Gareth Bale is doing his part to help Real Madrid get over Cristiano Ronaldo's departure.
Bale scored in Madrid's Spanish league opener and set up the other goal in a 2-0 win over Getafe on Sunday.
Dani Carvajal also scored for Madrid, which for the first time in nearly a decade started its league campaign without Ronaldo, the club's greatest goal-scorer.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, right, tries to score next to Getafe's Bruno Cabrera during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoAndrea Comas)
Bale, who hadn't played much while Ronaldo was still on the team before he moved to Juventus in the offseason, scored in the 51st minute with a shot from inside the area after a well-placed cross by Marco Asensio.
Bale had already struck the crossbar with a 16th-minute header, and a few minutes later he provided the cross that led to Carvajal's goal after Getafe goalkeeper David Soria failed to fully clear the ball.
Bale didn't have many chances as a starter under coach Zinedine Zidane, but is likely to gain a bigger role as new manager Julen Lopetegui deals with Ronaldo's absence and the lack of major signings by the club.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, right, shoots the ball next to Getafe's Leandro Cabrera during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoAndrea Comas)
Bale received a loud ovation by the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when he was substituted by Lucas Vazquez in the 77th minute.
Madrid started its season with a loss to city rival Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup final. It was only third in the league last season, behind Atletico and champion Barcelona.
Barcelona opened with a 3-0 win over Alaves at Camp Nou Stadium on Saturday, with a pair of goals by Lionel Messi.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, left, celebrates with teammate Marco Asensio after scoring their side's second goal against Getafe during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoAndrea Comas)
Atletico Madrid visits Valencia on Monday.
VAR DEBUTS
Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano saw calls go both ways in the video assistant referee (VAR) debut in the Spanish league.
Spain was late to adopt the new technology, but it was used twice in Sevilla's 4-1 win at Rayo. It awarded Sevilla a 79th-minute goal by Andre Silva that had been initially disallowed because of offside, and about five minutes later it gave Rayo a penalty kick after a foul had been originally called outside the area.
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos lies inside the goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018. (AP PhotoAndrea Comas)
The newly signed Silva ended with a hat trick on his league debut.
Adrian Embarba converted the penalty for the hosts, which hadn't played in the top flight since the 2015-2016 season.
HUESCA STARTS IN STYLE
Huesca made its Spanish league debut in style, winning 2-1 at Eibar.
The small club from northeastern Spain needed only five minutes to score its first-ever goal in the top flight, coming from Alex Gallar after a neat run through the Eibar defense.
The midfielder also netted the second, a free-kick cross that missed everyone inside the area and went directly into the goal.
Gonzalo Escalante pulled the hosts closer in the 69th.
Huesca had played a total of only eight seasons in the second division before earning its promotion with a second-place finish last season.
The other promoted club this season was Valladolid, which opened with a 0-0 draw at Girona on Friday.
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Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 on Thursday to make sure Real Madrid will have to wait at least another week to celebrate the Spanish league title.
Barcelona's away victory reduced its gap to Madrid to 15 points, and it can further cut it to 12 points on Sunday if it defeats Rayo Vallecano at home in a game it has in hand.
Barcelona and Madrid, which won 3-1 at Osasuna on Wednesday, will have five games left. Madrid, trying to clinch its second title in three seasons, doesn’t play this weekend.
Barcelona's plaers celebrate after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)
“Madrid was lucky that it took a while for us to join the fight,” Barcelona defender Dani Alves said.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored with a close-range header in the 11th minute to give Barcelona its first win after consecutive home losses against Cádiz in the league and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. The Catalan club had not lost two straight home games since 2003.
The victory against Sociedad left Barcelona tied on points with Sevilla, which defeated Levante earlier Thursday to stay in position to secure a Champions League place next season. Second place also is important as it guarantees a spot in the Spanish Super Cup.
Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)
“We suffered a lot but in the end we got three golden points and stayed in second place,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “It was an important victory even though we didn’t play too well.”
Defending champion Atlético Madrid, which was held to a 0-0 home draw against relegation-threatened Granada on Wednesday, stayed two points behind Barcelona and Sevilla. Fifth-place Real Betis trailed Atlético by four points and was two ahead of Sociedad.
Sociedad has not beaten Barcelona in 12 straight league matches. The Basque Country club hadn't lost in seven consecutive league games at home, all of them with clean sheets.
Barcelona's Dani Alves, left, fights for the ball with Real Sociedad's Diego Rico during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)
Barcelona extended its unbeaten streak on the road to 13 league matches, having won five in a row.
Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo left injured early in the second half, and the team's other central defender, Gerard Piqué, appeared to get injured in the first half but stayed until being substituted in the 82nd while being loudly jeered by the Sociedad fans.
Piqué, who also heard some boos every time he touched the ball during the game, has been in the spotlight in recent days after stolen audio leaked to the media exposed a series of conversations between him and Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales talking about behind-the-scenes negotiations on several issues.
Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, left, vies for the ball with Real Sociedad's Igor Zubeldia during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)
SEVILLA RECOVERS
Sevilla improved its chances of making it to the Champions League with a 3-2 win at second-to-last-place Levante.
Jesús “Tecatito” Corona scored two first-half goals and Jules Koundé added another after halftime.
Barcelona's Dani Alves reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)
Levante captain José Luis Morales had to be comforted by teammates and opponents after the match because of a missed penalty kick that could have equalized the game at 2-2 in the second half. Koundé gave Sevilla a 3-1 lead about 10 minutes later before Roberto Soldado pulled the hosts closer again.
Levante stayed tied with last-place Alavés, six points from safety.
CÁDIZ FALLS AGAIN
Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, left, tries to score next to Real Sociedad's goalkeeper Alex Remiro during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)
Cádiz followed up its stunning 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou Stadium with a 3-2 home loss against Athletic Bilbao.
The result left Cádiz just outside the relegation zone.
Eighth-place Athletic was up 3-0 by the 33rd. It played a man down from the 71st after Mikel Vesga was sent off.
Barcelona's head coach Xavi Hernandez gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)
RELIEF FOR RAYO
Rayo won 1-0 at Espanyol to end a 13-match winless streak in the league and move closer to salvation.
Sergi Guardiola scored in the 42nd to leave the southern Madrid club seven points from the relegation zone in 14th place. Espanyol, sitting in 12th-place, was two points ahead of Rayo.
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