Almería vs Real Madrid

David Alaba scored the winning goal as Real Madrid came back from a goal down to beat newly-promoted UD Almeria 2-1 in La Liga on Sunday.

Some of his link-up play was sharp while he was involved in the moves leading to the goals. Was solid in defence and helped Real Madrid see out the game. His introduction helped Real Madrid improve their control of the proceedings. Dropped deeper in the second half which allowed him to control the proceedings better. Much like Rudiger, Nacho hardly looked comfortable in the early stages of the game, with Umar Sadiq causing him problems. There were some positives, with his progressive passes catching the eye for one. It was a hard-fought victory for Los Blancos, with Almeria’s Fernando Martinez making it difficult for them as he pulled off 13 saves on the night. Real Madrid continued to keep the pressure on their opponents after the break and it finally paid off as Vazquez managed to level things up in the 61st minute. He got his goal the second time around, though, with a neat finish that brought Madrid level. In the end, though, Carlo Ancelotti’s champions pulled through to start their La Liga campaign on a winning note. Showed steady improvements as the game wore on, but the German international will need to do much better to keep Eder Militao and David Alaba out. Almeria, back in La Liga after seven years, had the full backing of their vociferous home support and riding on it, they opened the scoring just six minutes in through Largie Ramazani’s fine finish.

Real Madrid began their LaLiga Santander season with a scare yesterday when Largie Ramazani put Almeria ahead early on against the giants.

Among those who participate in these votes, Socios.com will raffle an official LaLiga weekly match ball. Each match will have a winner - once all the games of the matchday have finished, a poll will be launched in which readers will be able to choose the Decisive Player of the matchday from among the 10 winners of the 10 matches. MARCA.com will activate a poll in its live coverage of each LaLiga Santander match so that registered users can vote for the player they consider to have been the decisive player of the game.

Nigeria striker Umar Sadiq made his La Liga debut in Almeria's 2-1 loss to Real Madrid despite the club having agreed a €30m million transfer with ...

“He will be sold for a little less than €30 million. There was speculation that Sadiq would sit out Sunday’s match as he awaits the completion of his move to Villarreal but Rubi opted to field him and the striker, who has 41 goals in 74 games for Almeria, did not receive a hostile welcome from the home fans. Sadiq wasted no time in making his presence felt as he nearly doubled his side’s lead in the 13th minute when he drove a shot at goal, but the attempt from the edge of the box flashed just over the bar.

Substitute David Alaba needed one touch to help Real Madrid rally to victory in its Spanish league opener.

Valencia finished ninth in the league last season and club owner Peter Lim, a Singaporean businessman, remains under attack by fans over his policies. “The substitution came at the time of the foul and he is very good from that position. Gattuso took over from José Bordalás, who was fired despite leading Valencia to the Copa del Rey final in his single season in charge. Kubo picked up a nice pass by Mikel Merino behind the Cádiz defender and scored with a shot from inside the area in the 24th minute. After talking to the coach, Alaba sprinted from the bench and went straight to the free kick spot, then curled a well-struck shot that went over the wall and hit the post before going in. The 75th-minute foul happened just in time for Alaba to come off the bench and score on his first touch to help Real Madrid rally to a 2-1 victory over promoted Almería.

Nigeria striker Umar Sadiq made his La Liga debut in Almeria's 2-1 loss to Real Madrid despite the club having agreed a €30m million transfer with ...

“He will be sold for a little less than €30 million. There was speculation that Sadiq would sit out Sunday’s match as he awaits the completion of his move to Villarreal but Rubi opted to field him and the striker, who has 41 goals in 74 games for Almeria, did not receive a hostile welcome from the home fans. Sadiq wasted no time in making his presence felt as he nearly doubled his side’s lead in the 13th minute when he drove a shot at goal, but the attempt from the edge of the box flashed just over the bar.