But Real Madrid pulled themselves level in the 36th minute when Lucas Vazquez tapped in from close range after Levante goalkeeper, Raul Fernandez could only parry a header from Sergio Ramos.
Browsing: La Liga
Lucas Vazquez cancelled out an early Ivi Lopez strike to leave the two teams on terms ahead of the second period, but Real Madrid could not find a second as they dropped home La Liga points for the second successive match
The first half-chance of the match came in the fifth minute when Gerard Deulofeu found space just outside the Alaves box, but the Spaniard saw his effort comfortably saved by Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco
A post on the La Liga club’s account at 5.30am on Saturday contained a video of Messi scoring against Los Blancos alongside the message: “Benvingut Messi! Bienvenido Messi! Welcome Messi! Bienvenue Messi! #Messi.”
The Catalan giants signed the highly-rated France international for 105 million Euros (£96.8 million) – the second highest transfer fee of all time behind Neymar, who switched Barca for Paris St Germain earlier this summer for £200.6 million
The Brazil international completed his protracted transfer between the two clubs earlier this month when his £198m release clause was triggered.
For the first time in five years the El Clasico rivals face off in the curtain-raising fixture, with both aiming to claim first blood ahead of what should be another entertaining season
Only DStv will showcase all 380 matches of the Premier League and all 380 matches from La Liga, while GOtv customers will get a slice of the action with select games
The forward’s world-record transfer to Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain had hit legal uncertainty in recent days, with La Liga initially rejecting the transfer due to concerns over Financial Fair Play
Barcelona star Messi married his childhood sweetheart and mother of his two children in his home town of Rosario
With the Argentine’s previous deal expiring in 2018, there had been speculation over where the 30-year-old would spend the latter stages of a glittering career after representing Barca’s first team since the 2004-05 season
Talk of a move to Old Trafford was thrown into doubt, however, when it was confirmed that Atletico had failed to overturn their transfer ban, meaning that they would be unable to sign any new players this summer
The new coach os expected to arrive at Camp Nou during the summer
Los Blancos knew that a point would be enough to take the title away from Barcelona, but a defeat would open the door for the Catalan giants to retain the title at the final moment
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Real Madrid stay in second place behind FC Barcelona
The 51-year-old led Villarreal to a top-four finish in La Liga last season
For Madrid, the Granada game was all tied up within the first half hour
Contrary to expectations, Villarreal failed to offer resistance to the attacking Barcelona trio
Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Valencia earlier had seen Los Blancos rise to the summit, but Barcelona are back on top due to their superior head-to-head record over the Madrid giants
The win gave Real a temporary berth at the top of the La Liga table