BARCELONA got off to a winning start following the departure of its talisman Lionel Messi with a 4-2 win over Real Sociedad.

The fans were welcomed back to the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona for the first time in 526 days, although it was the first time without the talented Argentinian for 17 years.

However, it was another stalwart who opened the scoring with Gerard Pique heading the ball into the back of the net for his 50th goal for Barcelona.

Martin Braithwaite then struck twice either side of half-time to make it 3-0.

Messi has gone but the super star was not forgotten with fans chanting his name during the match.

Julen Lobete then pulled one back for the visitors in the 82nd minute before Mikel Oyarzabal struck three minutes later to set up a close finish.

But in injury time, Sergi Roberto restored Barcelona’s two-goal advantage and the game finished 4-2.

Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo both finished with 10 men as the holders secured a narrow 2-1 victory.

Angel Correa scored in the 23rd minute, but former Liverpool forward Iago Aspas leveled for the home side from the penalty spot.

Correa then added to his tally, only for red cards to be shown to Celta’s Hugo Mallo and Atletico’s Mario Hermoso in injury time to end a bad-tempered clash, which also saw eight yellow cards.

Sevilla secured a dominant 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano as the visitors finished the match with 10 men.

Luca Zidane was shown a straight red card in the 16th minute, with Youssef En-Nesyri giving the home side the lead from the penalty spot just three minutes later. Erik Lamela then struck twice in the second half to secure all three points for Sevilla.

(SD-Agencies)