Real Madrid had won their opening two games before Saturday's defeat

With David Beckham left on the bench, Owen started his first La Liga match.

But Real had defenders Walter Samuel and Michel Salgado sent off in a game that also had three missed penalties.

Owen said: "The team is not functioning on all cylinders. My chance to start came sooner than I expected, I was happy with my first-half performance."

Maxi Rodriguez continued his good form this season by following up a Raul Tamudo shot just before half-time to give the home side the three points.

Tamudo had a penalty saved twice by Real's stand-in keeper Cesar - forced to play on through a knee injury after Iker Casillas dislocated a finger in the warm-up.

Ronaldo won a penalty five minutes into the second half but the Brazilian's kick was well saved by Carlos Kameni.

Real coach Jose Antonio Camacho said he dropped Beckham and Raul to give them a break after Wednesday's 3-0 Champions League to Bayer Leverkusen.

"I wanted to rotate the team after playing earlier this week, I was looking for a fresher team," he confirmed.

"When a team loses out it is the fault of the coach.

"I like to see a team play football but they did not do that.

"We need to improve but I don't think that the Leverkusen match was a reason for the defeat."