Ronaldo double inspires Real

Real Madrid notched their first victory of Spain’s Primera Division campaign when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 3-0 win for the champions at home to 10-man Granada on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho’s side badly needed a good performance after taking only a point from their opening two games and Ronaldo stepped up with his 149th and 150th goals for the club on his 149th appearance in all competitions.

The Portuguese forward’s first came in the 26th minute when his deflected left-foot strike from a narrow angle arrowed between the legs of Granada goalkeeper Tono.

Tono saved Ronaldo’s first-time shot nine minutes into the second half and he tapped the rebound into an empty net before limping off after he was felled by Borja Gomez.

Gomez was booked for the challenge, a second yellow card of the match for the Granada defender that left the Andalusians with 10 men.

Substitute Gonzalo Higuain added a third for Real 14 minutes from time when he was set up by strike partner Karim Benzema.

The victory left Real five points adrift of arch-rivals Barcelona, who won 1-0 at home to Valencia thanks to a screamer from fullback Adriano and are the only team to have a perfect record after three games.

Bilbao breakthrough

In the earlier kickoffs, Athletic Bilbao ended a dreadful early-season run when Aritz Aduriz and Markel Susaeta scored in a 2-0 win at home to Real Valladolid that lifted the Basque club off the bottom of the table.

Rayo Vallecano, who won their opening two games, drew 0-0 at home to Sevilla but were lucky to escape with a point after goalkeeper Ruben was dismissed in the 69th minute.

Rayo are third on seven points, level with Real Mallorca and Malaga, who won 1-0 on Saturday against Real Sociedad and Real Zaragoza respectively. Valladolid have six points in fifth.

Levante shrugged off the 81st-minute dismissal of Vicente Iborra to snatch an-added time winner in a 3-2 comeback win at home to Espanyol, leaving the Barcelona-based side, who were leading 2-0, without a point.