Olinga becomes La Liga's youngest scorer
Sixteen-year-old Fabrice Olinga made history on Saturday when he became the youngest ever player to score in La Liga, grabbing the only goal as Malaga clinched a 1-0 victory at promoted Celta Vigo.
The Cameroon-born forward came on as a 58th-minute substitute to make his league debut and got the 84th-minute winner as the new season got under way.
At only 16 years and 98 days, Olinga is 191 days younger than current Athletic Bilbao player Iker Muniain who had held the previous record for youngest scorer.
Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini denied that the teenager's debut was a message to the club's owners who have been criticised for selling some of their best players over the summer.
"The debut was no intentional message, young players like him and Portillo and Juanmi have to get experience and in no way does it prove we are lacking resources in the squad," said Pellegrini.
Celta, back in La Liga after five seasons away, were the better side for much of the game with ex-Chelsea player Quique de Lucas looking particularly dangerous.
The veteran de Lucas had the best chance of the first half hooking a Roberto Lagos cross just over the crossbar.
After the interval he went close on three ocassions in quick succession.
Willy Caballero, excellent all evening in goal for Malaga, blocked two shots in two minutes before the striker unluckily struck the left hand post after being played through by the industrious Iago Aspas.
Malaga played at half pace all evening, with one eye perhaps on the club's first ever Champions League match at home to Panathinaikos on Wednesday that will be key to qualification to the group stages of the competition.
Francisco Alarcon 'Isco' was their best player and he saw a thunderous drive hit the crossbar on 77 minutes before the teenage Olinga should have finished the rebound from close range, clumsily hitting his shot wide.
That setback did not deter him however and with seven minutes remaining he broke through the home defence and hit a shot onto the post.
Malaga retained possession and the ball broke to another substitute Diego Buonanotte who twisted and turned on the left side of the area before producing a cross that Olinga turned home with his knee to make La Liga history.
Federico Fazio and Alvaro Negredo grabbed first-half goals for Sevilla in a 2-1 home win over Getafe.
Ex-Sevilla defender Alexis Ruano pulled one back for the club from the outskirts of Madrid but the hosts were stronger and deserved the points on a baking hot night in the southern city.
Spain international Jesus Navas had the first chance of the game for the home side sliding on to a cross amidst a sleepy defence on four minutes only to see his effort go narrowly wide.
Miku had a shot saved by Diego Lopez at the other end but the home side were in control and it was no surprise when they went ahead on 34 minutes.
Centre-half Fazio gratefully headed home an Ivan Rakitic cross that Getafe keeper Carlos Moya was slow to deal with and four minutes later that lead was doubled.
Controversy, however, surrounded the goal when it appeared that ex-Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes had dived to earn the penalty that Negredo converted.
Getafe came out with more purpose in the second half and Alexis halved the deficit, heading home a corner on 50 minutes.
In the late game, kicking off at an unprecedented 11pm local time, Israeli forward Tomer Hemed scored twice to help Mallorca beat Espanyol 2-1.
Hemed swivelled in the area before shooting the home side into a two-minute lead, before Ghanaian midfielder Wakaso Mubarak's equally brilliant equaliser for Espanyol four minutes later.
The game never reached those heights again until the 85th minute when Michael Pereira crashed a shot onto the bar and Hemed drove home the rebound for the winner.
