Atl. Valladolid — BM Villa de Aranda: 34:26, Liga ASOBAL

Valladolid opened their ASOBAL League campaign with a comfortable 34:26 win against BM Villa-de-Aranada on Friday evening. The hosts moved to the top of the early table with two points from one match, while the visitors remain in ninth place with just a single point after their opening defeat.

We had called for a home win in our preview, giving the hosts a 55 per cent probability. The result vindicated that assessment, though the margin of victory suggests Valladolid were always likely to control proceedings. Villa-de-Aranada have not yet tasted success this season.

Both sides arrived with mixed recent form. Valladolid had won their previous two fixtures against Cuenca and Torrelavega before a heavy loss to Veszprém and a draw with Aguas-Santas. Villa-de-Aranada's last competitive outing was a 30:30 draw with Caserio Ciudad-Real on Wednesday, having lost to Puente-Jenil and beaten Caserio earlier in the year.

The scoreline tells a simple story. Valladolid kept knocking on the door from the opening whistle and were rewarded with a ten-goal cushion. Villa-de-Aranada never quite found their rhythm against a side that looked sharp from the first whistle.

By then the table had barely moved, but this result puts Valladolid in a positive position early on. Villa-de-Aranada will need to regroup quickly if they want to climb out of ninth place.