Bale scores in Madrid debut

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Gareth Bale had a bittersweet debut for Real Madrid following his world-record transfer fee, as he scored but his new team drew 2-2 at Villarreal on Saturday.

The draw left Barcelona and Atletico Madrid as the only perfect teams through four rounds in the Spanish league following their wins.

Barcelona needed an injury-time goal by Alexis Sanchez to edge Sevilla 3-2 after conceding two late goals at home, while Atletico rolled to a 4-2 win over Almeria.

“That last goal was all heart,” Alexis said.

Other than Bale’s goal in the 38th minute, Madrid was outplayed in the first half and only Diego Lopez‘s goalkeeping kept it 1-1 by halftime after Ruben “Cani” Garcia beat him in the 21st.

Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo hit off the break two minutes after an exhausted Bale was substituted in the 62nd, but Cani’s hard strike led to Giovani Dos Santos netting the rebound to split the points in the 70th.