Real Madrid held  poor start

Rafael Benitez`s reign as Real Madrid boss got off to a poor start as his side of star names were held 0-0 by newly-promoted Sporting Gijon on Sunday.

Los Blancos are already two points behind Barcelona as the champions exacted revenge for their Spanish Super Cup defeat to Athletic Bilbao thanks to Luis Suarez`s solitary second-half strike.

Sporting were playing their first game back in the top flight for three years, but roared on by a vociferous home support they matched the visitors.

They could even had taken a famous three points had Antonio Sanabria`s first-half header been deemed to have crossed the line.

"It`s clear that the first-half wasn`t good at all. In the second-half the team controlled possession a lot more, we took the initiative and in the few chances we had we didn`t take them," Madrid captain Sergio Ramos told Canal Plus.

Benitez started with Gareth Bale in a more central position, but the Welshman was again disappointing as Madrid failed to create clear-cut chances before the break.

Indeed it was the hosts who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Sanabria`s headed effort came back off the underside of the bar and appeared to just clip the goal line on its way back out.