Real Madrid And Athletic Club Share Top Spot

Real Madrid came back from behind to beat Real Mallorca on Saturday night.

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Reigning champions FC Barcelona lost their grip on top spot in La Liga as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Rayo Vallecano in Madrid on Sunday night. Across the city 24 hours earlier, Real Madrid had ensured that the pressure was on by coming back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 against Real Mallorca, with a whopping three goals disallowed by VAR throughout the Saturday night game.

Level with Real Madrid is Athletic Club, who secured a crucial 2-1 win over Real Betis in Seville to extend their streak to three consecutive wins. They steal a march ahead of Villarreal, who conceded an injury-time equalizer against Celta Vigo to tie 1-1, and Espanyol, who beat Osasuna by a single goal. The only other team to remain unbeaten is newly-promoted Elche, who beat last season’s rivals for the Segunda title, Levante, on Friday night.

Struggles continued for Atlético Madrid, who dropped more points and continue to look for their first win of the season after a 1-1 draw with Alavés. They remain looking for that elusive victory, which Elche, Valencia (3-0 against Getafe), Real Oviedo (1-0 against Real Sociedad) and Sevilla (2-0 against Girona) all got their hands on this weekend.

Here, the 10 games of matchweek three are broken down before La Liga teams head into the international window.

The storylines of La Liga matchweek two

MVP of the week

History was move in Oviedo as Leander Dendoncker wrote himself into the club’s history books by scoring Real Oviedo’s first goal of the season up against Real Sociedad, and their first goal in La Liga in 8,840 days, dating back to 2001 when Iván Ania scored a consolation goal in a 4-2 defeat to Real Mallorca with the team being relegated. The strike came from great work down the flank by substitute Haissem Hassan, who reacted angrily to hit out at coach Veljko Paunović after he’d been benched for the start of the game.

Surprise of the week

Any fan of La Liga knows that one of the most authentic experiences in Spanish soccer is to attend the Estadio de Vallecas and witness a rendition of ‘La Vida Pirata’ from Rayo Vallecano fans. The traditional chant has been sung at iconic moments in the club’s history for decades, throughout their century of history, including after securing qualification for the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday night. However, on Sunday, amid a fan supporting strike over the club’s management, club president Raúl Martín Presa said, “we will not tolerate it,” adding that, “they talk about working-class neighborhoods, and as far as I know, working-class people work their fingers to the bone, what they’re telling people is to be simple-minded, lazy, drunks, and not to respect women, those values are the opposite of those of Vallecas”.

Stat of the week

Amid the debate and fury surrounding refereeing standards in La Liga, accusations of bias are commonplace. However, in that context, it might be surprising to see who tops the table for penalties awarded in the 2025 calendar year. Real Madrid may not be a surprise in joint-first position, but their companions will be: Alavés. The team from Vitoria-Gasteiz was awarded its eighth penalty of 2025 on Saturday when Alexander Sørloth caught Nahuel Tenaglia’s leg, and Carlos Vicente scored to give the Glorioso their seventh scored penalty of the calendar year. That’s more than any other team in La Liga.

Team of the week

Goalkeeper: Áaron Escandell (Real Oviedo). Crucial to Real Oviedo’s first win of the season was the man who helped them to keep a clean sheet, making six saves to deny 2.1 expected goals and ensure that Real Sociedad couldn’t find a way past him. It was also his first clean sheet in eight games across this season and last.

Right-back: Jesús Areso (Athletic Club). Having made the move north from Osasuna, Areso has settled in quickly at Los Leones, winning four duels, and getting forward on the front foot to lead the way down the right flank. His connection with Iñaki Williams ahead of him is going from strength to strength.

Central defender: Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid). Still only 20 years of age, Huijsen has rapidly become one of the first names on the Real Madrid teamsheet. The Spanish international registered more passes than anyone else on the field, and created two chances in the process with one of them being the assist for Arda Güler’s goal to equalize and spark a comeback.

Central defender: Mouctar Diakhaby (Valencia). Still looking to regain his place in defence after a long-term injury, Guinean international Diakhaby didn’t waste his chance with a dominant display in the centre of defence. With a match-high 54 completed passes, he also headed in the opening goal to begin the thrashing of Getafe in a physical and strong battle between two combative teams.

Left-back: Carlos Romero (Espanyol). The tactical chess game between Espanyol and Osasuna made it a tie of very fine margins, and it took a special finish from Carlos Romero to fire a pinpoint shot just inside the post from the edge of the box to give Los Péricos the winning goal. His six successful duels, seven recoveries and four clearances showed his all-round strength.

Right wing: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona). The teenage sensation won a penalty as he took on four Rayo defenders on his own, and then stepped up to score it himself with a finish low to the left. He added three successful dribbles and was a livewire down Barcelona’s right flank. Winning 10 duels, including three tackles, put him right in the thick of the action.

Central midfielder: Rodrigo Mendoza (Elche). Making only his third appearance in the top flight for the club where he has come through the ranks, Mendoza has looked at home and is covering every blade of grass in central midfield. Up against Levante, he created three chances and scored in a prolific display which helped Elche on their way to a statement victory.

Central midfielder: Rubén Vargas (Sevilla). For the first time since moving to European soccer, Vargas recorded two assists in a single game to set up both of Sevilla’s goals and secure their first win of the season. Despite being linked to Villarreal this week in transfer speculation, he was fully focused on the task at hand and Girona couldn’t handle his creativity.

Left wing: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid). The Brazilian is slowly but surely recovering his best form under Xabi Alonso and that much was made clear on Saturday night. He created two chances and registered two shots, including a well-taken goal just before half-time. It might not be Vini at his best just yet, but he is edging closer to the kind of form that propelled him to superstardom.

Forward: Vedat Muriqi (Real Mallorca). The Kosovan international moved to La Liga in February 2022 and has scored more headed goals away from home than any other player during that time, with seven, and his goal against Real Madrid was his third against Los Blancos. He won an impressive nine duels, more than anyone else on the field, despite ending up on the losing team.

Forward: Isaac Romero (Sevilla). Having been dropped from the starting line-up by coach Matías Almeyda since his arrival, Romero was given a chance since Akor Adams was injured. He hit the woodwork and scored as he made a nuisance of himself and troubled the Girona defence throughout in his first start of the season.

Coach: Ernesto Valverde (Athletic Club). The Basque coach had a challenge on his hands to go and take on an experienced rival in Manuel Pellegrini and his Real Betis team. Valverde set his side up dangerously, opting for Álex Berengeur as a false nine, and looking to unpick an unsettled Betis defence. He did that to withstand the late Betis bombardment.