Madrid: Juanma Mata and Pablo Hernandez both scored in the second half as Valencia beat 10-man Sevilla 2-0, while Roberto Soldado scored a hat-trick as Getafe romped to a 4-1 win over Racing Santander to open its campaign.
Mata collected teammate Ever Banega's controlled pass in the 47th minute and struck the ball through a crowed area and beyond goalkeeper Andres Palop to open the scoring before Hernandez sealed the victory in the 80th with a looping volley yesterday.
Sevilla had lost Frederic Kanoute at the end of the first half when the Mali striker received a second yellow card for a challenge on Carlos Marchena. The scoreline would have been more lopsided but for Palop, who made a number of impressive saves to keep Sevilla in the game.
Striker Alvaro Negredo made his debut for Sevilla following a transfer from Real Madrid last week, coming on in the second half when coach Manolo Jimenez also brought on striker Arouna Kone in a vain bid to bolster his attack.
Elsewhere, Malaga defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0, Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 against Espanyol, Mallorca bested Xerez 2-0, Osasuna drew 1-1 with Villarreal and Almeria and 10-man Valladolid played out a 0-0 draw.
In Santander, Rafael Lopez opened the scoring for Getafe in the 12th minute after heading home Adrian Gonzalez's corner. Gonzalez set up Soldado's first, a close-range shot in the penalty area in the 29th and the forward stretched the lead with his second five minutes later.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 31, 2009, 11:09