LaLiga stars shine on opening weekend of EURO 2016

The opening weekend of Euro 2016 served up no shortage of entertaining football, with the LaLiga contingent playing starring roles. Those plying their trade in the Liga BBVA showcased their talent and are already making quite some impression at the prestigious continental competition, with Luka Modric, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Toni Kroos and Shkodran Mustafi amongst those to have treated us to some fine displays.

The weekend's action got off to a brilliant start, with Gareth Bale firing home a free-kick to hand Wales the lead over Slovakia with barely 10 minutes on the clock. The Real Madrid man's strike saw him take his place in the history books as the scorer of his country's first ever goal at a European Championship finals. Wales went on to win the game 2-1, as Bale once again revelled in his role as the Welsh talisman.

.@GarethBale11 made history with #WAL's first-ever European Championship goal and win at #Euro2016. pic.twitter.com/61416W6EUr

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) June 11, 2016

Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Kovacic and Duje Cop played their part in Croatia's 1-0 win over Arda Turan's Turkey. Modric's effort was one of the finest strikes of the tournament so far and his sweetly struck volley from well outside the area proved to be enough to hand Croatia their first three points. Elsewhere, Sevilla FC's Krychowiak played a key role in Poland's victory over Northern Ireland, with the midfielder turning in a man-of-the-match display in a 1-0 triumph.

Valencia's Mustafi thumps in a header as #GER triumph 2-0 against Ukraine in their #EURO2016 opener.#LaLiga pic.twitter.com/Nvh4HaueZ7

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) June 12, 2016

The weekend's action was rounded off with a pulsating clash between Germany and Ukraine, in which Kroos and Mustafi flew the LaLiga flag for the Germans, whilst Yevhen Konoplyanka was the league's representative in the Ukrainian ranks. Valencia CF defender Mustafi produced a stellar performance in his side's 2-0 triumph, netting the opener with a towering header from a Kroos free kick, before breaking down the attack from which Germany surged forward to put the result beyond all doubt. Kroos ended up joining Modric and Krychowiak with a Man of the Match award.