Alaves made a winning start to their 2026-27 LaLiga campaign after defeating 10-man Getafe 3-0 at Estadio de Mendizorroza.
Mariano Diaz was the star of the show with his goal and two assists as the pressure eventually told for Getafe, who saw Kiko Femenia sent off shortly before half-time in the first LaLiga game of the season.
Alaves showed more intent in the opening 30 minutes, but striker Toni Martinez failed to hit the target with two attempts from inside the box, while Nahuel Tengalia also saw a header blocked in the early exchanges.
The hosts then received a massive boost in the 42nd minute when the referee showed Femenia a straight red card, following a VAR check, after he caught Abde Rebbach with a high challenge near the opposition's penalty area.
Alaves pinned Getafe within their own half after the break and forced David Soria into action, with the goalkeeper quickly getting down low to his left to parry away a first-time effort from Denis Suarez.
However, Getafe's resilience was eventually broken as Tenaglia found himself unmarked in the middle from Diaz's cross, and the defender's header was too powerful for Soria to keep out.
Mikel Rodriguez squandered a late chance to double Alaves' advantage as he failed to hit the target while one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but it mattered little as Diaz curled into the top-right corner from distance in stoppage time before also assisting a composed finish from Rodriguez.
Familiar story for Getafe
Getafe would have been hoping to build on their brilliant LaLiga campaign last term, when they secured a Conference League spot with a seventh-place finish, but Jose Bordalas' side found themselves in an all too familiar position.
Across the last five seasons, Getafe (34) have received more red cards than any other team across Europe's top five leagues, with Sevilla the next highest with 30 red cards.
But credit must go to Alaves, who produced 1.83 expected goals from 18 shots and took full control after gaining a numerical advantage.
It was a particularly inspired display from Diaz, who had not directly contributed to a goal in LaLiga since the 2021-22 season while representing Real Madrid, but he stepped up for Alaves in this match.
He is now the leading scorer from the Dominican Republic in LaLiga (since 1998-99), surpassing Junior Firpo's previous record of seven, as Alaves made the perfect start to their season.