BELGRADE, April 15 (Reuters) - Euroleague favourites Real Madrid and traditional rivals Barcelona made winning starts in the competition's best-of-five quarter-finals after emphatic performances on Wednesday.
Real, winners of a record eight titles, defeated Anadolu Efes Istanbul 80-71 and twice former champions Barcelona beat Olympiakos Piraeus 73-57 in a physical game.
Both sides will again be at home in game two on Friday before the series moves next week to Turkey and Greece.
Barcelona never looked back after a 17-2 run gave the Catalan giants a 22-8 lead early in the second quarter as they dominated a subdued Olympiakos in all departments.