Inter opened their Serie A title defence with an emphatic 4-1 victory at home to Monza. The newly promoted visitors recovered from an early setback to reach half-time level, but the reigning champions dominated after the interval.
Hakan Calhanoglu gave Inter the lead in the sixth minute, although the home side became too relaxed after moving in front. Gustavo Varela punished them by equalising shortly before the half-hour mark. Inter made another fast start after the restart, with Piotr Zielinski finding the net three minutes into the second half. Pio Esposito and Yann Bisseck later added further goals to complete an impressive win for Cristian Chivu’s team.
England defender John Stones entered the game to make his first appearance for Inter, while fellow English players and recent arrivals Djed Spence and Curtis Jones watched from the stands at San Siro.
After emerging as one of last season’s biggest surprises, Como required a second-half goal from Greek forward Tasos Douvikas to secure a 1-1 draw away to Udinese. Cesc Fàbregas guided Como to fourth place last season, earning the club its first appearance in the Champions League next month.
Last season’s second-placed side, Napoli, travel to face Genoa later on Saturday.
Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick confirmed that new arrival Rodri would miss Sunday’s La Liga opener against Elche. The former Manchester City midfielder could be available for Thursday’s second fixture against Athletic Bilbao. Flick said Rodri was fully focused and expected to join the squad on Monday, describing him as an outstanding player, an influential leader and a strong personality.
Oso played a central role as Rayo Vallecano recorded a 3-1 victory away to Athletic Bilbao, who lost defender Yuri Berchiche to a red card after only 11 minutes. Oso capitalised quickly on the extra-player advantage by scoring in the 15th minute. After half-time, he also created goals for Chidera Ejuke and Isaac Romero to put the result beyond doubt.
Valencia and Celta Vigo finished their match without a goal. Real Madrid begin their campaign later on Saturday at Espanyol, where José Mourinho starts his second spell as manager.
In France, Lens captain Florian Thauvin converted two penalties as his team began the Ligue 1 campaign with a commanding 5-2 win over Auxerre. Thauvin scored from the spot on either side of half-time, helping Lens maintain the momentum that carried them to second place behind Paris Saint-Germain last season.
Dino Toppmöller also enjoyed a successful competitive debut as Lens manager last weekend, leading his new team to victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Trophée des Champions.
Auxerre were reduced to 10 players during the first half when defender Christ Makosso was dismissed for bringing down Abdallah Sima.
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