Barcelona continued their perfect start to the 2015-16 La Liga season with a big 2-1 win over title contenders Atletico Madrid in Week 3, preserving their two-point lead over Real Madrid and a host of other clubs in the standings.
Los Blancos exploded for a 6-0 win against Espanyol, with Cristiano Ronaldo stealing the show by scoring five goals. Meanwhile, Levante held Sevilla to a 1-1 draw, Valencia beat Sporting Gijon 1-0 and Villarreal continued their fine start with a 3-1 win over Granada.
Here are the full results from Week 3:
The current La Liga standings:
Recap
Fernando Torres gave Atletico a 1-0 lead over Barcelona, but goals from Neymar and Lionel Messi ensured the Catalans would take all three points at the Vicente Calderon.
Messi started on the bench on Saturday, after missing training due to the birth of his second child and also likely with Wednesday's Champions League clash with AS Roma in mind. But once again, the four-time Ballon d'Or winner made the difference.
ESPN's Dermot Corrigan made the comparison to Ronaldo's sensational performance and was more impressed with what the Argentinian did:
As expected, Diego Simeone's troops made life hard on the Catalans, who seemed bereft of ideas in the first half. While the Blaugrana mustered a handful of chances, the squad visibly struggled without their star forward, often playing the wrong pass at the wrong time.
Torres put together one of his finer performances in recent memory, troubling the Catalan defence with constant movement and always appearing in dangerous areas. It was hardly a surprise he opened the score, and at the time, Barcelona appeared to be in real trouble.
Neymar pulled the visitors level almost immediately, however, and with Messi now on the pitch, the match changed drastically. Atleti had no answer every time Messi ran with the ball, and it shouldn't come as a surprise the winning goal came from a quick dash through the middle, with the ball ending at Messi's feet and in the back of the net.
As reported by Tom Conn of Inside Spanish Football, Luis Enrique told reporters how happy he was with his team's performance:
I liked our play throughout the game. We both wanted to win, but we were very good from the start, very consistent and very focused. We dominated both phases of the game and turned the tables when things looked grim.
It’s great for you when you can keep a team like Atletico from creating chances … We had a huge game. We have a tough schedule and it’s very important to beat a direct rival. But we still have a lot to do.
Barcelona's early-season form has been impressive, but main rivals Real appear to be turning the corner at just the right time. Espanyol were the unfortunate victims of their turnaround of Saturday, conceding four goals in the first half on their way to a 6-0 defeat.
Ronaldo was the big hero with five goals, breaking Raul's club record for La Liga goals along the way. As reported by Sporting Intelligence, the fact he did it in less than half of the amount of matches it took Raul speaks volumes to his raw talent:
The tremendous scoring outburst prompted Los Blancos manager Rafa Benitez to call the Portugal international the “best in the world,” via Reuters (for the Guardian).
Both Real and Barcelona face relatively easy matches in Week 4, with Los Blancos hosting Granada and the Blaugrana hosting Levante.
Behind the two La Liga giants, Celta Vigo dropped their first points of the season, as they were shockingly held to a 3-3 draw at home by Las Palmas. The visitors were forced to play for almost 80 minutes with just 10 men, after Javi Varas was given a straight red card after just 11 minutes.
Eibar's perfect start to the season was also halted, courtesy of a scoreless draw at Malaga, allowing Villarreal to draw level on points following their 3-1 win over Granada.
As shared by OptaJose, the win was sorely needed for the Yellow Submarine:
Villarreal are hoping to qualify for European football next year, and with Sevilla and Valencia both struggling early this season, Marcelino's men have an excellent opportunity to build an early lead over those two in the standings. Sevilla again disappointed, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Levante, and the Europa League winners have just two points after three matches.
Valencia did finally manage to record their first win of the season, however, with Paco Alcacer finding the goal late to give the visitors a 1-0 win over Sporting Gijon.
In Week 3's final match on Monday, Deportivo La Coruna cruised to a 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano, picking up their first win of the season in the process.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2566601-la-liga-results-2015-full-table-and-scores-after-final-week-3-match
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