2 tales, 1 city: Madrid win and held

Suspended coach Diego Simeone then watched from the stands at Vallecas as his Atletico failed to equal Madrid’s and Barcelona’s first-round victories.

Benzema headed in the opening goal on the half-hour mark of a first half that Madrid dominated under the direction of new signing Toni Kroos.

But Cordoba surged forward in the second half, turning its first game in the top flight in 42 years into an evenly matched contest against the Champions League winners.

Drab day

Ronaldo shook off an otherwise drab performance with a strike that only few can match when he blasted in a right-foot shot from well outside the area in the 90th. Ronaldo and the rest of Madrid were eager to rebound from its 1-0 loss at Atletico on Friday that cost it the Spanish Super Cup, and to match Barcelona’s strong start from Sunday when Lionel Messi scored twice to beat Elche 3-0.

It was the Portugal forward’s third goal in four games in all competitions to start the season after only scoring once in a disappointing World Cup. Ronaldo scored twice to give Madrid the European Super Cup in a 2-0 victory over Sevilla earlier this month. He then came up empty in the two legs against Atletico played last week.

Ancelotti deployed a midfield of three playmakers in new signings Kroos and James Rodriguez along with Luka Modric. Kroos, who arrived from Bayern Munich this summer, guided Madrid’s attack. He distributed the ball with ease and his well-placed corner kick set up Benzema to thump his header in off the upright.

While Kroos shone, Madrid’s more high-profile stars did not.