Lewandowski and Fati star in Barcelona’s win, Villarreal defeats Atletico Madrid

The latest edition of the Spanish La Liga entered its second week with a clash between Espanyol and Rayo Vallecano where the latter defeated the Catalan side 2-0 to register their first win of the tournament.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, continued its quest on retaining the La Liga title by edging past Celta Vigo 4-1 whilst their city rivals and title competitors Atletico Madrid were humiliated 2-0 by visitors Villarreal to face their first defeat of the season.

Meanwhile, Barcelona registered their first win of the season courtesy of a brace from Robert Lewandowski and a goal each by Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele, thus defeating Real Sociedad 4-1.

Espanyol 0 – 2 Rayo Vallecano

Rayo Vallecano picked up their first La Liga win of 2022/23 thanks to a bad-tempered 2-0 victory away against Espanyol.

Both sides were reduced to ten players before the break, with Florian Lejeune and Sergi Gomez dismissed before Isi Palazon powered Rayo in front.

That gave Rayo the initiative after the restart, as Pathe Ciss tapped home a second from close range to seal all three points, despite Espanyol hitting the post twice in the final 10 minutes.

Sevilla 1 – 1 Real Valladolid

Sevilla locked horns against Real Valladolid in the late kick-off fixture, which remained dry and lacklustre until the final 10 minutes. The hosts had plenty of the ball throughout the game but were struggling to hit the target. Isco, who made a summer move from Real Madrid, was called up for his debut in the second half alongside former Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic. 

The real action began in the final 10 minutes of the game. The first of the two goals scored in the game came surprisingly from the visitors. Anuar’s brilliant little solo play helped him squeeze a goal past Yassine Bono. But a goal-keeping howler from Sergio Asenjo gave Sevilla their equaliser. 

Some heated exchanges on the bench between Jawad El Yamiq and Marcos Acuna prompted the on-field referee to give those two a straight red. Sevilla pushed until the final minute of injury time, which lasted over nine minutes. Both sides shook hands and shared points at full time, but the hosts will be hard done by just collecting one point in two games. 

Real Mallorca 1 – 2 Real Betis

Both of Betis’ goals in their 2-1 win away to Mallorca came from the penalty spot. Borja Iglesias put Betis ahead in the ninth minute, and Vedat Muriqi levelled for Mallorca early in the second half.

A harsh penalty given for a supposed foul on Nabil Fekir allowed Iglesias to score from the spot to decide a match where the referee showed 15 yellow cards.

Osasuna 2 – 0 Cadiz

Osasuna made two wins from two games and left Cadiz with two defeats. Both of Osasuna’s two goals in their 2-0 home win over Cadiz came from the penalty spot. A penalty from Chimy Avila in the 37th minute and another from Kike Garcia 11 minutes from time gifted the team from Pamplona a 2-0 triumph.

Celta Vigo 1 – 4 Real Madrid

Real Madrid struck four goals past Celta Vigo on Saturday

Real Madrid has continued their unbeaten start to the 2022/23 season with a 4-1 win at Celta Vigo. Los Blancos shook off the news of Casemiro’s departure from the Spanish capital to dominate in Galicia.

The visitors hit their stride right from the start as skipper Karim Benzema slammed home from the penalty spot. However, the hosts were quick to respond, as veteran captain Iago Aspas tucked home from the spot before Luka Modric’s thunderbolt put Real Madrid back in front before the break.

However, the balance of the game firmly tipped for the away side after the restart, as Vinicius Jr slalomed through to curl home a third before the Brazilian teed up Fede Valverde for No.4. Benzema generously allowed Eden Hazard to take, and miss, a late spot kick at the Estadio Balaidos, but there was no doubt in Real Madrid’s statement win.

Athletic Club 1 – 0 Valencia

Coach Gennaro Gattuso endured his first defeat in the Spanish league this season when Valencia lost 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao. Álex Berenguer scored the winner in the 42nd minute to give Bilbao its first win of the season after an opening draw at home against Mallorca.

Bilbao forward Iñaki Williams had a goal disallowed for offside late in the game at San Mamés, while Valencia striker Marcos André nearly got the equaliser deep in stoppage time with an attempt that hit the woodwork.

Atletico Madrid 0 – 2 Villarreal

Villarreal stun Atletico Madrid by beating them by two goals

Atletico Madrid has slipped to their first La Liga loss of the 2022/23 season as Villarreal sealed a 2-0 win in Madrid. Los Rojiblancos struggled to cope with their visitors’ intensity throughout a punishingly hot night in the Spanish capital.

Villarreal threatened from the off with Giovani Lo Celso and Yeremi Pino both denied by Jan Oblak in a flurry of attacking intent from the Yellow Submarine.

Atletico did force their way into the contest in the second period but Villarreal continued to carry the greater threat with a breakthrough eventually secured in the final 15 minutes. A disaster at the back allowed Pino an easy finish from close range before a controversial period of added time at the Estadio Metropolitano.

Nahuel Molina was sent off with seconds remaining before Spanish international Gerard Moreno powered home the clincher to punish Atletico’s lack of discipline in their first home defeat since February.

Real Sociedad 1 – 4 Barcelona

Robert Lewandowski took less than 60 seconds to score his first Barcelona goal as La Blaugrana cruised on to a 4-1 win at Real Sociedad.

The Polish international got across his man inside the box, to steer home Alex Balde’s cross inside the opening minute before the hosts pounced on Frenkie de Jong’s error to free Alexander Isak to slot home.

Despite La Real posing a threat on the counter on either side of the break, Barcelona eventually stepped up a gear late on, as Ousmane Dembele slammed home Ansu Fati’s back heel.

That tipped the contest in Barcelona’s favor, as Lewandowski gambled in the box, to stab home a close-range finish before the Polish hitman returned the favour for Fati’s first goal since May.