Real Madrid won big on the opponent's field in the opening round

Coach Zidane's team defeated Deportivo 3-0 in the first match of La Liga 2017-2018.

Goals: Bale 20', Casemiro 27', Kroos 62'

Gareth Bale scored Real's first goal in La Liga this season when he slotted the ball into an empty net in the 20th minute. The Welsh star also set up the third goal of the match, which was scored by midfielder Toni Kroos.

Between Bale and Kroos' goals, Casemiro had a precise close-range tap-in to make it 2-0. This was also the ninth goal that the Brazilian defensive midfielder has scored in 107 matches for Real.

Bale and Kroos helped Real start their title defense campaign smoothly. Photo: Reuters

The big win at Deportivo was further proof of Real's depth of strength. Without Ronaldo, who is suspended until the end of September, the reigning La Liga champions still scored a series of goals against their opponents. On August 16, Real also did the same when they defeated Barca 2-0 in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

In addition to the three scorers, Marcelo also played a prominent role for Real. The Brazilian defender was the one who sparked the opening goal when he passed from the left wing to Modric to shoot from a distance. After a push from goalkeeper Ruben Martinez, Benzema got the ball and made a half-pass, half-shot to set up Bale.

Marcelo even directly assisted Real's second goal in the 27th minute. From a situation playing with the ball on the left wing, the Brazilian defender made a move and then crossed across the 5m50 area for Casemiro to simply tap in and score.

Marcelo is a very important striker on Real's left wing.

Deportivo also created many chances but wasted them all. If they had finished more accurately in the first seven minutes, the home team could have taken a two-goal lead. Goalkeeper Navas saved both situations against the Deportivo striker.

The home team also had a penalty that was not successfully used in the 89th minute. The one who missed was striker Florin Andone.

While Deportivo were unable to convert their chances into goals, Real had a variety of finishing options and were successful with different players. After winger Bale and defensive midfielder Casemiro, it was midfielder Kroos’s turn to score with a decisive shot in the 62nd minute. Bale’s pass was so good that Kroos had enough space and time to beat all the home team’s attempts to block.

Ramos pushed his hand into Schar's face, during an argument between the two sides about Real being slow to move the ball out of bounds when a Deportivo player was injured.

While the two front players continued to score, Real only had one step back, which belonged to captain Sergio Ramos. The player wearing the number four shirt received his first yellow card in the 53rd minute when he pushed his hand into Fabian Schar's face in a controversial situation, then received a second card after an aerial challenge in the second minute of stoppage time. With his suspension, Ramos will have to sit out the next match against Valencia at the Bernabeu.

According to VNE