Gareth Bale scored a brace and Marco Asensio registered his first Real Madrid goal as the capital giants began their 2016-17 La Liga challenge with a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad at the Anoeta on Sunday night.

Sociedad threatened for long stages of the league match, but it was comfortable for the visitors as Bale registered either side of a fine Asensio finish to secure all the points for Zinedine Zidane’s side.

Real Madrid entered the match without the services of Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Pepe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Keylor Navas, which allowed new arrivals Asensio and Alvaro Morata to make the Los Blancos XI. However, there was still no room for James Rodriguez, who is expected to remain in the capital this summer despite a whole host of speculation.