6 big talking points from LaLiga's opening weekend

It’s slightly earlier than usual, but a new season of LaLiga has exploded into action with some surprising results, top performances and history being made.

Barcelona and Real Madrid kicked off the season with home games against mid-table oppositions, while pretenders to the crown Atletico faced a tough opener away to Valencia.

Elsewhere, there was a battle of European contenders at the Estadio de Ceramica, a memorable debut for a Sevilla player and a strong dose of reality for Seville’s other big club.

Here are six talking points from a memorable weekend of games.

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#1 Barcelona and Madrid align in style

The dichotomy between philosophies and playing styles has always been one of the most fascinating aspects of the Barcelona/Real Madrid rivalry.

This was no more apparent than during the Guardiola and Mourinho era, where Barcelona’s team of home-grown stars thrilled the world with their football while Real Madrid’s Galacticos 2.0 served as the perfect arch-nemesis.

With Julen Lopetegui in charge now, the gap in styles has never been smaller.

Madrid loaded their team with playmakers on Sunday night, as Casemiro was left out to make room for Dani Ceballos. Along with Toni Kroos, Isco and Marco Asensio, Madrid had full control of the ball and centre of the park, while Gareth Bale had the explosiveness to help his side change gears.

Emphasis on team play and sharing the responsibility seems to be Madrid’s chosen plan in the post-Ronaldo era.

Meanwhile, Barcelona are still reaping the benefits of having Lionel Messi. The defending champions were frustrated for 60 minutes before the little genius’ free-kick opened the scoring.

From that point, it was normal service resumed. Barcelona peppered the Alaves keeper with shots and found two more with a trademark cut-in-and-strike from Phillippe Coutinho and a touch of class from Messi.

The expectation is that Messi will dominate on the way to yet another title, but perhaps Madrid will find an inventive way to ensure the gap doesn’t widen any further.

#2 Valencia and Atletico remind us of their battling qualities

Many are tipping Atletico Madrid to challenge for the title this season after an active transfer window. Their 4-2 triumph over rivals Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup only strengthened that belief.

Their hosts on Monday night, Valencia, had just returned to the Champions League thanks in no small part to Marcelino. The manager has them organised, tough to break down and lethal on the counter-attack.

Unsurprisingly, this encounter was scrappy. Atletico had settled the better and took a first-half lead when Griezmann produced a magic pass for Angel Correa to finish.

Valencia, though, didn’t get top four last season without possessing some grit. They came out in the second half with renewed vigour and equalised through last season’s top scorer Rodrigo.

With the full backing of the Mestalla, Valencia took on Atletico stride for stride and could perhaps consider themselves unfortunate not to win a game that ended with both sides exhausted like it was extra-time.

Neither side will earn plaudits for their excellent attacking football this season, but there’s no doubting their battling qualities. Nobody will enjoy facing them.

#3 The resurrection of Andre Silva

Andre Silva celebrates his goal

Sevilla have a knack of taking damaged goods and making them shine again.

Amongst their best performers during their 4-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday were Roque Mesa, a flop at Swansea, Jesus Navas, who had a frustrating spell at Manchester City, and Andre Silva, a disappointment at AC Milan.

It was the young Portuguese forward who stole the headlines with a début hat-trick.

Silva scored just twice in 24 Serie A appearances for Milan. It took him 45 minutes to match that total on his first start for his new club.

Then he surpassed it with a third goal late in the second half after a helping hand from VAR, becoming the first player to ever score a hat-trick on his LaLiga debut in the 21st century.

The 22-year-old had bags of talent but found the chaos of Milan to be too difficult an environment to prove that.

He may only be at Sevilla for a year, but the early signs are he’s going to settle in nicely in the south of Spain. If his goals can propel Sevilla back into the Champions League, that stay may become a permanent one.

It’s only one game, and Silva will face stiff competition from Wissam Ben Yedder and Luis Muriel, but let’s not take anything away from him. This was a dream start to a possible resurgence.

#4 Real Sociedad prove European credentials at Villareal

Villareal are one of the league’s most consistent sides and are usually one of their several European representatives.

Their opponents, Real Sociedad, have flirted with Europe but have been troubled by managerial changes and the departures of key players. Nonetheless, they hope to be competing for a Europa League place come the end of the season.

So a win at the Estadio de Ceramica was a great start for the Basques. Gerard Moreno got the hosts off to quick start, but La Real fought back with goals from Willian Jose and substitute Juanmi.

The form of Jose will be crucial if they’re going to compete for those European places. The Brazilian had his best season yet last year and could catch the eye of Europe’s biggest clubs should he continue his upward trajectory.

Villareal will be juggling European and domestic football once again and will be hoping that their new signings can settle in quickly to help with the strain.

#5 Levante trample new-found Betis enthusiasm

The shock of the weekend came at the Benito Villamarin. Quique Setien’s Real Betis earned many admirers with their style of football last season and enthused their passionate local support with a fifth-place finish.

A summer transfer window that saw the capture of William Carvalho and astute signings of Takashi Inui and Sergio Canales ensured plenty of season tickets were sold and expectations increased.

Then Levante came along and spoiled the party before it could really get going.

Levante staved off relegation last season thanks to some remarkable late-season form that saw them win six of their last eight games, including a 5-4 win over Barcelona.

It seems they’ve taken that form into the new season, with captain Jose Luis Morales leading the charge. His two goals in the second half sealed an eye-catching 3-0 victory and a sign that Levante may have grander ambitions than just staying in the league.

For Betis, this was a reminder that the hard work starts all over again and that they’ll have to defend a lot better if they’re to repeat last season’s heroics.

#6 Santi Cazorla defies the odds to return to professional football

Cazorla spent two years out football thanks to a career-threatening Achilles injury. What began as inflammation grew into a far more complicated problem that resulted in the loss of several inches of his Achilles tendon to infection. For a while, it seemed this gruelling ordeal was never going to end.

The midfielder returned to Villareal following his release from Arsenal and, despite apparently being told he had little chance of playing again, proved his fitness to earn a contract.

Seven years after leaving the club, the 33-year-old pulled on the distinct yellow jersey of Villareal once more and took to the field against Real Sociedad.

He may not feature much this season, but being able to play football again is nothing short of a miracle – one that many fans who loved watching him play hope will continue for a little while longer yet.