Sevilla Primera Liga campaign got off to a spectacular start as they saw off a nine-man Getafe 4-1 at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday. Second half goals from Jesús Navas, Luis Fabiano, Frederic Kanoute and Alexander Kerzhakov were enough to overcome the deficit after Getafe had taken the lead in the second minute through Pablo Hernandez. With news that coach Juande Ramos will be staying at the club for at least another season, confidence was high among the players after they defeated Real Madrid 5-3 to win the Super Cup.

However Getafe shocked the hosts by taking an early lead in the second minute of the match when Pablo curled home a brilliant free kick. Sevilla came out attacking in search of the equalizer, with Luis Fabiano and Kanoute both coming close. Things began to change for the hosts when Francisco Sousa was sent off in the 22nd minute for his second yellow card.

But Kepa nearly doubled the lead for the visitors, but his header was cleared off the line. Just on the half hour mark, Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta collapsed on the field with a suspected heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Things got worse for David Cortés after he too received marching orders in the 43rd minute, a decision that allowed Sevilla back into the match. And come back they did just minutes after the start of the second half when Navas headed home Dud's cross from the left wing.

Sevilla were slowly taking control of the match and put the match beyond Getafe's reach with two goals in 3 minutes. Kanoute flicked on Duda's cross and Fabiano scored with a simple header in the 67th minute. Three minutes later Sevilla doubled the lead when Malian Seydou Keita's cross was passed into the goal by Kanoute.

Substitute Kerzakhov completed the proceedings 8 minutes from time when he headed home a Duda cross, wrapping up the game for Sevilla. Getafe next face Recreativo Huelva in their next match while Sevilla face a trip to Osasuna. 

Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna played out a dull and dreary draw at San Mames as they began their respective Primera Liga campaigns on a cautious note. The home team was down to 10 men following the sending off of Athletic defender Aitor Ocio, but the visitors were unable to take advantage of having an additional man on the field.

Osasuna coach Jose Angel Ziganda had made drastic changes to his strike force over the summer clearing out Roberto Soldado, Savo Milosevic, Bernardo Romeo and Pierre Webo and bringing in Carlos Vela, Javier Portillo and Walter Pandiani. However the new look forward line was unable to repeat last season's 3-0 win in the same fixture.

In La Liga history Bilbao are the only club along with Barcelona and Real Madrid to have never been relegated and they look well set to maintain this record intact as new signing goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz kept the home side in the match with well effected saves at crucial times.

Juanfran tested him out early, but the Athletic goalkeeper was on the button as he easily fended off a well-directed shot. On the other side Unai Exposito tested the Osasuna defence with a looping cross that could almost have broken the deadlock. Ricardo Lopez had to be on red alert to push the ball away with his fingertips.

However the first half although lively failed to produce any goals. Athletic coach Joaquin Caparros used up all his allowed substitutions as his side looked to find an opening in the second half. Cesar Cruchaga and Ludovic Delporte were the substitutes used by Osasuna, but even they failed to make any difference to the eventual score line. Ocio was sent off in injury time, but Osasuna did not have the time to capitalize on the one-man advantage.

Real Madrid started off the defense of their La Liga title with a 2-1 win over city rivals Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Saturday.  Sergio Aguero had given the visitors a shock lead over the defending champions, but Real Madrid equalized in the 15th minute through captain Raul before new boy Wesley Sneijder grabbed a goal with 10 minutes left to give Real Madrid all three points.

Having lost the Super Cup to Sevilla by a margin of 5-3, coach Bernd Schuster was determined not to produce any hiccups at the start of the new season. Schuster gave league debuts to just three of the eight new buys, with Royston Drenthe and Pepe playing named along with Sneijder in the starting line up. Meanwhile Diego Forlan, Raul Garcia and Simao Sabrosa made their league debuts for Atletico Madrid.

It was the visitors who took the lead in the opening minute of the match when Raúl García flicked on a Mariano Pernia's corner, leaving Aguero with a simple task of heading the ball into an open net. Real's first chance of the match fell to Robinho, but his effort was saved in style by Leo Franco.

However Real did equalize a minute later when Sergio Ramos' cross was met by the head of Raul before smashing into the net. Ramos came close to giving Real the lead but was unlucky to see his header strike the post. The hosts started to take control of the match, with van Nistelrooy, Mahamadou Diarra and Sneijder coming close to scoring.

Atletico came out strong in the second half, with Casillas needed to be alert in order to save shots from Maniche and Pernia. Real came very close to taking the lead in the 66th minute when Guti's free kick struck the underside of the post and rebounding straight to Nistelrooy. But the Dutch striker was unable to convert the chance and later save another effort saved brilliantly by Franco.

The champions finally got the lead in the 80th minute when Guti faked a shot from the free kick and passed the ball straight to Sneijder and the Dutch winger made no mistake in smashing the ball into the net. Atletico saw a late effort ruled out for offside while Casillas saved brilliantly to deny Aguero, making sure that Real got all three points.

Recreativo Huelva 1-1 Real Betis

Recreativo Huelva proved that last season's showing was no flash in the pan as they put in a superlative performance on Day 1 of their new La Liga campaign. Recreativo held Real Betis1-1 at home to signal their intent to compete hard this season.

Real Betis were unable to start with Mark Gonzalez as the new signing was injured in a training session. The visitors were unable to find any space in the opening minutes as Recreativo launched multiple attacks.

Marcos delivered a precise cross on the 14th minute only to find that Amoedo Bouzon's shot just went over the bar. Martins tested out new Betis keeper Ricardo, but the Portuguese international managed to keep him out.

Florent Sinama Pongolle, who made his loan from Liverpool permanent, was in sparkling form as he put the home side ahead in the 27th minute. Betis nearly equalized five minutes when Branko Ilic unleashed a shot from 25 yards only to find his shot go over the crossbar.

Betis won a corner after Mariano Pavone was fouled and the free-kick was pushed out. Victoriano Nano's perfect header from 12 yards out meant Betis drew level in the first half itself. Juan Pablo Caffa almost put them ahead, but Stefano Sorrentino in the Recreativo goal was alert enough to save it.

Despite making substitutions in the second half both teams were unable to break the deadlock and had to settle for a draw.

Murcia 2-1 Zaragoza

Murcia had a dream start to their new La Liga campaign, upsetting the odds by defeating Real Zaragoza by 2-1 on Sunday.

The newly promoted side looked confident throughout the match coming away with three precious points to kick start their season. Alvaro Mejia scored the first goal for Murcia before loanee Ricardo Oliveira got the equalizer for Zaragoza. However Fernando Baiano gave Murcia the lead in the 67th minute.

Zaragoza started the match strongly with Oliveira coming close to scoring his debut goal as early as in the 8th minute when his driven shot was heading straight towards the target, but was deflected away by defender César Arzo.

Mario Regueiro created the first real chance for Murcia when his long range shot was fumbled on the first attempt by keeper Cesar but was gathered safely before Ivan Alonso managed to reach it. Murcia took a shock lead in the 17th minute when Mejia headed home a Pablo García free kick.

However Zaragoza drew back level on the half hour mark when Oliveira took possession of the ball near the box and smashed home past Antonio Notario and into the roof of the net. Zaragoza should have taken the lead 10 minutes into the second half when Carlos Diogo's cross beat Mejia and Arzo, reaching Sergio Garcia at the far post. However the 24-year old striker saw his shot fly just wide of the cross bar.

A defensive error by Zaragoza back four saw the ball go straight to Baiano and the Brazilian striker made no mistake in scoring past Cesar to give Murcia the lead. Things got worse for Zaragoza when Matuzalem received his marching orders after a horror tackle on Regueiro. Murcia held on to the lead to claim three points and start the new season on a winning note.

Villarreal got off to a near perfect start to the new season thrashing Valencia 3-0 on the opening match of the season at the Mestalla stadium on Sunday.

Debut goals from Jon Dahl Tomasson, Giuseppe Rossi and Santi Cazorla saw Villarreal emerge comfortable winners as Valencia were reduced to nine men by the 67th minute with David Villa and Joaquin both receiving marching orders.

Before his dismissal, Villa looked in fine form, though he managed to miss a number of chances to score. Valencia's first real chance of the match came in the 14th minute when Villa managed to go round keeper Sebastian Viera but was unable to score into an open net.

Villarreal made the hosts pay for the missed chance as they took the lead through Tomasson as he rounded keeper Santiago Canizares and passing the ball into an empty net. Valencia were looking frustrated at the inability to create any clear chances leading to Villa getting booked for arguing with the referee.

Nine minutes later Villa received his marching orders after he was found guilty of diving in the box clearly looking at influencing the referee for a penalty. Villarreal could have doubled the lead at the stroke of half time, but Marcos Senna's attempt was saved brilliantly by Canizares.

Valencia went for the attack at half time, bringing in Jaime Gavilan and Fernando Morientes to replace Luis Miguel and an ineffective Miguel Ángel Angulo. Josico came close to doubling the lead, but was unable to convert with just Canizares to beat.

Villarreal finally doubled the lead when Matias Fernandez was brought down in the area by Carlos Marchena. Rossi stepped up to take the penalty and sent Canizares the wrong way to score a goal on debut for Villarreal. Valencia were out of the match in the 67th minute when Joaquin was shown red for a bad foul and using abusive language..

Villarreal added the third in the 73rd minute when Cazorla latched on to a cross from Fernandez before smashing the ball across Canizares and into the far corner of the net. Villarreal next play Real Madrid on Sunday while Valencia face newly promoted Almeria.

Barcelona started the new season in an unconvincing fashion with a drab 0-0 draw against Racing Santander on the opening day of the season.

Barca were unable to find the net even after enjoying numerical superiority for the last 20 minutes after Racing striker Ebi Smolarek received a red card. Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard left Thierry Henry on the bench, deciding to go ahead with his tried and test strike trio of Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto'o. Oleguer replaced the injured Carlos Puyol at the back.

Racing looked the better team at the start, creating a chance as early as in the 4th minute. Oscar Serrano latched onto a great pass by Pablo Pinillos but saw his shot saved in style by keeper Victor Valdes while Pedro Munitis' shot on rebound was blocked.

Valdes had to be alert once again to deny Aldo Duscher's shot from inside the box. Racing very nearly took a shock lead in the 23rd minute when Jorge Lopez's through ball was latched on by Gonzalo Colsa but saw his shot smash against the post.

Racing were creating all sorts of chances with Munitis and Duscher coming close to scoring. Though Barcelona managed to step up a gear in the second half, they were unable to find any breakthrough, though Henry came off the bench and very nearly snatched all three points for Barca as he saw his effort hit the post. But Racing hung on and will be delighted with their performance in the match.

Deportivo LaCoruna 0-3 Almeria

Deportivo La Coruna suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Almeria at the Riazor Stadium on Sunday.

On a day that saw all the three promoted teams gain victories, Almeria took an early lead through Alvaro Negredo and followed it up by goals from Fernando Soriano and Albert Crusat. Pre-season favorites to go down this season, Almeria showed that they are more than capable to launch a successful campaign.

Though Deportivo started strongly, they were soon pegged back as Almeria started to take control of the match and took a shock lead in the 19th minute when Negredo latched on to a lofted pass by Bruno Saltor before slotting the ball home.

Deportivo struggled to create any chances and Almeria keeper David Cobeno spent an effortless first half hour of the match. A second goal for Almeria was long time coming and it did arrive 10 minutes before half time when Soriano reached Crusat's cross before smashing the ball home on the second attempt.

Crusat completed the humiliation for Deportivo in the 51st minute when he scored a brilliant goal, coming in from the left wing before slotting the ball past Dudu Aouate. Deportivo managed to create some pressure on the Almeria goal, with Andres Guardado, Riki and Fabricio Coloccini all missing chances but were unable to find a way back into the match.

Espanyol 0-1 Valladolid

Valladolid completed a 100 percent record for newly promoted sides with a convincing 1-0 victory over Espanyol on Sunday. Valladolid's win means that all the three promoted sides started their La Liga season with a victory.

Espanyol's defeat continues the tradition of starting problems for the club, as it had lost to promoted side Gimnastic Tarragona last time round. And though club manager Ernesto Valverde tried his hard to avoid a repeat of last season's start, a 55th minute goal by Joseba Llorente was enough to earn Valladolid a victory in its first match of the season.

Valverde will be praying for quick recoveries to Raul Tamudo, Ivan De La Pena and Francisco Rufete as his side looked toothless in attack against a weaker team. Espanyol started the match strongly and almost took the lead early in the match when Valdo found himself free in the box but managed to miss the target from just six yards out.

Meanwhile Valladolid were starting to gain confidence and Espanyol keeper Carlos Kameni had to be on his toes to deny Borja. Valladolid started to enjoy more of the possession and were looking the more threatening of the two as Alberto Marcos and Daniel Kome both saw their shots deflect wide while Borja effort was way off target.

Llorente should have had a goal at the half hour mark but his driven effort was saved brilliantly by Kameni. Valdo had a rare chance for Espanyol at the other end but Ludovic Butelle managed to hold on to the attempt. Valladolid finally took the lead 10 minutes into the second half through Llorente who latched on to a cross from Kome and smashing the ball into the net from close range.

Valladolid had a great chance of putting the match beyond Espanyol's reach in the 73rd minute when Jonathan Sesma's curling free kick was met by Rafa Lopez but his shot went inches wide of the post. However Espanyol failed to make Valladolid pay for the missed chance, leaving José Luis Mendilibar's team with all three points.

Real Mallorca started the new season in a near perfect fashion with a thumping 3-0 victory over Levante at the Ono Estadi on Sunday.

Ariel Ibagaza scored twice and Daniel Güiza added another as Mallorca claimed a comfortable victory against a team that finished four places below them last season. Mallorca dominated the match throughout and manager Gregorio Manzano Ballesteros will be delighted by the performance of his players.

After a tentative start, Mallorca began to take control of the match, creating a number of chances to score. The first real chance fell to Adrover Tuni in the 17th minute but the striker somehow managed to scoop the ball over the bar from 12 yards out.

However 6 minutes later Mallorca took the lead when referee awarded a penalty to the hosts after Tuni was brought down in the area by Bruno Cirillo. Ibagaza stepped up confidently and converted to give his team the lead.

Tuni missed another great chance to double the lead when Güiza curled in a delightful cross but the striker shot wide from just six yards out. Levante's first real chance of scoring fell to Riga Mustapha but the striker's attempt was saved in style by Miguel Moya.

Mallorca put the match beyond Levante's reach in the 56th minute when Güiza reached Webo's header before hitting a delightful lob over Marco Storari and into the net. And it was all over for Levante 15 minutes later when Ibagaza scored his second goal of the game after he was found on the edge of the area following some good work by Jonás.

Mallorca next face a trip to Madrid to play Atletico while Levante will be looking for a better performance when they meet newly promoted Murcia on Sunday.