La Liga begins with an exciting Matchday 1

 

Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho celebrates his goal against Alavés.

     The Primera División, or La Liga, the highest tier of Spanish football leagues, has now begun with goals, action, drama and stories in sight of the 2018/19 edition. With the first Matchday being this high in quality, the whole season now is expected to be the same.

       Girona went against Real Valladolid in the opening match, who have returned to La Liga after 4 years in the Segunda Division, while the hosts themselves have appeared for the second time in the league. The ball went back and forth the whole game, with neither team scoring and ending the match as a 0-0 draw.

       Levante then beat hosts Real Betis 3-0, as José Morales netted two goals at 54' and 90+5' while Roger Martí scored at 38'. The hosts, having had a great season last year, started this season with a loss.

       Celta Vigo drew with Espanyol 1-1, with both goals coming from the visitors. Mario Hemoso scored for Espanyol at 45', while David López committed an own goal at 51' and the match ended 1-1 at normal time.

       Villareal hosted Real Sociedad but suffered a defeat, even though they dominated the stats and scored first with Gerard Moreno at 16'. But the visitors came back and goals from Willian José at 40' and Juanmi at 71' earned them an opening win.

       Barcelona eased past Alavés in a heavily one-sided match. Lionel Messi opened for Barça at 64' with an under-the-wall free kick, which was Barcelona's 6000ᵗʰ goal in La Liga. Philippe Coutinho added another from his famous angle at 83', while Messi made it 3-0 with an easy goal at 90+2'.

       Eibar hosted La Liga newcomers Huesca, who started their maiden season with a win over the hosts. Alejandro Falguera opened for Huesca at 5' and added a second at 40'. Gonzalo Escalante scored the only one for Eibar at 69', which ended the match 1-2.

       Last year's Copa del Rey finalists Sevilla demolished Madrid's Rayo Vallecano, as they started their season with a bang after losing to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. Franco Vázquez opened for them at 15' while André Silva clinched a hat-trick with goals at 31', 45+1' and 79'. Vallecano's only goal came from a penalty by Adri Embarba at 85', and the score ended 1-4.

       Real Madrid beat Getafe 2-0 at Santiago Bernabéu, with the goals coming from Dani Carvajal at 20' and Gareth Bale at 51'. This was the first match of Los Blancos in La Liga since Ronaldo's departure, and they are trying to show that they have not toppled down due to that.

       Valencia held Atlético Madrid to a 1-1 draw, who, having opened first with Ángel Correa at 26', were equalised by Rodrigo at 56'. The European Champions could not bag a win in their first match of the season, and will now look to perform better in the upcoming weeks.

       Lastly, Athletic Bilbao hosted Leganes, who are now playing their third season at La Liga. Bilbao's Peru Esnal opened at 27', but was leveled 6 minutes later by Jonathan Silva. After much wait, Iker Muniain broke the tie with a brilliant goal at 90+3', thus ending the match 2-1.