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The Champions, Real Madrid, began their La Liga title defence with a 3-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna. Gareth Bale netted and Sergio Ramos saw red as Madrid swept to a confident away victory. Zinedine Zidane called for a big year from Bale ahead of the match and the Welsh man responded by scoring Madrid’s opening league goal of the season for the third consecutive campaign.
Casemiro, who was one of the changes from the Supercopa de Espana second-leg victory over Barcelona, added to his UEFA Cup goal against Manchester United. Madrid have now won 13 of their last 14 league games against Deportivo as they bid to win back-to-back La Liga titles for the first time since 2008.
Deportivo failed to convert two excellent early chances. Deportivo striker, Andone, missed a great opportunity, failing to beat Navas. Those squandered chances proved costly when Madrid moved ahead in the 20th minute. Luka Modric’s shot was poorly dealt with by the keeper, with Karim Benzema’s touch on the rebound allowing Bale the simplest of finishes.
Seven minutes later, Madrid doubled their lead with another close range finish, but this time it capped a great move that saw Madrid complete 44 passes before Casemiro tapped in after Marcelo delivered a threatening low cross. That was the most passes before a goal in La Liga since 2006/07.
Ramos made a goal-line clearance to keep out Andone’s impressive header before the visitors ended the game in the 62nd minute. Another swift passing sequence resulting in Bale setting up Kroos to fire from 18 yards, with the aid of a deflection. The hosts almost got one back when Guilherme turned in the box and fired against the crossbar. Deportivo had an even better chance to get a goal when they were awarded a penalty kick, but Andone produced a dreadful effort to ensure Madrid got a clean sheet.
But there was still drama to come, with Ramos, who had been fortunate to avoid a red card earlier, dismissed in the second minute of added time after catching Borja Valle with an arm in an aerial duel. Speaking after the game, the Madrid captain said he did not agree with the red card as he highlighted the animosity towards the European champions.
After the win, Zidane said he was happy with his roster as is and he is hoping for no changes before the end of the transfer window.
Key Stats From the Game
Gareth Bale has ended a run of 10 games in all competitions without scoring for Real Madrid, his longest drought for the club.
Sergio Ramos has equaled Xavi Aguado and Pablo Alfaro as the player with the most red cards in La Liga history, with 18 red cards.
Keylor Navas has kept consecutive clean sheets for Real Madrid for the first time since November 2016. (All competitions)
Casemiro has scored three goals in his last four starts for Real Madrid and all three in different competitions.