Sergio Ramos Sent Off as Real Madrid Defeat Deportivo in La Liga Opener

La Liga champions Real Madrid climbed to the top of the table after defeating Deportivo La Coruna 3-0 at the Abanca-Riazor on Sunday, when Sergio Ramos was sent off as Cristiano Ronaldo missed out through suspension.

Gareth Bale bundled home an easy opener for Los Blancos before the visitors snatched a second through Casemiro and Toni Kroos converted a smartly taken third in the second half to complete a convincing win.

Real sit top of the table on goal difference ahead of Week 1's four other winning teams, including Barcelona, who beat Real Betis 2-0 earlier on Sunday.  

Despite Real's silverware-laden 2017 and a recent win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, Depor almost hit Los Merengues twice in the opening minutes through Florin Andone.

The Romanian striker failed on both occasions when put through one-on-one with Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas, per football writer Simon Harrison:

They were the kind of chances the hosts couldn't afford to spurn, and they came to regret those misses soon after, when Bale was in the right place at the right time to finish in an empty net following blocked shots from Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.

Two of Real's headline stars were denied by Adan, but his save from Benzema was diverted into the path of Bale, who kept up his record of setting Los Merengues on a path to success, as highlighted by Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC:

As sloppy as the breakthrough was, Zinedine Zidane's side showcased a bit more poise in scoring the second, with Marcelo opening a metre of space with a shimmy before nutmegging Juanfran with a flashed cross.

The Brazilian's bulleted ball in evaded three defenders to reach an inbound Casemiro, who was powering through the middle and side-footed home free of his marker, via Sky Sports La Liga:

Real's reputation is largely built on power and brilliant flashes of skill, but OptaJose illustrated the imperiousness and pomp with which they were playing in the buildup to Casemiro's strike:

Real dominated possession for the remainder of the half—they enjoyed 73.8 per cent of the ball before the break, according to WhoScored.com—but the home side had their chances to get on the board, largely through the inaccurate Andone.

Isco almost put Bale through for a scoring chance in the 49th minute, but Depor stopper Ruben Martinez rushed off his line to intercept the Spanish midfielder's attempted cross to the Welshman.

A throwdown of handbags erupted in the 50th minute, and Real captain Ramos was lucky to avoid a red card when he responded to Fabian Schar's nudge by shoving the Swiss centre-back in the face with his palm. Both players were fortunate to come away with cautions.

Fede Cartabia was shown yellow for hacking Casemiro down as he raced forward, and Real punished Depor with a third goal, created after Bale delivered from the left to Kroos, who fired in from the edge of the box following an interchange with Isco.

Marcos Llorente replaced Casemiro after 72 minutes to make his season debut after spending last term on loan at Alaves, with Zidane comfortable enough to hand the 22-year-old some valuable minutes. Lucas Vazquez entered the fray in place of Bale with a little more than 10 minutes remaining.

The final minutes passed with Real laying on an exhibition in top-brand football, but Ramos made sure there was a sour end to the proceedings. Spanish daily AS questioned his second yellow for an elbow while challenging Borja Valle for a header:

Deportivo need not take the result as any indication as to how their season will play out. Manager Pepe Mel will be wise to the fact his side were taking on arguably the best team in football.

Real, meanwhile, must feel their title defence is in good shape, but Ronaldo will be missing for another three games while Ramos will miss their first home game of the league season, against Valencia on Sunday.