Gareth Bale bagged a brace as Real Madrid started their Liga campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win over Real Sociedad at the Anoeta.

Zinedine Zidane was missing many of his key players for the clash in San Sebastian, with Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo all absent for the European champions. Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio were handed starting spots as a result.

But it was Bale who gave Real Madrid the lead just two minutes into the match, with Real Madrid comfortable from that moment on. Asensio then scored on his Liga debut just before half-time, finding the net with an audacious chipped finish over Geronimo Rulli.

And Bale completed the scoring in stoppage time, catching out Real Sociedad on the counter attack to notch his second and Real Madrid’s third of the match. After Barcelona’s impressive win in their opening league fixture of the season on Saturday, Real did well to keep up.

TALKING POINT - Could Real Madrid’s quiet summer do them good?

This summer has been an unusual one for Real Madrid. They haven’t signed a Galactico and are yet to make any real moves in the transfer market, with the re-signing of Alvaro Morata the only deal pushed through at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer. But could that continuity do them good? There was a cohesion to Real Madrid’s play at the Anoeta, with fringe players filling the void left by more illustrious stars. Continuity might give Real Madrid an edge.