Madrid, Aug 31 (IANS) Jude Bellingham scored once and then assisted in another goal as Real Madrid had few problems in dispatching newly promoted Malaga 4-0 to maintain its perfect record in the early round of the 2026/27 season.
Bellingham opened the scoring in the 19th minute on Sunday night, rewarding a positive start from Jose Mourinho's side. The England international was also involved in the second goal seven minutes later, when an attempted clearance rebounded off Malaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero and into the net.
Kylian Mbappe was then in the right place to finish an excellent cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold on the half-hour mark, putting Real Madrid 3-0 ahead, reports Xinhua.
Real Madrid were able to take their foot off the pedal after the break following three games in eight days, but Arda Guler added a fourth goal in stoppage time.
Athletic Club produced an impressive display to claim their first victory under Edin Terzic with a 2-0 win away to Celta Vigo. Alex Berenguer and Robert Navarro scored in the first half.
Valencia's difficult start to the season continued with a 3-1 defeat away to Deportivo la Coruña, with the visitors not helping themselves by conceding two own goals through Cesar Tarrega and Mouctar Diakhaby. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored an excellent individual goal for the home side.
Valencia's goal came from Umar Sadiq following a defensive error by the home side in the 26th minute, but they were otherwise outclassed. The only negative for Deportivo was a red card shown to Adril Altimira in stoppage time.
Saturday's games saw Atletico Madrid win 3-1 away to Sevilla without Julian Alvarez, while Levante stunned Real Betis with a 5-2 home victory and Real Sociedad earned a deserved 2-1 home win over Espanyol.
On Friday, new signing Yassir Zabiri scored a first-half hat trick as Racing Santander won 3-2 at home to Elche, while Villarreal suffered a 1-0 defeat to Deportivo Alaves.
Barcelona host Rayo Vallecano on Monday, while Osasuna host Getafe.
--IANS
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