Early favourites for the La Liga title are starting to emerge, as clubs throughout the country look to establish themselves in the opening weeks.
The midweek action saw leaders Real Madrid drop their first points of the season against Villarreal, while Barcelona battled Atletico Madrid to a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou.
We take a look around at key La Liga matches over the past weekend.
SD EIBAR 2 REAL SOCIEDAD 0 – ESTADIO MUNICIPAL DE IPURUA
SD Eibar are proving to be a side few teams want to run into early on. The small, supporter-owned Basque club have made a significant impact thus far in 2016-17.
Three victories in their first six matches have Eibar in the top half of the table, sitting in eighth place.
A 2-0 triumph did highlight some offensive issues for Los Armeros and manager Jose Luis Mendilibar, as a 24th-minute red card issued to Real Sociedad defender Artiz Elustondo should perhaps have seen more from Eibar in the attack.
An own goal and a late strike from former Manchester United forward Bebe gave Eibar the win as their impressive start continues in La Liga.
ATHLETIC BILBAO 3 SEVILLA FC 1 – SAN MAMES
Previously unbeaten Sevilla tasted defeat for the first time this season, as Athletic Bilbao surged ahead in the second half to see out a 3-1 victory.
Sevilla manager Jorge Sampaoli saw his side battle back after the hosts took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Midfielder Samir Nasri scored the equaliser in the 55th minute and was dangerous throughout much of the second half.
An incredible goal from left back Mikel Balenziaga gave Bilbao a lead that they would not relinquish. A late penalty resulted in a third strike, as Los Leones moved up to fifth place in the league standings.
SPORTING GIJON 0 FC BARCELONA 5 – EL MOLINON
Wednesday night’s match against Atletico Madrid may have brought a point, but Lionel Messi’s injury caused major concern for Barcelona.
With Real Madrid dropping points earlier that same night, the Blaugrana failed to make up ground when presented with a golden opportunity.
They did not make the same mistake on Saturday.
A 5-0 victory at Sporting Gijon moved Barcelona to within one point of their El Clasico rivals. Luis Suarez, Neymar and Arda Turan dominated, as the Catalonia side was in full control throughout.
With Messi expected to miss another two weeks with an adductor injury, manager Luis Enrique will be looking for more of the same from his team moving forward.
UD LAS PALMAS 2 REAL MADRID CF 2 – ESTADIO GRAN CANARIA
Two consecutive draws have caused Real Madrid and manager Zinedine Zidane much frustration, as an important away match in the UEFA Champions League at Borussia Dortmund looms on Tuesday night.
Las Palmas forward Sergio Araujo found the equaliser in the 85th minute to give the hosts a valuable point in a 2-2 draw.
The frontline in Zidane’s 4-3-3 formation seemed out of sync, and Las Palmas responded well when Real Madrid took leads in both halves.
With other clubs now within reach, Los Galacticos will want to see stronger performances in the coming weeks to stay on top of the La Liga table.
ATLETICO MADRID 1 DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA 0 – ESTADIO VICENTE CALDERON
After an important point earned at Barcelona on Wednesday, Atletico Madrid and manager Diego Simeone continued their strong defensive form with a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
Atletico enjoyed a man advantage for the second half, as Depor midfielder Faycal Fajr was sent off moments before the break.
Star forward Antoine Griezmann kept up his fine form and scored the winning goal in the 70th minute, as the Atletico defence held strong for their third clean sheet in league play this season.
SCORES AROUND THE LEAGUE
REAL BETIS 1 – MALAGA 0
LEGANES 1 – VALENCIA 2
VILLARREAL 3 – OSASUNA 1
ESPANYOL 0 – CELTA VIGO 2
ALAVES 3 – GRANADA 1
