Real Sociedad remain top of La Liga, following their 1-1 draw at home to Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby. A 58th minute penalty from Alexander Isak put the Guipuzcoans ahead, but their Vizcayan rivals fought to the end to gain a point, as Iker Muniain scored in stoppage time.
It was also a happy Halloween for champions Atlético Madrid who bagged a comfortable 3-0 win over Real Betis at the Wanda Metropolitana stadium. Yannick Carrasco opened the scoring in the first half, before a Germán Pezzella own-goal doubled Atlético’s lead in the second. Joao Felix made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, killing off any hope of a comeback for the Andalusians.
On Saturday, Real Madrid beat Elche 2-1 with both goals coming from Vinícius Júnior, whilst Barcelona failed to beat Alaves, managing just a 1-1 draw the Nou Camp. Barça’s draw was perhaps overshadowed by the fact that Sergio Aguero was taken to hospital after experiencing dizziness and chest pain. The Argentine striker has since been diagnosed with an arrhythmia.
Tuesday night saw a string of unlikely results as Barcelona lost 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw by Osasuna, and Sevilla also only managed a point, drawing 1-1 against Mallorca. It was Barcelona’s result that was the biggest upset of the night. Radamel Falcao, who has got off to a fine start since recently joining the club, scored the only goal of the game on the half-hour mark by turning Barça’s veteran defender Gerard Pique just inside the box before slotting home into the far bottom corner with his left foot. The game proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Ronald Koeman who was subsequently sacked.
Falcao is experiencing somewhat of a career revival in the Madrid neighbourhood of Vallecas, after underwhelming spells at Manchester United and Chelsea, and a two year stint at Galatasaray. Spanish football fans, however, have been quickly reminded of his outstanding ability, which gives him the third best goals-to-games ratio in La Liga history, only to be bettered by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
La Liga results
Sunday 31 October
Cádiz 1 Mallorca 1
Atlético Madrid 3 Real Betis 0
Getafe 2 Espanyol 1
Real Sociedad 1 Athletic Bilbao 1
Saturday 30 October
Elche 1 Real Madrid 2
Sevilla 2 Osasuna 0
Valencia 2 Villarreal 0
Barcelona 1 Alavés 1
Thursday 28 October
Celta Vigo 0 Real Sociedad 2
Granada 1 Getafe 1
Levante 2 Atlético Madrid 2
Wednesday 27 October
Mallorca 1 Sevilla 1
Rayo Vallecano 1 Barcelona 0
Real Betis 4 Valencia 1
Real Madrid 0 Osasuna 0
Tuesday 26 October
Alavés 1 Elche 0
Espanyol 1 Athletic Bilbao 1
Villarreal 3 Cádiz 3
Monday 25 October
Getafe 0 Celta Vigo 3
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