Atsu scores on his debut against Gatefe

Ghana star Christian Atsu marked his Spanish La Liga debut for Malaga with a superb finish as they downed visiting Getafe 3-0 at the Estadio La Rosaleda on Friday night.

The Chelsea loanee, 24, needed just 23 minutes on the pitch to register his first goal in Los Boquerones's shirt.

Atsu raced himself into space while Brazilian Charles Barbosa and Juan Anor raided the Getafe box with commanding display. Charles's pass found the on-rushing Atsu inside the box, and he garnered confidence to arrow a swift half-volley to the far right to cushion the lead for his side.

Anor - the opening goal scorer, had formed a potent attacking threat for Malaga in the first-half but the former Everton loanee could not return after the break.

Atsu did not return after the interval to play in the game for the mid-table club as he was replaced by Portuguese star Ricardo Horta.

Malaga are expected to make a statement on his substitution on Saturday.

Malaga manager Javi Garcia benched the artful winger last weekend in their 2-1 away win at Eibar but handed him a spot in his starting line-up and he justified his qualities with a neat finish.