Barcelona and Real Madrid Win Twice to Ignite La Liga's Title Race
Barcelona crushed Elche 5-0 and beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 while Real Madrid also won twice to open La Liga. Bayern thrashed Stuttgart 5-1 and PSG snatched a late 2-2 at Lille.
The new La Liga season is under way with all eyes on the old rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, who have both opened their campaigns with back-to-back wins, a strong start that points to an early fight for the top of the table. Elsewhere in Europe, the standout results were a Bayern Munich rout and a dramatic late comeback from Paris Saint-Germain.
Real Madrid grind out a hard-fought win over Espanyol
The opening fixtures for the two rivals, Barcelona and Real Madrid, began with a hard-fought 2-1 win for Real Madrid over Espanyol, with the Whites needing a last-minute goal from substitute Carlos Espí to settle the contest, after Jude Bellingham had opened the scoring before Àlex Calafatra levelled for Espanyol.
Barcelona open the season with five goals at Elche
Barcelona, by contrast, had a far easier and more emphatic start, sweeping Elche aside 5-0. Brazil's Raphinha opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 14th minute, before new signing Karim Adeyemi added the second in first-half stoppage time. In the second half Raphinha returned to score his second in the 67th minute, then Fermín López completed the rout with two goals in the 71st and 79th minutes, sending Barcelona to a big win and a strong message at the start of their title defence.
Round two: a second win for Barcelona over Athletic Bilbao
The race continued this week with a new round that offered both Real Madrid and Barcelona the chance to make it two wins in a row, sharpening the battle for the top of La Liga early on. Barcelona duly kept up their strong start with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, Raphinha opening the scoring in the 37th minute before Fermín López sealed it with a second in the 82nd.
Europe's highlights: Bayern Munich sweep Stuttgart aside
Turning to the standout matches in Europe, Bayern Munich continued their fine form with a big 5-1 win over Stuttgart, dominating the game especially in the second half. Their goals came from Dayot Upamecano, Michael Olise, Aleksandar Pavlović and Luis Díaz, along with an own goal from Stuttgart's Josha Vagnoman, who turned the ball into his own net after having scored his side's equaliser at the start of the second half.
PSG rescue themselves at Lille in stoppage time
In France, meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain again dropped points but managed to save themselves in the closing moments against Lille. Lille led 2-0 until the final minutes, before PSG struck twice in stoppage time, first through Vitinha and then Marquinhos with a dramatic late equaliser, ending the game 2-2 and snatching a precious point after coming close to defeat.
All eyes on the Barcelona–Real Madrid battle
As the season rolls on, the European picture looks open on more than one front, but attention will stay fixed above all on the fight between Barcelona and Real Madrid, especially with both sides starting so strongly and each eager to stake an early claim to the top of La Liga.
