La Liga Roundup: Hard-Fought Wins For Barca And Atletico Whilst Real Ease Past Sociedad
REUTERS/Vincent West
The fourth week of La Liga action got underway on Saturday, as all three Spanish heavyweights, viz. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid featured. Let’s see how they fared in their respective matches:
Getafe 1-2 Barcelona
Definitely, the hosts produced a much better performance, and after Shibasaki’s stunning first-half goal, it seemed that they will run away with all three points. But Barca’s unsung heroes Denis Suarez and Paulinho came from the bench and helped their team walk away with three points, and maintained their 100% start to the La Liga campaign.
Getafe started off well, and throughout the first half, they caused more problems for the Catalan giants. Denis Suarez replaced Iniesta in the break, and the move paid dividends, as the Spaniard scored an equaliser after being teed up with Sergio Roberto. Paulinho replaced Rakitic in the 77th minute, and five minutes later, he struck a powerful shot past Guaita to put Barca ahead.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Malaga
REUTERS/Sergio Perez
After producing mediocre performance in the three away games, Atletico made a winning start in their new home stadium. Despite Los Colchoneros creating chances in the first half, Malaga’s defence remained compact and never allowed Diego Simeone’s men to take a lead.
Atletico pressed hard after the break, and it was Antoine Griezmann who broke the deadlock in the 61st minute. The Frenchman guided an Angel Correa cross into the bottom corner, and Atletico bagged all three points in the inauguration of their new stadium, Wanda Metropolitano.
Real Sociedad 1-3 Real Madrid
After enduring two frustrating draws against Valencia and Levante, Real Madrid put their title defence back on track with a comprehensive 3-1 win against Real Sociedad. Despite facing a tricky clash without their key players, the Champions produced a scintillating display to walk away with three points.
Young sensation Mayoral gave the visitors a lead inside the opening 20 minutes, before Kevin Rodriguez volleyed a cross from Alvaro Odriozola to level the score. The Spaniard almost struck again from a spectacular cross from Odriozola, but Madrid instantly launched a counterattack that ended with Rodriquez sending his clearing shot into his own net.
Gareth Bale’s goal in the 61st minute ended Sociedad’s unbeaten start to the season, as Real Madrid moved to fourth place in the La Liga standings.
Written by Pragadeesh Shanmugam 
United fan since Edwin Van der Sar denied Nicolas Anelka’s penalty to earn a dramatic Euro glory. Firmly believes that Lionel Messi deserves to win the Ballon d’Or until he plays this sport. One time writer for GiveMeSport and Roar. A regular contributor to Sportskeeda and BlameFootball.