Real ease past Deportivo

MADRID: Real Madrid’s winning streak shows no signs of abating as the European champions began their defence of La Liga with a comfortable 3-0 win at Deportivo la Coruna.

Gareth Bale, Casemiro and Toni Kroos were on target for the visitors, but Real’s night at La Riazor ended on a sour note when captain Sergio Ramos was shown the 23rd red card of his Real career.

“Clearly I am not happy with what happened with Sergio,” said Real boss Zinedine Zidane.

“I don’t like seeing my players get sent off, but we can’t change it now.”

Ramos could have been dismissed earlier in the second-half when he only received a yellow card for a slap on Deportivo defender Fabian Schar.

However, he tied a record for 18 red cards in La Liga with a second booking for an elbow on Borja Valle in the dying embers of the match.

“In general we can be happy with our performance,” added Zidane.

Zidane made four changes from the side that completed a 51 aggregate hammering of Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday.

Victory in midweek sealed a fourth trophy for Zidane’s men in as many months after lifting La Liga, the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup.

Real move to the top of the table thanks to their better goal difference ahead of Barcelona, who beat Real Betis 2-0 in emotional circumstances at the Camp Nou earlier on Sunday.

In Barca’s first home match since a pair of terrorist attacks killed 14 people and wounded around 120 in Barcelona’s bustling Las Ramblas boulevard and the nearby seaside resort of Cambrils, Barcelona players wore black armbands and shir ts with ‘Barc elona’ replacing individual names on the back.

The hosts rose to the challenge of raising the city’s spirits as an Alin Tosca own goal and Sergi Roberto’s strike ensured a comfortable victory. AFP