Madrid, Spain – Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid earned its first win in La Liga, 3-0, on Sunday against overmatched Granada at the Bernabeu.
Scoreless through his first two La Liga games, Ronaldo scored in the 26th and 54th minutes. Gonzalo Higuain added an insurance goal in the 75th, 15 minutes after Granada had Borja Gomez sent off.
Real Madrid tied Valencia, 1-1, and was surprised by Getafe, 2-1, in its first two matches this season, but after a Spanish Super Cup win against Barcelona, it got back on track in La Liga.
Ronaldo opened the scoring when he converted from a tough angle on the left. His shot took a slight deflection, and sneaked through the legs of goalkeeper Tono of Granada.
Real doubled its lead nine minutes after half when substitute Angel Di Maria played Ronaldo in on goal, and the Portuguese star converted his second chance after an initial save from Tono.
Ronaldo was forced off later in the second half after a challenge that earned Gomez his second yellow card and an ejection, and substitute Higuain notched a third goal off an assist from Mesut Ozil to secure three points.
Real is five points off the pace of three-win Barcelona after three matches. Granada dropped its second game against one draw.
Barcelona 1, Valencia 0
Barcelona, Spain - Adriano scored in the 22nd minute and Barcelona maintained its perfect start in La Liga with a 1-0 win against Valencia on Sunday at Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi combined for four goals in the first two matches this season, and picked up his first assist on the Adriano goal. Adriano accepted a pass from Messi and deposited a right-footed shot to the upper-right corner.
Valencia was not void of chances as it had a few near-misses, including a goal from Victor Ruiz that was called back for offside. Still, Valencia was lucky Barca did not put this fixture away, as it also wasted chances, including two from Cesc Fabregas.
While Barca is perfect, Valencia remained winless with a loss and two draws on the season.
Athletic Bilbao 2, Valladolid 0
Bilbao, Spain - Aritz Aduriz and Markel Susaeta scored six minutes apart in the second half as Athletic Bilbao started the post-Javi Martinez era with a 2-0 win over Valladolid on Sunday at San Mames in La Liga.
Martinez completed a $50 million move to Bayern Munich on Wednesday and Bilbao moved on without its former star midfielder and from its horrific start to the season with its first win of the season.
Bilbao allowed nine goals in two losses to start the campaign, but Aduriz and Susaeta scored in the 69th and 75th, respectively, to snap the two-game slide.
Valladolid had its two-game, season-opening win streak snapped.
Levante 3, Espanyol 2
Valencia, Spain - Levante rallied from two goals down at half, despite having Vicente Iborra sent off, as Michel scored the final goal off a deflected shot in stoppage time of a 3-2 win at the Ciutat de Valencia on Sunday in La Liga.
Samuele Longo and Sergio Tejera scored just a few minutes apart in the opening half for Espanyol, but Juanlu and Christian Lell pulled those goals back in a two-minute stretch of the second half.
Iborra was sent off in the 82nd minute, but Michel had a shot deflect in off Raul Rodriguez three minutes into extra time to cap the comeback for Levante.
Levante won for the first time this season in three matches. Espanyol lost its third straight to open the season.
Rayo Vallecano 0, Sevilla 0
Madrid, Spain - Ten-man Rayo Vallecano preserved its unbeaten start in La Liga on Sunday with a 0-0 draw against Sevilla, as the visitors missed two penalty kicks at the Teresa Rivero in La Liga.
Alvaro Negredo hit the post just seven minutes into the match and Ivan Rakitic fired wide from the spot late in the second half for Sevilla after goalkeeper Ruben was sent off, as Rayo secured a tie to go with consecutive wins to start the season.
Sevilla also remained undefeated after three matches, but has two ties and one win.
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