Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui has heaped praise on Gareth Bale for his starring role in Sunday's 2-0 victory against Getafe at the Bernabeu.

The Welshman made certain of the three points with his powerful strike early in the second half as Los Blancos kicked off their 2018-19 La Liga campaign with a convincing win.

Lopetegui was pleased with Bale's performance in Madrid's first league outing without record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo, admitting that the 29-year-old offers the European champions a different dimension.

"I liked the team's performance in general and Bale had a very good match," he told reporters post-match. "He offers lots of different things, like the other players.

"We must continue working, the team always comes before individual talent and that goes for Bale too."

Dani Carvajal was also on target for Madrid, putting the hosts on their way with less than a quarter of the contest played.