Nothing new on the first week of the Spanish La Liga, as Barcelona and Lionel Messi comfortably beat Elche, Real Madrid struggled but won with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring against Cordoba and Atletico Madrid found life difficult without Diego Simeone, drawing without any goals against Rayo Vallecano.

Malaga 1  Athletic Bilbao 0: A loanee from Liverpool had a soft landing in Spain with the only goal of the match coming from Luis Alberto. Duda and Vitorino Antunes, were sent off in the final minutes and Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz scored an equalizer in injury time which was stricken off for an unclear reason.

Sevilla 1  Valencia 1: Always a fun and eventful encounter, Sevilla took the lead right before half time through Alexis Vidal. Valencia saw things turned worse as Rodrigo de Paul’s debut lasted only 63 seconds before he was sent off for an elbow to the face. It didn’t stop the visitors from equalizing, Lucas Obran scoring the goal.

Granada 2  Deportivo 1: Deportivo are back in the top flight and actually scored the first goal, taking the lead through Ivan Cavaleiro, but Ruben Rochina and Jean Sylvian Babin kept the points at home.

Almeria 1  Espanyol 1: Almeria were the much better team even before Espanyol saw Anaitz Arbilla sent off, but a fantastic day at goal from Francisco Casilla helped Espanyol avoid a loss. Fernando Soriano scored for Almeria, Sergio Garcia equalized in injury time.

Eibar 1  Sociedad 0: A Basque derby ended with three points as Eibar, for the first time ever in the top flight, beat Real Sociedad thanks to a goal from Javi Lara. Sociedad created plenty of chances in the second half but couldn’t create something dangerous.

Celta 3  Getafe 1: A great start to the season for Celta Vigo, getting two opening goals from Nolito and Fabian Orellana to ease into the new season. Sammir pegged one back for the visitors, but Joaquin Larrivey, the best player on the pitch, finished the job in the 70th minute with a goal of his own.

Barcelona 3  Elche 0: One thing that stood out in this week’s matches? Red cards don’t mean losses. Barcelona had Javier Mascherano sent off but still managed to win comfortably. Lionel Messi scored twice and Munir El Haddadi added his first goal for Barca on his debut.

Levante 0  Villarreal 2: Not the best of matches, but goals from Real Madrid loanee Denis Cheryshev and another from Nigerian Ikechukwu Uche put Villarreal on the right track to start off the season.

Real Madrid 2  Cordoba 0: Not the most impressive of performances from Real Madrid, but early in the season points are important, not ability. Cristiano Ronaldo scored just before the final whistle, Karim Benzema gave the hosts the lead in the first half.

Rayo 0  Atletico Madrid 0: A tiny Madrid derby was also the only goalless match of the weekend, as the absence of Diego Simeone, suspended for eight matches, might have been difficult for his players to handle.

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