A former member of the attacking ranks at Real Madrid proved himself the star of the show, as the new La Liga campaign was kicked into gear on Saturday night.

Deportivo Alavés played host to Getafe a short time ago, in the process kickstarting the 2026/27 season in Spanish football’s top flight.

When all was said and done, the hosts romped to an eventual 3-0 triumph, taking full advantage of Kiko Femenía’s dismissal late in the first-half.

And playing a direct hand in all three goals was the aforementioned Mariano Díaz.

Introduced off the bench early in the 2nd-half, Mariano wasted little time in making his presence felt. After first laying on the assist for Alavés’ opener, the 33-year-old turned goalscorer late on, before notching another assist deep into injury time.

And as since revealed by statisticians Opta, in the process, Mariano secured for himself a noteworthy piece of individual history:

‘Mariano Díaz has been involved in three goals in a single La Liga match (one goal, two assists) for the first time in his career (80 matches).’