Lionel Messi scored two goals, as Barcelona coasted to a 5-1 victory, but Real Madrid were held by a stubborn Valencia on the opening weekend of the Spanish La Liga, in what promises to be yet another fight between the two Spanish giants for the coveted title.
Messi picked up from where he had left off last season, which is scoring goals at will, by netting a brace in their easy win over Real Sociedad, but the night will be remembered for the goal-scoring return of David Villa, who added the gloss after coming-on in the second half.
Carles Puyol headed in Barca's first early on, with a thumping goal off a Xavi corner, only for Gonzalo Castro to bring the scores level for Sociedad.
Messi, showed exactly why he is considered by many to be the best in the world, scoring two quickfire goals to put his side in command. Pedro made it 4-1, getting on the end of a typically flowing Barcelona move, to basically put the game to bed before half-time.
The icing on the opening game's cake was put in by Villa, who is returning from a broken leg which kept him out of the game since January, when he swept home a left-footed strike late in the match.
Real, however, were far from impressive in their opening encounter, albeit against a much more difficult opponent, in Valencia, who finished third last season behind Real and Barcelona, who will welcome new signing Alex Song on Monday, after agreeing a deal with Arsenal.
A Gonzalo Higuain opener, off a gem of a pass from Angel Di Maria, just after ten minutes, pointed to another walk in the park for Jose Mourinho's side. But the rest of the match did not go according to plan. Jonas equalized with a header just before half-time, with Valencia, under new manager Mauricio Pellegrino, defending really well for the rest of the game, to leave Real frustrated at the Bernabeu.
Valencia, in fact, might feel a little aggrieved not to have picked up all three points, when a Roberto Soldado finish was ruled out incorrectly for offside.
The best game of the day did not feature either of the big-two, however. Real Betis got the better of Europa League runners-up Athletic Bilbao 5-3 in an end-to-end encounter that left the crowd wanting more.
Goals from Ruben Castro, Jorge Molina and Benat seemed to have given Betis a winning 3-0 lead at half-time. However, Oscar de Marcos started a brilliant comeback for Bilbao, before a brace from Mikel San Jose levelled things up. Just when it looked like Bilbao had the ascendancy, Betis hit back, equally brilliantly, with Pozuelo and Molina scoring to hand the away side victory.
