In between Real Betis's victory over Leganes on Friday and Rayo Vallecano's triumph against Osasuna on Monday, La Liga Matchweek 5 concluded without a single draw.
The four biggest clubs in La Liga all walked away with three points this weekend, but Barcelona's 4–1 win over Girona was the most impressive feat of Matchweek 5. Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Club will be happy with their respective victories despite glaring issues surrounding each of the teams. Getafe, Las Palmas and Valencia, meanwhile, remained firmly at the bottom of the table.
Here's SI Soccer's La Liga Wrap-up for Matchweek 5.
Barcelona
Barcelona showed no signs of slowing down its 2024–25 La Liga campaign. Hansi Flick's side remains perfect atop the table with 15 points after a 4–1 rout over Girona.
Last season, Barcelona conceded eight goals in two defeats against its Catalan rivals. On Sunday, the team looked virtually unstoppable. Between Lamine Yamal's brace, Dani Olmo's brilliant goal and Pedri's cool finish, the Spanish giants are performing at a new level under Flick. Had the manager not subbed off most of his star players, including Olmo due to injury, Barcelona surely would have found at least one more goal.
The victory comes just one game after Barcelona fired seven past Real Valladolid. Sure, its opponent was one of the newly promoted sides in La Liga, but Real Madrid only managed to get three goals past Karl Hein, and those all came in the second half.
The structure and intensity Flick brings to the talented young players on Barcelona has last season's runner-up looking like one of the best teams in Europe, let alone La Liga.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid collected all three points against Real Sociedad, but its victory still left plenty to be desired. For the second time this season, Los Blancos failed to score from open play; their two goals were both penalties. In fact, four of Real Madrid's nine La Liga goals have come from the spot.
Yes, Ancelotti's squad was without Jude Bellingham and Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Federico Valverde and Luka Modrić played in a double pivot. Still, a team with Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior should not be struggling this much to score goals or at the very least, create chances.
The return of Bellingham could be exactly what the reigning Spanish champions need to kickstart their attack. The England international must find his footing as the team's No. 10, though, after playing so much of last season as a false 9.
Athletic Club
Despite Athletic Club's 3–2 victory over Las Palmas, plenty of questions still surround the team. So far this season, the reigning Copa del Rey champions have not looked like a team capable of defending their title.
Between poor decision making, like Mikel Jauregizar's red card, and an often stagnant attack, Athletic Club has yet to produce a signature, clean win. Going down to ten men against the 16th place Las Palmas almost cost the club three points it desperately needed, especially after collapsing against Atletico Madrid just before the international break.
The good news for Ernesto Valverde's side is that Nico Williams finally found the back of the net. The 22-year-old had a great summer for Spain in its Euro 2024-winning campaign, but got off to a noticeably slow start in La Liga. He needs to continue producing in the final third if Athletic Club want to find its first consecutive victories of the season.
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone's blockbuster signings finally got on the scoresheet this weekend. Both Conor Gallagher and Julián Alvarez bagged their first goals for the club in Atletico Madrid's 3–0 victory over Valencia.
Alvarez, in particular, struggled to make an impact in his four prior appearances for the club. The Argentine either came off the bench with barely any time left in the match or failed to impress in his starts. Simeone even took him off at halftime against Espanyol.
Consistency will be key for not only the transfers but the team as well. So far, Atletico Madrid is still searching for its identity this season. Does the club stick with Simeone's classic tactics and rely on the counter-attack or does it use its new weapons, including Alexander Sørloth, to maintain possession and push forward?
One thing is for certain—Atletico Madrid needs both Alvarez and Gallagher to play well if the side wants to keep up with Barcelona and Real Madrid atop the table.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as La Liga Matchweek 5 Wrap-up: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid Remain Unbeaten.
