Free-Scoring Villarreal Set The Standard

Tajon Buchanan celebrates one of his three goals against Girona.

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After only two games played, Barcelona and Real Madrid make up the top two in the La Liga table, but the side top of the pile is the one who has been the most entertaining to date, as Villarreal secured first place with a 5-0 win over Girona this weekend. Courtesy of Canadian international Tajon Buchanan’s hat-trick, Villarreal has now scored seven goals without reply this season.

Barcelona had to fight to ensure that they remain near the top, coming back from 2-0 down at half-time against Levante to secure the full three points with an Unai Elgezabal own goal in injury-time. Real Madrid also had a flattering result, with a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Real Oviedo proving more testing than many expected.

Also securing two wins from two were Athletic Club, who beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 at San Mamés, and Getafe who beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Pizjuán with both teams still missing new signings who have not yet been registered due to La Liga’s financial fair play rules.

Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid dropped two more points, taking their return to one from a possible six, as they drew 1-1 against Elche at home, and Valencia saw captain José Luis Gayà sent off in a 1-0 defeat to Osasuna.

The storylines of La Liga matchweek two

MVP of the week

With only 14 first-team players registered, Getafe isn’t in a position to lose many key players. Yet, the need to sell to balance the books and register their new signings means that Chrisantus Uche was strongly linked with a €20 million ($23.3 million) exit to Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday, with rumors a deal could be completed before Getafe played Sevilla on Monday night. There was some surprise as he boarded the team bus to travel to Seville, and even more when he played the full 90 in a combative game in which he had 25 total duels. “I am against him leaving,” coach José Bordálas said post-game, adding that, he is a very important player, and this is becoming more difficult every day, “if Uche leaves, we will have a very serious problem. I understand the situation, but we cannot be dependent on selling a player as important as Uche”.

Surprise of the week

For those who don’t follow La Liga closely, it would have been a shock to the system to tune in to Real Betis’ first home game of the season and see that the seats in the stands were not their traditional green, but rather bright orange. Betis have traded in the historic Estadio Benito Villamarín for the Estadio La Cartuja, across the Guadalquivir river, while building work is completed at their usual home. The new arena was full of transport problems and difficulties for match-going fans, which was reflected in the 10,000 empty seats for their Friday night.

Stat of the week

One of the headlines of the weekend was Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso’s decision to bench Vinícius Júnior. In a move that was almost certainly justified with rotation, rather than downgrading, the Brazilian started on the bench and wasn’t called into action until the 63rd minute. When he was, he then registered only the second game since Opta began to collect data in 2006 where a substitute managed to score, assist and pick up a yellow card in any game in Europe’s top five leagues. Who was it on the only other occasion? The very same – Vinícius Júnior.

Team of the week

Goalkeeper: Pablo Cuñat (Levante). His team may ultimately have been beaten by Barcelona with a 3-2 defeat, despite their early lead, but there was little that Cuñat could do beyond his incredible nine saves. Four denied shots inside the box, and he did all that he possibly could to help the home team try to avoid a defeat.

Right-back: Valentin Rosier (Osasuna). Having impressed for Leganés last season, Rosier made a strong impression on his new fans as he played at El Sadar for the first time in the 1-0 win over Valencia, setting up Ante Budimir’s winning goal with a pinpoint cross. He also registered a match-high number of tackles and seven possession recoveries in total.

Central defender: David Hancko (Atlético Madrid). A central defender being your best player in a 1-1 draw against a newly promoted team may not be ideal for Atlético Madrid, but summer arrival Hancko is one of few players to stand out in the opening weeks of the campaign. In true quarter-back style, it was his long ball which set up Alexander Sørloth’s opening goal for Atleti, and he went on to win three duels and recover possession five times.

Central defender: David Affengruber (Elche). If you didn’t know, you would never believe that 24-year-old Affengruber was making only his second appearance in La Liga. With 98% pass accuracy against Atlético, he won an impressive seven out of eight duels, with a further six possession recoveries, seven clearances and four interceptions. There was no way past the Austrian.

Left-back: Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Club). Even at 35, Yuri continues to stand out as one of the most reliable options in the Athletic squad. Leading by example with seven duels won, he handled the threat of Isi Palazón and Jorge de Frutos effectively, nullifying Rayo Vallecano’s right wing to help see out a hardfought 1-0 win.

Right wing: Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal). The first player to record a hat-trick in La Liga this season, few would have expected it to come from Villarreal’s back-up winger. The Canadian international was in unstoppable form, scoring three goals from just 0.47 expected goals, only registering three shots on target and four shots at all in the game. Exactly what was needed for a thrashing of Girona.

Central midfielder: Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis). The Argentine was everywhere on Friday night, winning eight duels, creating three chances, and getting himself into the right place at the right time to tap in the game-winning goal on 16 minutes. Lo Celso hasn’t hit the heights of his previous spell since returning, but a strong display here is exactly what was needed with Lo Celso operating in a more offensive role in Isco’s absence.

Central midfielder: Pedri (Barcelona). At 2-0 down, someone needed to stand up and lead a comeback for Barcelona and that man was Pedri. His strike from 25 yards out just after half-time set the tone, and his 118 completed passes was the highest of anyone this weekend and was symbolic of his leadership in his performance. It’s easy to forget that he is still only 22 years of age.

Left wing: Germán Valera (Elche). Operating as a wing-back up against the club where he came through the youth ranks, Atlético fans could have been wondering why they ever let him go. In addition to providing an offensive outlet, winning four fouls and creating two goalscoring opportunities, he was solid defensively, winning seven duels and recovering possession 10 times in total.

Forward: Adrián Liso (Getafe). Liso’s is a name nobody expected to see top of the scoring charts after two games, but three goals, including two against Sevilla on Monday night, have put him alongside Buchanan and Kylian Mbappé. Getafe’s warrior-style approach meant that he only recorded four touches in Sevilla’s box, but he didn’t need them with two precise finishes from outside the box to score a brace.

Forward: Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid). Two games in and Kylian Mbappé has scored three of the four goals of the Xabi Alonso era in La Liga, already putting himself joint-top of the race for the Pichichi. The Frenchman looked more lethal than ever as he helped Real Madrid to cut through a Real Oviedo side who were hard to break down.

Coach: Éder Sarabia (Elche). Going to the Metropolitano is never easy, but to set up in your usual system, try to boss possession, and still come away with a point is the mark of a brave coach. He got his Elche team playing with confidence, and there was certainly no parking the bus to get awat with a draw, as they more than held their own.