The third week of action in the new La Liga season had a number of surprising results which shook up the leaderboard. Last year’s champions, Real Madrid, finished with a 1-1 draw against Las Palmas despite almost tripling their opponent’s number of shots on goal. With their second tie of the season they dropped to 5th place on the table, four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Barcelona are now three of three to start off the new season, after topping Rayo Vallecano 2-1 in their Week 3 fixture. Villarreal outlasted Celta Vigo in their high scoring matchup, winning 4-3 to take the second spot with 7 points.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest storylines and highlights from this week in La Liga.
Real Madrid Escape with 1-1 Draw Against Las Palmas
Real Madrid almost had their first loss of the season on Thursday but forward Vinicius Jr saved his team with a second-half penalty to salvage a nervy 1-1 draw.
The defending champions still haven’t seemed to get their act in order since the acquisition of star striker Kylian Mbappe in the summer. Mbappe is yet to score his first goal in La Liga despite getting over a dozen opportunities in the first three games.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti made four changes to the starting lineup from last week but it didn’t make much of a difference as Las Palmas’ Moleiro gave them the lead in the 5th minute. They almost extended the lead a few moments later but Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a series of incredible saves to keep them in the game.
Rodrygo came off the bench in the second half which seemed to bring some much needed pace for his team. Eventually a handball by defender Alex Suarez resulted in a penalty which was converted by Vinicius Jr to level the score.
Real Madrid will host Betis on Sunday, while Las Palmas will travel to face Alaves.
Late Goal Gives Barcelona Third Win
A late goal by new signing Dani Olmo gave Barcelona a 2-1 comeback victory at Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday. The La Liga leaders are the only team in the league to start off the season perfect with three wins in three matches.
Olmo came off the bench in the second half after missing Barca’s first two games due to the club’s struggles to comply with LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play rules. He struck the winner in the 82nd minute, completing the comeback after Pedri’s goal in the 60th minute had leveled the match. Unai Lopez had opened the scoring for the home team in the 9th minute.
Barcelona are two points ahead of second-placed Villarreal in the standings, while Rayo is eighth on four points.
Barcelona will travel on a quick turn around to play Real Valladolid tomorrow at home.
Villarreal Edge Celta Vigo In High-Scoring Matchup
It was a Dani Parejo 100th-minute goal that sealed a 4-3 victory for Villarreal over Celta Vigo on Wednesday, giving them their second win of the season.
Celta trailed most of the game but they were able to level the score 3-3 with 10 minutes of normal time remaining to send the match into overtime.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 12th minute with Borja Iglesias breaking the deadlock after Alfon Gonzalez’s effort was cleared off the line. Sergi Cardona then equalized for Villarreal from close range, but Celta pushed in front once again via a beautiful long-range strike from Oscar Mingueza which deflected in off the post.
Thierno Barry and an own goal from Jailson then sent Villareal ahead early in the second half which stood until the 80th minute. Tasos Douvikas was denied a winner when he hit the frame of Diego Conde’s goal.
In the end, Dani Perjo had the difference maker in the match. Parejo saw his penalty saved by Ivan Villar, but the goalkeeper could only push it back into the midfielder, who didn’t miss on the second attempt.
