Sporting Gijon held Real Madrid 0-0 in their opening day clash.

The Spanish giants, who were without Karim Benzema due to a thigh injury, produced a somewhat disjointed performance in a match that was also the first since goalkeeper Iker Casillas' departure to Porto.

Real coach Rafa Benitez remarked: "The first half was difficult, we lost possession on quite a few occasions and we gave them opportunities to create dangerous situations.

"In the second half we played with much more intensity, had more control and were better at getting ourselves into good positions in attack, and we could have won the match.

"The team reacted in the second half, they showed character, personality and had control. In the second half the team went after the match and looked to win it, but we just weren't clinical enough".