aston Villa 1.

Spanish Primera Liga: Real Betis 3 bt Athletic Bilbao 0; Getafe 1 bt Racing Santander 0; Gimnastic Tarragona 1 lost to Celta Vigo 2; Levante 1 lost to Real Madrid 4; Real Mallorca 0 drew with Deportivo La Coruna 0; Real Sociedad 1 lost to Sevilla 3; Villarreal 0 lost to Recreativo Huelva 1; Real Zaragoza 3 bt Espanyol.

Italian Serie A: AC Milan 2 bt bt Lazio 1; Atalanta 3 bt Ascoli 1; Cagliari 0 lost to Catania 1; Chievo 1 lost to Siena 2; Messina 1 bt Udinese 0; Palermo 4 bt Reggina 3; Sampdoria 1 lost to Empoli 2; Torino 1 drew with Parma 1. — Agencies

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