Barca, Madrid off to winning starts

Barcelona

Barcelona got off to a winning start in La Liga on Sunday, beating Real Betis 2-0 in a subdued atmosphere at the Nou Camp in the first game since the deadly attacks in the Catalan capital and the town of Cambrils.

Rivals Real Madrid began their pursuit of winning back-to-back league titles for the first time since 2008 with a 3-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna, with captain Sergio Ramos sent off in the dying seconds.

Betis defender Alin Tosca diverted a cross from the lively Gerard Deulofeu into his own net to put Barca ahead in the 36th minute, while the former Everton forward, who returned to his boyhood club this summer, also laid on the pass for the second goal which was smashed in by Sergi Roberto in the 39th.

Lionel Messi was the fulcrum of most of Barca’s creativity and more responsibility was placed on his shoulders due to the absence of Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta but the Argentine was denied a goal, hitting the woodwork three times.

Despite the win there was a solemn feeling at the Nou Camp before and during the game with only 56 480 supporters going to the 99 000-capacity arena. The club announced it had granted fans’ requests to return tickets in the wake of Thursday’s attacks, which killed 14 people and injured more than 100.

“What happened was terrible, we hope something like this never happens again. We are not afraid but this needs to stop. This victory was for them.”

Gareth Bale tapped into an empty net in the 20th minute to give Real Madrid the lead against the run of play but then the visitors began to dominate play and Casemiro added a second seven minutes later by finishing off a move involving 44 passes.

Toni Kroos then met a Bale cutback to strike Real’s third in the 62nd minute while Depor striker Florin Andone completed a miserable night in front of goal by squandering a late penalty before Ramos earned a second yellow card in injury time. The Spain centre back joins Pablo Alfaro and Xavi Aguado on a Liga record of 18 red cards although he has never been sent off in 143 games for his country.