A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick helped Real Madrid get their La Liga campaign off to a perfect start with a commanding 6-0 victory over Real Zaragoza on Sunday as they look to claw the league title back from Barcelona.
Real coach Jose Mourinho warned that the opening weekend of fixtures often spring surprises, but the game went according to plan for the Spanish giants and will serve as a statement of intent for Barça who are in action tomorrow at Villarreal.
Ronaldo was the joint highest goalscorer in Spain last season with Lionel Messi on 53 goals and mid-way through the first half he opened up his league account for this campaign after converting a Mesut Ozil pass.
Marcelo quickly added a second as Real peppered the Zaragoza goal. The home side were never in the contest and in the second half Real’s domination was reflected as Xabi Alonso and Kaka both found the back of the net, while Ronaldo scored twice more to complete his treble.
Sevilla edge Malaga
A double from Alvaro Negredo saw Sevilla win the Andalusian derby 2-1 against Malaga. Former Real youth product Negredo headed home in the first minute and was in imperious form against a Malaga side that is looking to push for a place in Europe this season after plenty of investment over the last year.
He was on target again midway through the first half as Sevilla dominated. Malaga’s expensive new signings failed to have an impact on the game until Santi Cazorla scored ten minutes from time, but it was only a consolation.
Real Mallorca Beat Espanyol
Earlier, an unfamiliar Real Mallorca side scraped a 1-0 win over Espanyol thanks to a deflected Jonathan De Guzman goal.
There were five new faces in the Mallorca starting line-up and it was one of those players, Alejandro Alfaro, who had the side’s best chance of the first half in the opening minute. Espanyol grew as the game went on and after the break youngster Alvaro Vazquez hit the post and saw another effort well saved.
The visitor’s lack of strength in attack proved crucial as a messy goal from De Guzman, which hit a defender and wrong-footed the goalkeeper, decided the encounter.
Getafe and Levante Draw
New Getafe coach Luis Garcia watched his side draw 1-1 against his former club Levante. Nicolas Miku, who had missed an early chance for Getafe, hit the back of the net after 62 minutes, but Levante fought back and netted a deserved equaliser from Juanlu Gomez.
A Jose Maria Movilla strike gave Rayo Vallecano a 1-1 draw away to Athletic Bilbao on their return to the top flight. The Madrid side faced a daunting visit to Bilbao in their first La Liga game in eight years, but they held their own in a hard-fought contest.
Ander Iturraspe broke the deadlock, turning inside a defender and slotted home after 55 minutes, before Movilla equalised following a defensive error six minutes later.
