Big guns do the minimum as Beckham gets off to winning start

The big guns did the minimum in Spain on the opening weekend of the new football season with David Beckham making a goalscoring start for Real Madrid in a 2-1 win over Betis while Barcelona won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao.

The pick of Sunday's action couldn't top the frenzy which accompanied Beckham's Primera Liga debut - but Deportivo La Coruna, third last season, did their best in recording a 1-0 win at Real Zaragoza with Walter Pandiani notching the only goal midway through the second half.

'Super Depor' were without last season's top scorer Roy Makaay, sold to Bayern Munich for 18.75 million euros after 29 goals in 38 matches last season, but Uruguayan Pandiani managed to step into his shoes.

Cup winners Real Mallorca, beaten in the Super Cup by Real last week over two legs, slumped 2-1 at Racing Santander, a last-gasp penalty by Samuel Eto'o scant consolation after Israeli Yossi Shai Benayoun on 11 minutes and then Javi Guerrero on 69 had put Santander in the driving seat.

Athletico Madrid made a losing start as Julio Cesar scored Seville's winner at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

Celta Vigo thanked a debut goal from Yugoslav striker Savo Milosevic for a point as the side he has joined on loan from Parma drew 1-1 at home to Murcia, for whom Luis Garcia Fernandez levelled from the spot.

The Spanish media meanwhile maintained its focus on Beckham, two goals in two starts at the Bernabeu after he added to Wednesday's header in the Super Cup win over Mallorca.

It could have been three as a monster drive cannoned off the bar against Betis who were headed for a point after Juanito's header levelled the England star's close-range opener after just two minutes.

Ronaldo volleyed in the winner from a Zinedine Zidane cross, and while the press criticised Real for some abject defensive work, they were happy with "goldenballs" Beckham, whose handiwork was briefly interrupted by a streaker in Saturday's game.

"David's star is already shining," was Marca sports daily's almost biblical assertion regarding the effect of Beckham's arrival on the side.

In scoring on his home league debut for Real, Beckham follows in the footsteps of some illustrious names of glorious eras past.

Alfredo di Stefano, the man who handed over Beckham's number 23 shirt on the day the England skipper arrived in Madrid, also netted in his opening home match.

Coach Carlos Queiroz meanwhile proved the season starting gun had fired by opting for a well-worn cliche in admitting the performance of the team as a whole was hardly electric, save for Beckham's crossbar strike and Ronaldo's winner.

"The most important thing is we beat a good team and picked up three points," Queiroz said.

The former Manchester United assistant coach added Real had to move on and forget about Claude Makelele, whose move to Chelsea for 24 million euros appears to be on ice with the French player insisting Real owe him 15 percent of the agreed fee, some 3.5 million euros.

He hopes to triple his wages at Chelsea, if the move finally goes ahead.

Barcelona's win Saturday at Athletic Bilbao was achieved through an early header from Dutchman Philip Cocu while Brazilian new signing Ronaldinho had a quiet debut.

Last year's runners up Real Sociedad drew 1-1 at Espanyol, for whom Pierre Wome struck first blood on 22 minutes.

But Sociedad's Korean star Lee Chun Soo saw Darko Kovacevic convert his goalbound lob for the equaliser 11 minutes after the restart.