MADRID, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Second-half goals from Federico Valverde, Brahim Diaz and Endrick gave a struggling Real Madrid an unconvincing 3-0 win over bottom-placed Real Valladolid on Sunday, handing the reigning champions their first victory of the La Liga season.

Although Real had the upper hand, they struggled to break through Valladolid’s ultra-defensive approach. It wasn’t until the 50th minute that they broke the deadlock with a free kick, with Valverde unleashing a magnificent shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Late goals from substitutes Diaz in the 88th minute and Endrick six minutes into injury time gave Real a win but did not tell the whole story of their lacklustre performance.

Real Madrid are third in the LaLiga standings with four points from two games, two points behind leaders Barcelona and Celta Vigo. (Reporting by Fernando Kallas, Editing by Pritha Sarkar)