Madrid: Lionel Messi started his La Liga campaign right where he left off last season, and that’s not a good sign for Real Madrid’s weakened squad.
Madrid don’t have Cristiano Ronaldo to try to match Messi’s achievements for the first time in nearly a decade, and dethroning the defending league champions will be that much harder if the Argentine playmaker dominates again.
Messi, the league’s top scorer last season, opened this year’s campaign by scoring two goals in the team’s 3-0 win over Alaves at Camp Nou on Saturday.
His first goal was a clever free-kick shot underneath the wall, breaking the game open after Barcelona had struggled to get past the Alaves defence.
Substitute Philippe Coutinho added to the lead late in the game and Messi closed the scoring in injury time.
Madrid were likely feeling Ronaldo’s absence off the field as well, as a relatively small crowd of 48,446 was at the Bernabeu for Sunday’s clash with Getafe, marking the team’s worst attendance since before Ronaldo arrived in 2009, according to Spanish media.
With Ronaldo gone to Juventus, Gareth Bale has been gaining a more prominent role with Real Madrid. And he got off to a good start by playing well in the team’s league opener against Getafe.
Bale scored and helped set up Dani Carvajal’s goal in the 2-0 win in the Madrid derby at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. He also struck the crossbar with a first-half header.
“Bale had a very good match,” Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui said. “He gives us many solutions.”
It is the third straight season Bale has scored in Madrid’s opener in La Liga.
He hadn’t had many chances as a starter under coach Zinedine Zidane, who quit before Ronaldo departed in the off-season.
Lopetegui has been keeping Keylor Navas in goal despite the signing of star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea.
