Díaz thrives and Alaves beats 10-man Getafe 3-0 as La Liga kicks off Europe's domestic league season

MADRID (AP) — Europe's top domestic leagues kicked off Saturday with Alaves defeating 10-man Getafe 3-0 in Spain.

Mariano Díaz scored a goal and had two assists against a Getafe squad that played a man down from the 42nd minute.

The Spanish league was the first of the main five in Europe to start, less than a month after its national team won the World Cup.

Defending champion Barcelona and José Mourinho’s Real Madrid won't start their campaigns until next weekend because they had players return late from the World Cup.

Barcelona, chasing a third straight Spanish league crown, visits Elche on Aug. 23. Madrid, revamped under Mourinho after a second consecutive season without a major title, starts at Espanyol on Aug. 22.

Sevilla hosts Rayo Vallecano in the second game on Saturday.

The European season officially started on Wednesday when Paris Saint-Germain defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup.

The Premier League, the Italian league and the French league start next weekend. The German league will get going the following week.

Díaz, the former Real Madrid forward, gave the pass for Nahuel Tenaglia's header in the 73rd before claiming Alaves' second goal with a well-placed shot into the top corner in stoppage time and then setting up Mikel Rodríguez's final score in the final minutes.

Getafe's Kiko Femenía was sent off for a dangerous foul just before halftime. His initial yellow card was changed into a red after video review.

Alaves' Ángel Pérez was reprimanded by coach Quique Sánchez Flores after being substituted and punching the bench several times.

Alaves was 14th in the league last season, one point above the relegation zone.

Getafe was coming off a seventh-place finish, having earned a Conference League spot. The Madrid club has added Enes Unal and Johan Mojica to its squad this season but neither were included in the starting lineup. Unal came off the bench in the second half.

Sevilla will host a Vallecano team that is in turmoil amid administration issues that has kept the club out of its Vallecas stadium for the beginning of the season. The club must play its first home game at second-tier Leganes’ venue because of unsafe conditions.

Rayo finished eighth last season and reached the Conference League final, which it lost to Crystal Palace.

Sevilla finished 13th, also one point above the relegation zone.

Three Spanish league games were scheduled for Sunday but only two will take place because the match between Celta Vigo and Osasuna had to be postponed because of a fungus outbreak on Celta's Balaidos field. It's rescheduled to Aug. 27 despite complaints by Osasuna.

The two Sunday games will include Racing Santander's return to the top flight after a 14-year absence. It hosts Villarreal, the third-place finisher last season behind Barcelona and Madrid. Levante visits Espanyol.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Deportivo Alavés player Nahuel Tenaglia, center, gesture during the Spanish La Liga soccer match against Getafe at Mendizorrotza Stadium in Vitoria, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)

Deportivo Alavés player Toni Martinez, left, duels for the ball with Getafe player Zaid Abner Romero during their Spanish La Liga soccer match at Mendizorrotza Stadium in Vitoria, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)

Deportivo Alavés player Ángel Perez, right, duels for the ball with Getafe player Davinchi during their Spanish La Liga soccer match at Mendizorrotza Stadium in Vitoria, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)

Deportivo Alavés player Toni Martinez reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Getafe at Mendizorrotza Stadium in Vitoria, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)

Getafe player Kiko Femenia receives a red card during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Deportivo Alavés at Mendizorrotza Stadium in Vitoria, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)

NEW YORK (AP) — Hate crime charges have been filed against a man who disrupted Shabbat services in Manhattan's Central Synagogue and struck two people while being hustled outside Friday night.

“As synagogue security was escorting him out, he struck a member of the congregation, damaged synagogue property, and then spit at and head-butted a member of the security team,” a statement from Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

A police sergeant working as a paid security detail at the synagogue immediately took the man into custody and no one was seriously injured, Tisch said.

Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, faces two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime, among other charges, Tisch said.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the assault during the livestreamed service “horrifying."

“Every New Yorker must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence," he posted on social media.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer were among those who also condemned the attack.

Additional police security was added and Shabbat services continued Saturday.

“We might want to be focusing on the beauty of our liturgy and the sanctity of Shabbat, and somehow the feeling of the imperfect and cruel world keeps flooding in,” Rabbi Rebecca Thau told congregants.

FILE - Central Synagogue is seen on Feb. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)