Three-asy does it for Juan-tastic Betis

While Real Betis may not be renowned for opening day La Liga (LL) victories, Manuel Pellegrini’s men swept Elche aside with a 3-0 victory to secure just their second top-tier matchday one win in eight attempts. Still smarting from missing out on UEFA Champions League football last season, Real Betis started well as they began their quest for a…
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Rajković repels Bilbao in Basque Country

Athletic Bilbao continued their solid form in LaLiga (LL) openers despite being held to a frustrating 0-0 draw with RCD Mallorca. The result, albeit unsatisfying, extended Los Leones' record in the first game of the season to only a solitary defeat across the last six campaigns. Hoping to continue their impressive form at the San Mamés after…
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Ál-va-roads lead to an Atlético victory

Atlético Madrid secured a fourth successive opening day LaLiga (LL) victory with a convincing 3-0 win over Getafe, extending their unbeaten H2H run to 22 games in the process. Two of LL’s more experienced heads in the dugout went head-to-head here, but it was Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid side who struck the first blow versus Quique Sánchez…
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Old Lady given new hope in Sassuolo slaughter

Dušan Vlahović scored a brace as Juventus started their Serie A campaign in perfect fashion, strolling to a 3-0 win over Sassuolo at the Allianz Stadium. Despite being clear favourites, Juventus failed to land a shot inside the opening 20 minutes, and were also left feeling grateful that Grégoire Defrel spurned a huge chance to open the scoring,…
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Neapolitans dine for five in delicious curtain-raiser

SSC Napoli responded to an early Kevin Lasagna goal against the run of play with five of their own, recording a thumping 5-2 victory over Hellas Verona to put down the gauntlet for an improvement on last year's third-placed finish in Serie A. After a summer which saw the departure of key players in Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries…
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Alaba stunner sees Blancos bank all three points

Picking up from where they left off, with last season’s European and domestic triumphs, Real Madrid started the new campaign as winners as they came from behind to defeat newly promoted side UD Almería 2-1 away from home, extending their winning streak at the Estadio Mediterráneo to three games. Coming into the game on the back of their UEFA…
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Gattuso’s Bats resist as Girona cave in league opener

Ten-man Valencia opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Girona to ensure Gennaro Gattuso became the eighth of Valencia’s last ten managers to avoid a league defeat in their first game in charge. After a disappointing campaign in which they finished in ninth place, Valencia once again decided it was time for a change of approach and…
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