<p>Barcelona started life without Lionel Messi by defeating Real Sociedad 4-2 in their La Liga opener at the Camp Nou on Sunday even if fans admitted it felt like "a leap into the unknown".</p>.<p>Captain Gerard Pique gave them a 19th minute lead with his 50th goal for the club.</p>.<p>Martin Braithwaite found the net in first half injury time and in the 59th minute. Sergi Roberto added a fourth in the last minute of the game.</p>.<p>Just over 20,000 fans were in attendance as crowds returned for the first time since the pandemic.</p>.<p>However, they had to hold their breath at one stage when Sociedad came back from 3-0 down to get to 3-2 thanks to goals from 20-year-old Julen Lobete in the 82nd minute and a 30-metre free-kick from skipper Mikel Oyarzabal three minutes later.</p>.<p>Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi called time on his two-decade career at Barcelona last week and moved to Paris Saint-Germain.</p>.<p>Messi's memory lingered heavy over the Camp Nou on Sunday despite the removal of a giant photograph of the Argentine superstar from the entrance in the wake of his move to France.</p>.<p>Some banners were in place well before kick-off venting the fans anger towards president Joan Laporta.</p>.<p>One read "Laporta, Barca is not your business", while another proclaimed "Barca yes, Laporta no!"</p>.<p>"It was a big emotional blow," said 23-year-old Barca fan Adria De Lucas.</p>.<p>"I was in my room when I saw the news. I started sending messages to all my friends, and no one believed it. It was emotionally hard."</p>.<p>The supporter added: "It's a leap into the unknown (without Messi). We will see what happens."</p>.<p>Inside the Camp Nou, fans made the most of their return after 18 months, chanting "Messi! Messi!".</p>.<p>Banners expressed their "eternal gratitude".</p>.<p>"The supporters are with us, they want to see football," said Pique.</p>.<p>"We knew they were going to react that way. We all know what Leo represents, but everything changes and we have to keep going.</p>.<p>"We will be very competitive and we will fight for titles to the end. We will not have his talent, but we have proven that we can all play together."</p>.<p>La Liga champions Atletico Madrid got their season underway with a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo.</p>.<p>Angel Correa gave Atletico the lead after 23 minutes after being set up by Thomas Lemar.</p>.<p>Correa added a second goal in the 64th minute just five minutes after Iago Aspas had pulled Celta level from the penalty spot.</p>.<p>However, the game was marred by a mass brawl in the closing stages following a foul on Atletico striker Luis Suarez.</p>.<p>Red cards were brandished for Hugo Mallo of Celta and Mario Hermoso of Atletico.</p>.<p>As Barca try to fill the Messi-sized gap, as well as ballooning debts of more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion), Real Madrid got off to a flier on the pitch as a brace from French veteran striker Karim Benzema helped bring a 4-1 victory at Alaves on Saturday.</p>.<p>The win, achieved with further goals from Nacho and Vinicius allowed Carlo Ancelotti, who gave Gareth Bale a start on his return from Tottenham, to celebrate the start of his second spell in charge with a victory.</p>.<p>A Joselu penalty for the hosts was a minor blemish after Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, making his 100th Liga appearance between the posts for Real, brought down John Guidetti.</p>.<p>In other action on Saturday, Cadiz and Levante parted 1-1 as did Mallorca and Real Betis while the match between Osasuna and Espanyol ended in a goalless stalemate.</p>.<p>There are two matches on Monday as Villarreal go up against Granada while Elche meet Athletic Bilbao.</p>.<p>Valencia got the ball rolling Friday and pocketed three points after an early Carlos Soler penalty was enough to see them overcome Getafe 1-0.</p>
<p>Barcelona started life without Lionel Messi by defeating Real Sociedad 4-2 in their La Liga opener at the Camp Nou on Sunday even if fans admitted it felt like "a leap into the unknown".</p>.<p>Captain Gerard Pique gave them a 19th minute lead with his 50th goal for the club.</p>.<p>Martin Braithwaite found the net in first half injury time and in the 59th minute. Sergi Roberto added a fourth in the last minute of the game.</p>.<p>Just over 20,000 fans were in attendance as crowds returned for the first time since the pandemic.</p>.<p>However, they had to hold their breath at one stage when Sociedad came back from 3-0 down to get to 3-2 thanks to goals from 20-year-old Julen Lobete in the 82nd minute and a 30-metre free-kick from skipper Mikel Oyarzabal three minutes later.</p>.<p>Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi called time on his two-decade career at Barcelona last week and moved to Paris Saint-Germain.</p>.<p>Messi's memory lingered heavy over the Camp Nou on Sunday despite the removal of a giant photograph of the Argentine superstar from the entrance in the wake of his move to France.</p>.<p>Some banners were in place well before kick-off venting the fans anger towards president Joan Laporta.</p>.<p>One read "Laporta, Barca is not your business", while another proclaimed "Barca yes, Laporta no!"</p>.<p>"It was a big emotional blow," said 23-year-old Barca fan Adria De Lucas.</p>.<p>"I was in my room when I saw the news. I started sending messages to all my friends, and no one believed it. It was emotionally hard."</p>.<p>The supporter added: "It's a leap into the unknown (without Messi). We will see what happens."</p>.<p>Inside the Camp Nou, fans made the most of their return after 18 months, chanting "Messi! Messi!".</p>.<p>Banners expressed their "eternal gratitude".</p>.<p>"The supporters are with us, they want to see football," said Pique.</p>.<p>"We knew they were going to react that way. We all know what Leo represents, but everything changes and we have to keep going.</p>.<p>"We will be very competitive and we will fight for titles to the end. We will not have his talent, but we have proven that we can all play together."</p>.<p>La Liga champions Atletico Madrid got their season underway with a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo.</p>.<p>Angel Correa gave Atletico the lead after 23 minutes after being set up by Thomas Lemar.</p>.<p>Correa added a second goal in the 64th minute just five minutes after Iago Aspas had pulled Celta level from the penalty spot.</p>.<p>However, the game was marred by a mass brawl in the closing stages following a foul on Atletico striker Luis Suarez.</p>.<p>Red cards were brandished for Hugo Mallo of Celta and Mario Hermoso of Atletico.</p>.<p>As Barca try to fill the Messi-sized gap, as well as ballooning debts of more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion), Real Madrid got off to a flier on the pitch as a brace from French veteran striker Karim Benzema helped bring a 4-1 victory at Alaves on Saturday.</p>.<p>The win, achieved with further goals from Nacho and Vinicius allowed Carlo Ancelotti, who gave Gareth Bale a start on his return from Tottenham, to celebrate the start of his second spell in charge with a victory.</p>.<p>A Joselu penalty for the hosts was a minor blemish after Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, making his 100th Liga appearance between the posts for Real, brought down John Guidetti.</p>.<p>In other action on Saturday, Cadiz and Levante parted 1-1 as did Mallorca and Real Betis while the match between Osasuna and Espanyol ended in a goalless stalemate.</p>.<p>There are two matches on Monday as Villarreal go up against Granada while Elche meet Athletic Bilbao.</p>.<p>Valencia got the ball rolling Friday and pocketed three points after an early Carlos Soler penalty was enough to see them overcome Getafe 1-0.</p>