MADRID, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The first round of matches in the Spanish La Liga Santander season saw both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona claim comfortable wins, while newly promoted Huesca also won their first-ever game in the Spanish top-flight. Here are some things we learned this weekend.
1. Business as usual for Messi
Leo Messi may have had a disappointing World Cup but worries his international form would be carried over to his return for Barcelona have quickly been dispelled. Messi scored a cheeky free kick to open the scoring in Barca's 3-0 win over Alaves and then scored the last goal of the night to seal the win after an excellent control on his chest.
Not only were his goals important, but his control, running with the ball and linkup play were as sharp as ever. For FC Barcelona at least, it is as if Messi has never been away: all of which makes you wonder even more about what really went wrong in Russia.
2. Better news for Lopetegui
Real Madrid recovered from their 4-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid with a 2-0 win at home to Getafe to kick off their domestic campaign with Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale scoring their goals. Bale was the provider for Carvajal's goal and also hit the post himself in a display which showed he is stepping up to take more responsibility in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo's departure.
The game also showed Lopetegui is imposing his style on the team, with the Madrid midfield pressing hard to recover possession and then keeping the ball more than under Zidane's more counter-attacking style. It is still early days and Getafe were disappointing, but it was the result and the performance that Lopetegui needed after early doubts.
3. Attendance a worry
Although Barca and Madrid both enjoyed home wins, it was disappointing to see both of those victories come in front of stands which were only slightly more than half-full. August is never a good time for attendance with many fans away on holiday, but also, the 22:15 kick off time is hardly conducive to going to watch a live game of football, especially if you want to take children with you.
In a week in which La Liga announced plans to play league matches in the United States, it's worrying that supporters are abandoning the stadiums. Football is about the players to be sure, but even a great game played in an empty arena is a sterile affair and both La Liga and the clubs need to do something to stop the rot.
4. Hello Andre Silva
The last player to debut with a hat-trick in La Liga was former Barcelona striker Romario in the 1993-94 season, but Sevilla forward Andre Silva repeated the Brazilian's feat as his side ruined Rayo Vallecano's return to the top-flight with a 4-1 win in Vallecas.
Silva needed just 80 minutes to score one goal more than he netted in 924 minutes at AC Milan last season, and hopes are high in Sevilla that he can be the focal point in attack that was missing last season.
Meanwhile, Pablo Machin has had a positive start in the Sevilla dugout, guiding them into the group stage of the Europa League and kicking off the league campaign with a convincing win.
