Gerardo Martino enjoyed his competitive debut with Barcelona more than Carlos Ancelotti’s with Real Madrid as the La Liga champions stormed to a 7-0 demolition of Levante in their season opener at the Nou Camp yesterday.
Real had to come from behind against Real Betis for a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu, new €30 million signing Isco heading an 86th-minute winner.
Jorge Molina had put the lively Betis ahead in the 14th minute only for Karim Benzema to level in the 26th.
At the Nou Camp, Lionel Messi and Spain striker Pedro both scored twice, while new €57 million signing Neymar started on the bench and came on as a 63rd-minute substitute.
Barca made a whirlwind start, scoring six times before half-time as the team responded to Martino’s calls for greater intensity in their pressing game and a more direct approach.
“The debut exceeded all my expectations,” Martino told a news conference as he insisted he had not made any changes to the way the team played.
“I am not looking for a Barca modeled by Martino. I was already a fan of Barca’s concepts of play before I came, and all I want them to do is to do some things they have forgotten or stopped doing.”
The outstanding Cesc Fabregas squared for Alexis Sanchez to tap in the opener in the third minute, and Messi exchanged passes with Pedro to stroke in the second.
Slick move
Dani Alves struck the third and Pedro, who started wide on the left of the attack keeping Neymar on the bench, bagged the fourth. Adriano was felled for a penalty in the 42nd which Messi fired home, and Fabregas set up Xavi with an extravagant looping pass for the sixth.
Neymar was given a rousing reception when he came on and showed a few nice touches but it was Pedro who notched the seventh after a mix up in the Levante defence in the 73rd.
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund struggled to break down Eintracht Braunschweig before Jonas Hofmann scored one goal and won a penalty late in the game to give them a 2-1 win yesterday.
Treble winners Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 on Saturday courtesy of a Mario Mandzukic volley to equal their club record of 27 league games without defeat.
