REAL MADRID OPENED their first La Liga campaign under Julen Lopetegui with a 2-0 win over Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In the first league game since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus, Gareth Bale seized his chance to impress, setting up Dani Carvajal for the opening goal before scoring the second himself after the break.
Lopetegui suffered a 4-2 defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup in his first competitive game in charge, but a 10th league win in a row over Getafe looked likely once Carvajal broke the deadlock.
Madrid, who started Keylor Navas over Thibaut Courtois in goal, were not quite firing on all cylinders but never looked likely to throw away a result given Getafe did not manage a shot until the 69th minute.
Bale, starting wide on the right, hit the bar with a diving header early on before Carvajal made it 1-0 20 minutes in, nodding the ball over David Soria after the keeper had punched Bale’s cross half-clear.
Getafe handed them a second goal six minutes after the restart, when Bale’s shot was parried into the net by Soria after Marco Asensio had stolen the ball from centre-back Djene Dakonam, giving Lopetegui a satisfactory start to life in the top flight.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
I imagine that Bale will have a very good season provided he stays fit but he’s not good enough to replace Ronaldo and score the crucial important goals that he scored for them, Real will win nothing this season and possibly for the next few seasons
@Brian Connolly: that’s a bold claim, Real were more than just Ronaldo, they just adapted their game around him previously. They still have one of the best teams and squads going and the rest of the team will step up. They could’ve done with a striker however as they haven’t much cover there. I think how they do will mostly come down to how well lopetigui does as they have the players
Maybe you knows him as GOAT
@David Carino: Messi wasn’t at Real…
@Colo J: Hasn’t been at Barcelona either in the last 3 or 4 years , terrific WC though by his standards