MADRID: Ronaldo could be in for a tough time as a team owner in Spain.

With the former Brazil striker watching from the VIP tribunes, promoted Real Valladolid conceded a stoppage-time goal in a 1-0 home loss to Deportivo Alaves.

Valladolid remain winless and scoreless after four matches on its return to the La Liga.

It was the team’s first match since the Brazil great became the club’s majority stakeholder and pledged to help the club succeed.

Ibai Gomez’s goal came three minutes into second-half added time in a fast breakaway that immediately followed a chance by Valladolid on a corner kick at the other end.

The small club from northern Spain had opened their top-flight campaign with a 0-0 draw at Girona. They followed that with a 1-0 home loss to Barcelona and then drew 0-0 at Getafe. Valladolid’s next game is at third-place Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Ronaldo, who played at Barca and Real Madrid and won World Cups with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, took over the small Spanish team earlier in September after purchasing 51 percent of the club’s shares.

On Saturday, Barca won 2-1 at Real Sociedad to take sole possession of first place. The defending champions are two points in front of Real, who drew 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao.

Sevilla lost 2-0 to Getafe at their Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Sunday, remaining winless at home. Angel Rodriguez scored a goal in each half for fifth-placed Getafe, who have won two of their last three matches.

Espanyol defeated Levante 1-0 at their RCDE Stadium in Barcelona for their second win in three matches and are fourth in the standings. Sergio Garcia scored the winner with a shot from outside the area early in the second half.

After a disappointing start to the season, Villarreal ended their winless streak with a 1-0 win at Leganes. Carlos Bacca scored a second-half winner for Villarreal, who finished fifth in the league last season.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2018