Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (right) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring during the LA Liga match against Levante at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona yesterday. (AFP)

Reuters/Madrid

Gerardo Martino had a comfortable competitive debut as Barcelona coach when the La Liga champions stormed to a 7-0 demolition of Levante in their season opener at the Nou Camp yesterday. 

World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and Spain striker Pedro both scored twice, while new 57 million euro signing Neymar started on the bench and came on as a 63rd-minute substitute with the game already resolved.

Barca made a whirlwind start, scoring four times in the opening 26 minutes as the team responded to Argentine Martino’s calls for greater intensity in their pressing game and a more direct approach.

The outstanding Cesc Fabregas squared for Alexis Sanchez to tap in the opener in the third minute, and Messi exchanged passes with Pedro to stroke in the second.

Dani Alves struck the third after another slick passing move on the edge of the area, and Pedro, who started wide on the left of the attack keeping Neymar on the bench, bagged the fourth.

Adriano was felled for a penalty in the 42nd which Messi fired home, and Fabregas set up Xavi with an extravagant looping pass over the defence for the sixth, just before the break.

A limp display from the cash-strapped visitors, under new coach Joaquin Caparros, could only look to a string of saves from goalkeeper Keylor Navas as any sort of positive.

Brazil forward Neymar was given a rousing reception when he came on for his competitive debut and showed a few nice touches  but it was Pedro who notched the seventh after a mix up in the Levante defence in the 73rd.

Valencia beat Malaga 1-0

An error by Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero gifted Valencia a 1-0 win at the Mestalla on Saturday and gave new coach Miroslav Djukic an opening day victory over fellow debutant Bernd Schuster.

Argentine Caballero came off his line to meet a freekick into his area and failed to collect the ball, which instead fell at the feet of home defender Ricardo Costa who prodded it into the net in the 65th minute.

It was a triumph of last season’s fifth-placed finishers over sixth and former Yugoslavia international Djukic joined Athletic Bilbao’s Ernesto Valverde and Real Sociedad’s Jagoba Arrasate in enjoying debut day wins.

Sociedad earlier swept aside Getafe 2-0 at home, and Bilbao were 2-1 victors at Real Valladolid.

Valencia, who are struggling to come to terms with a crippling debt which forces them to sell their best players every summer, had the best of the chances.

Despite playing without last season’s top scorer Roberto Soldado, who was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, they took the game to a Malaga side also struggling financially.

Qatar-owned Malaga have been banned from taking up their place in the Europa League this season by European soccer’s governing body
UEFA, for late payments to creditors. 

Chances were limited with Malaga surprisingly resilient considering the changes from the team Manuel Pellegrini guided to the Champions League quarter-finals last term.

Once the visitors fell behind, however, they rarely looked like getting a goal back.