On Saturday, three matches of the new season of Spain's "La Liga" championship were played.
The title defense started at the "Camp Nou" stadium for "Barcelona" - Ernesto Valverde's team faced "Deportivo Alaves". The Catalans opened their goal account in the second half and celebrated a 3-0 victory.
"Barca" dominated from the first minutes. "Alaves" only defended against the hosts' attacks and struggled to transition from defense to offense.
The visitors were saved by the excellent performance of goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco from the early goal.
In the 64th minute, the defense of "Alaves" finally could not handle the pressure from the opponents. Lionel Messi stepped up to take a penalty kick, broke through the opponents' defense, and sent the ball into their net through the bottom.
In the 83rd minute, Philippe Coutinho, who appeared after a substitution, scored another goal. The Brazilian aggressively entered the penalty area and left no chance for F. Pacheco with a powerful shot.
In the final moments of the match, "Alaves" fell asleep in defense and gifted L. Messi another goal. The Argentine ended the match with two accurate shots.
The other matches ended with a victory for "Real Sociedad" in San Sebastian and a draw between "Celta" and "Espanyol".
Results:
"Barcelona" 3 - 0 "Alaves" 64' [1 - 0] L. Messi 84' [2 - 0] Coutinho 90+2' [3 - 0] L. Messi
"Villarreal" 1 - 2 "Real Sociedad" 16' [1 - 0] G. Moreno 40' [1 - 1] W. Jose 71' [1 - 2] Juanmi
"Celta" 1 - 1 "Espanyol" 45' [0 - 1] M. Hermoso 52' [1 - 1] D. Lopez (own goal)
League standings:
