Spanish champions Barcelona opened the La Liga season with a routine 3-0 win at Mallorca on Saturday. Raphinha headed the first after seven minutes before Ferran Torres doubled the lead from close range, a strike the hosts claimed was offside. Teenager Lamine Yamal capped the result with a curling shot late on. Mallorca’s task became almost impossible when Manu Morlanes and Vedat Muriqi were dismissed six minutes apart before the interval, leaving the Balearic club to play nearly an hour with nine men. Real Madrid followed on Tuesday with a laboured 1-0 home victory over Osasuna in Xabi Alonso’s first league match in charge. Kylian Mbappé won and converted a 51st-minute penalty to secure the points but the decision was questioned by the visitors, who later posted video footage suggesting the Frenchman initiated contact with defender Juan Cruz. Osasuna finished with ten men after Abel Bretones was shown a straight red card in added time. Sunday brought the weekend’s upset as Espanyol overturned Atlético Madrid 2-1. Julián Álvarez’s 37th-minute free-kick put Diego Simeone’s side ahead, yet substitutes Miguel Rubio and Pere Milla struck in the 73rd and 84th minutes to hand the Catalans their first opening-day win over Atlético since 2009. After the first round Barcelona and Real Madrid sit on three points, while Atlético start the campaign empty-handed. The early standings offer little separation, but the champions’ ease, Madrid’s reliance on Mbappé and Atlético’s late collapse set the tone for a La Liga season already rich in storylines.