Real Madrid twice fought back from a goal down to beat battling Numancia at the Bernabeu on Sunday, as the champions were made to work for their first points of the season.
Six of the seven goals were scored in a hugely entertaining first half and although Numancia pulled it back to 4-3 just after the break, Bernd Schuster's side managed to hold on for the win.
The two teams came into the match on the back of contrasting opening weekend results, with Numancia having stunned Barcelona 1-0 and Madrid losing 2-1 at bogey club Deportivo La Coruna.
And the start of this game went with form as Numancia stunned the Bernabeu by taking a seventh-minute lead through Juan Moreno.
The goal was a defensive shambles from a Madrid point of view as Moreno was left totally unmarked at the far post to head Jose Barkero's corner down and across the helpless Iker Casillas.
Moreno then had a chance to make it 2-0 following a poor clearance by Pepe, but Casillas was able to block.
It was a worrying opening for Madrid, especially as they only created two half-chances in the first 20 minutes, neither of which troubled Numancia goalkeeper Juan Pablo Colinas.
Colinas would have plenty to do in the next 25 minutes though - most of which involved picking the ball out of the back of his net as Madrid struck four times.
The first of those saw Guti draw Madrid level with the club's 5,000th Primera Liga goal, although his shot from the edge of the area took a huge deflection off Sergio Boris to wrong-foot Colinas.
Rejuvenated Madrid then almost netted again 60 seconds later but Colinas denied Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuain with crucial stops in quick succession.
At that point it looked as though Madrid had recovered from their early malaise, but in the 22nd minute they fell behind again to what will go down as one of the goals of the season.
There appeared to be little danger when Barkero picked up possession some 30 yards out but, after shifting the ball to his left foot, he unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top right-hand corner of Casillas' net.
The Madrid supporters need not have worried though as within 18 minutes of that goal their side had gone from 2-1 down to 4-2 up in what proved to be a frenetic first half.
Higuain brought the scores level again with a left-footed shot in off the far post before summer signing Rafael van der Vaart - making his league debut - fired in a thunderbolt from the corner of the area that beat Colinas at his near post.
Madrid then added a fourth goal just before the break when Numancia defender Domingo Cisma headed Guti's corner into the roof of his own net.
That gave the champions a two-goal cushion at half-time but Schuster's men could not relax as battling Numancia pulled a goal back 11 minutes into the second half.
Moreno was again the scorer, beating Casillas with a curling free-kick from the edge of the box to make it 4-3.
Only a key intervention from Madrid centre-back Christoph Metzelder then prevented Barkero having a gilt-edged chance to equalise as Numancia continued to give their more illustrious hosts plenty of headaches.
At the other end Madrid were finding it much harder to create chances, although substitute Ruben de la Red did bring a diving save out of Colinas with a low free-kick.
With little happening for them up front, Madrid were forced to play out a nervy final 10 minutes, but they managed it aside from one late scare when Barkero volleyed across the face of goal.
