FC Barcelona Takes Top Spot Early On

Lamine Yamal was among the goalscorers in ;allorca.

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Spanish soccer returned in style with an action-packed matchweek one to start the 2025/26 La Liga season. With all 20 teams in action, it is defending champion Barcelona who have ended up topping the pile after a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the Balearic Islands.

Elsewhere, Real Oviedo made their long-awaited return to the top flight action and it seemed to be going perfectly until Salomón Róndon missed a penalty, and Villarreal then showed the distance in quality between the two teams to secure a 2-0 win.

Real Madrid also began the Xabi Alonso era in La Liga with a 1-0 win over Osasuna, also with new coach Alessio Lisci, as Los Blancos required a Kylian Mbappé penalty to open the scoring. Sevilla also welcomed new coach Matías Almeyda in a thrilling 3-2 defeat to Athletic Club.

There were surprises in store as Atlético Madrid crashed to a 2-1 defeat away to Espanyol and lowly Getafe, with not even a full squad of players available, beat Celta Vigo 2-0 on the road.

The storylines of La Liga matchweek one

MVP of the week

Beyond the goals, assists and tackles, there can be little arguing with the star of the show in this opening weekend being Santi Cazorla of Real Oviedo. Having returned to his boyhood club for one last hurrah and helping them earn promotion back to Primera, it was poetic that he would start what is likely to be his final season back at his former club Villarreal. Coming off the bench with his team already well-beaten, Cazorla was given a hero’s welcome, as he is likely to receive at stadiums across Spain this season.

Surprise of the week

Atlético Madrid had never lost an opening game of the season under Diego Simeone until they headed to take on Espanyol on Sunday night, a side who battled relegation last season. While Atleti have invested in their squad and gave debuts to the likes of Álex Baena, Johnny Cardoso and Thiago Almada from the start, Espanyol have mostly picked up free transfers and bargain deals for the likes of veteran Kike García and Miguel Rubio from Segunda. Still, it was the Catalans who mounted an inspiring second-half comeback to win 2-1, even after Julián Álvarez scored a magnificent free-kick to give the Colchoneros the lead.

Stat of the week

No-one can be envious of the job that new Sevilla coach Matías Almeyda has on his hands at the Pizjuán. Registration issues with a lack of flexibility in their wage cap means that the Argentine was left without several of his summer signings in the squad, and he was left with little choice but to field the youngest starting lineup of any Sevilla coach in their first game in charge since Juande Ramos in 2005 with an average age of 25 years and 245 days.

Team of the week

Goalkeeper: Aarón Escandell (Real Oviedo). While Villarreal’s Luiz Junior may have taken the plaudits for his clean sheet and penalty save at the other end, Escandell made an impressive eight saves to stop Real Oviedo’s La Liga return from becoming even more of a nightmare.

Right-back: Santiago Mouriño (Villarreal). Playing in a new role for his new club, Mouriño looked right at home. He completed 86 of 87 attempted passes, playing a key role in the attack bnd build-up, while also winning three of his four duels in what was a comfortable debut.

Central defender: Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid). The pick of the bunch from Real Madrid in their Tuesday night encounter, he led from the back in building out Real Madrid’s play with more passes than anyone else on the field, and almost got himself on the scoresheet with a powerful rocket from 40 yards out. It was a strong debut from the 20 year old.

Central defender: Nahuel Tenaglia (Alavés). Playing, unusually, on the left side of central defence, Tenaglia not only produced a solid defensive performance with four duels won and nine clearances, but he also added an injury-time winner to get Alavés their first top-flight opening-day win since 2019.

Left-back: Sergi Cardona (Villarreal). Winning every one of his duels, creating one chance, delivering eight crosses and registering three successful tackles is a neat summary of how Cardona bossed the left flank pretty much on his own. Cardona has developed well at Villarreal, and he led the way again on Friday evening.

Right wing: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona). A goal and an assist to start the season goes to show the potential that Lamine Yamal has for Barcelona if they are to defend their title at the first time of asking. He completed a match-high six dribbles and won nine duels to boot.

Central midfielder: Pape Gueye (Villarreal). Benefitting from a new-look and rejuvenated midfield, few midfielders in La Liga were as involved as Gueye this weekend. Eight duel wins and an impressive nine long balls completed go to reflect how pivotal he was in the holding role for Villarreal. And he added a left-footed strike from outside the box to make it 2-0 to Villarreal.

Central midfielder: Edu Expósito (Espanyol). It was hard to believe that Expósito had only played 90 minutes in La Liga four times since overcoming an ACL tear, but he bossed a midfield battle which put him up against four Atlético Madrid midfielders. He claimed the assist for equalizer with a poised delivery to Miguel Rubio to level the scoreline.

Left wing: Nico Williams (Athletic Club). Completing a league-high eight dribbles and winning a total of five fouls with his pace and energy down Athletic’s left flank, Williams won himself a penalty, which he finished off well, and hit the woodwork. It was a powerful display from the winger.

Forward: Chrisantus Uche (Getafe). Involved in an incredible 21 duels, Uche was the man leading the line in tough circumstances for Getafe. Holding the ball up well, he teed up debutant Adrián Liso alongside him to score his first La Liga goal and then added one for himself in a hardfought win for the Azulones.

Forward: Jorge de Frutos (Rayo Vallecano). De Frutos is not a centre-forward by trade, but with few options convincing Iñigo Pérez, he has filled in there for Rayo and with great impact. He got the opening goal against Girona and then won a penalty which also saw Paulo Gazzaniga sent off on the stroke of half-time.

Coach: José Bordálas (Getafe). Getafe could only name seven players on the bench, three of them plus one of the starters being youth-team call-ups, due to registration issues. Yet they still came away with a 2-0 win away at Celta Vigo in a shock result.