Bale inspires Betis rout

Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has hailed the impact made by Gareth Bale as the Welshman scored twice in Los Blancos 5-0 win over Real Betis on Saturday.

Benitez has been questioned early in his reign at the Santiago Bernabeu for playing Bale in a more central role as Madrid struggled to score goals in pre-season and were held 0-0 away to newly promoted Sporting Gijon last weekend.

However, there was no such problem in Benitez's first home game in charge as Bale opened the scoring after just two minutes before sealing the rout with a sweet strike from distance late on.

"I liked Bale's performance, but also that of James [Rodriguez], Cristiano [Ronaldo], who had most shots at goal and Keylor [Navas].

"We had a lot of positive things and a few details to correct. That rewards the work and attitude shown by the players.

"The most positive thing can be summed up by the first five minutes: intensity, aggression, ambition and end product."

Bale also set up Madrid's third goal for Karim Benzema, but it was Rodriguez who stole the show with a wonderful free-kick into the top corner and an overhead kick either side of half time.

The Colombian had been left on the bench by Benitez last weekend, but he defended that decision due to Rodriguez's participation in the Copa America.

"He didn't just arrive back a little later, but a lot later because of the Copa America," added Benitez.

"There is no debate. He is gaining rhythm and his quality cannot be in doubt."

In the earlier game Thomas Vermaelen was the unlikely hero as Barcelona overcame stiff resistence from Malaga to maintain their perfect start to the La Liga season with a 1-0 win at the Camp Nou.

The Belgian defender endured a nightmare debut campaign with the Catalans last season as he was perennially sidelined by injury.

However, the former Arsenal captain succeeded where Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar failed as he fired the only goal of the game past the excellent Carlos Kameni 18 minutes from time.

Suarez was the first to have the ball in the net after just four minutes, but his headed effort was ruled out for a foul beforehand by the Uruguayan.

Yet, for all his good work, Kameni was partly at fault for the goal as he could only parry Suarez's cross from the left and the ball fell invitingly for Vermaelen to fire home from close range.

The visitors nearly exploited Dani Alves and Gerard Piques absence in stoppage time as Charles just couldn't stretch to knock in the equaliser.

The hosts held on, though, to record their second consecutive 1-0 win and go top of the table.