In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale led from the front, scoring two goals to lead Real Madrid to a thumping 3-0 win against Real Sociedad on the opening weekend of the Spanish La Liga. Marco Asensio, making a comeback to the Los Blancos setup, scored a delightful goal to double the lead.
After Barcelona won their opening day encounter – a resounding 6-2 win against Real Betis – it was imperative that Madrid started well. It took only two minutes to break the deadlock: Dani Carvajal found acres of space on the right flank, and floated in a pin-point cross into the box. A waiting Bale thundered a powerful header to the left corner, leaving Sociedad keeper Geronimo Rulli with no chance.
The Madrid defence did falter, pushing far too upfield at times. Sociedad's Asier Illaramendi broke clear into the box and had plenty of space but his poor decision making let him down and the chance went begging. Minutes later, Madrid scored their second. Defender Rafael Varane lobbed the ball into the path of Asensio, who ran clear after controlling it and showed tremendous composure to chip into the net. The away side had a two-goal lead at half-time.
The European Champions dominated proceedings from there on. Mateo Kovacic came close but Rulli did well to parry the shot from point-blank range. Sociedad's Willian Jose thought he had a legitimate claim for a penalty as Carvajal tripped him. Madrid were lucky on that occasion. With seconds left for the full-time whistle, Bale latched on to James Rodriguez's through ball, rounded the keeper and slotted the it home to get his side's title campaign started.
Real Madrid 3 (Gareth Bale - 2, Marco Asensio) beat Real Sociedad 0
Meanwhile, the third title contender Atlético Madrid drew 1-1 with Alavés to make a tepid start to their campaign.