Valencia, Leganes open La Liga season with wins

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Valencia and Leganes share the lead in the La Liga football championship after winning their respective matches by identical 1-0 scores on the first day of the 2017-2018 football season.

Hosting UD Las Palmas at the Mestalla Stadium on Friday, Valencia were clearly the better side in their first official match under new coach Marcelino, reports Efe.

Visiting goalkeeper Leandro Chichizola made fine stops against Simone Zaza and Nacho Vidal before conceding a goal to Zaza in the 23rd minute.

Las Palmas were quick to react, but Vitolo's outstanding effort came to nothing when Alen Halilovic's weak shot sailed harmlessly into the hands of Valencia keeper Neto.

The situation turned bleaker for the visitors at the 30-minute mark when Halilovic was sent off with a straight red card for a hard tackle on Jose Luis Gaya.

While Las Palmas sought to overcome their numerical inferiority by hanging on to the ball, Valencia generated a pair of dangerous counters before the half-time break.

The Canary Island side continued to dominate possession during the second half, yet the best scoring chance went to Valencia's João Cancelo, who was denied by Chichizola in the 55th minute.

Hours earlier in suburban Madrid, Gabriel earned the distinction of scoring the first goal of the La Liga season, a strike in the 23rd minute to put Leganes up 1-0 over visiting Alaves.

Both of Friday's matches were preceded by a minute of silence in honour of the victims of the terrorist attack in Barcelona.

--IANS

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