La Liga matchday 8: Barcelona make it eight from eight, Real Madrid win with ten, Levante and Sevilla share six

Barcelona beat Getafe 3–0 on Saturday and have won all eight league matches; they are five points clear. Atlético Madrid won at Alavés with a goal three minutes from time and Real Betis put five past Osasuna, so the two are level in second on 19, with Real Madrid a point behind after a 1–0 win over Villarreal that ended with Vinícius Júnior sent off. On Monday night Levante and Sevilla scored three times between them in stoppage time and drew 3–3. Nine matches were played, with 31 goals and five red cards; Rayo Vallecano v Athletic Club was abandoned in the first half.

Friday and Saturday

Málaga 1–1 Espanyol was saved on 90. Zaragoza put Espanyol ahead on 13 from Hernández's pass, and Niño equalised for Málaga on 90 from Rafita. Málaga had 15 shots, seven on target, and are still without a win.

Rayo Vallecano v Athletic Club was abandoned at 0–0 in the first half; LaLiga's match page gives the crowd as the reason and no new date.

Alavés 1–2 Atlético Madrid was won late. Alejandro Grimaldo scored for Atlético on 33 from David's pass, and Boye equalised for Alavés with a penalty on 45. Ángel Pérez was sent off on 61, his yellow card upgraded after a VAR review, and Romero, from Álex Baena, won it on 87. Atlético had 68 per cent of the ball, 22 shots and ten corners.

Barcelona 3–0 Getafe was 1–0 inside two minutes. Anthony Gordon scored on 2 and Gabriel Jesus on 30, and Jules Koundé made it three on 73 from Lamine Yamal's pass. Barcelona had 83 per cent of the ball and 23 shots; Getafe had one on target. It was Gordon's first goal for the club, and the club says eight wins from eight equals its best start to a league season, from 2013/14; a ninth, at Betis on Saturday, would equal the league record of nine.

Real Madrid 1–0 Villarreal was settled by Yan Diomande on 62, from Federico Valverde's pass and confirmed by VAR. On 72 Vinícius Júnior was sent off for violent conduct, in the same minute as VAR cancelled a goal of his. Villarreal had 54 per cent of the ball and 15 shots, four on target, as many as Madrid.

Sunday

Elche 0–0 Celta Vigo: Elche had 67 per cent of the ball and 13 shots, two on target; Celta Vigo had none on target.

Real Sociedad 3–2 Deportivo La Coruña ended with ten men a side. Martín scored for Real Sociedad on 29 from Carlos Soler's pass, Arsen Zakharyan on 34, and Gonçalo Guedes on 54 from Ander Barrenetxea. Soriano pulled one back for Deportivo La Coruña on 61 from Rodríguez, Pablo Marín was sent off as the last man on 66, and Hernández scored a penalty on 69. Lorenzo Amatucci was sent off for Deportivo, also as the last man, on 90. Deportivo had 21 shots to twelve.

Real Betis 5–2 Osasuna had seven goals. Isco scored a penalty on 10 and Abde Ezzalzouli made it 2–0 on 31 from Cucho Hernández's pass; Ante Budimir's own goal on 48 made it three. Budimir then scored at the right end on 51, from Rubén García, and Raúl García, from Alejandro Catena, on 56. Isco scored again on 67 and Morante, from Héctor Bellerín, on 90.

Racing Santander 2–2 Valencia went back and forth. Dani Raba scored for Valencia on 2 from Justin De Haas; Yassir Zabiri, from Iñigo Vicente, equalised on 32 and Iván Martín put Racing Santander ahead on 47. David Otorbi, from Javi Guerra, levelled on 65. Racing had 20 shots and eleven on target; Valencia had two on target.

Monday

Levante 3–3 Sevilla had three goals in stoppage time. Robbie Ure scored for Sevilla on 13 and set up Félix Correia on 54; Iván Romero, from Roger Brugué, pulled one back for Levante on 57. Adrián de la Fuente equalised on 90+2, Isaac Romero, from Youssouf Fofana, put Sevilla ahead again on 90+5 and was sent off a minute later, a second yellow card for his celebration according to LaLiga's commentary, and Ifeanyi Ndukwe equalised on 90+10. Levante had 20 shots to Sevilla's 18.

The table after matchday 8

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	8	8	0	0	+27	24
2	Atlético Madrid	8	6	1	1	+10	19
3	Real Betis	8	6	1	1	+5	19
4	Real Madrid	8	6	0	2	+11	18
5	Sevilla	8	4	2	2	+1	14
6	Real Sociedad	8	4	1	3	−3	13
7	Alavés	8	3	2	3	+4	11
8	Deportivo La Coruña	8	2	4	2	+1	10
9	Celta Vigo	8	1	5	2	+2	8
10	Athletic Club	6	2	2	2	+1	8
11	Villarreal	8	2	2	4	0	8
12	Espanyol	8	2	2	4	0	8
13	Rayo Vallecano	7	2	2	3	−5	8
14	Getafe	8	2	2	4	−6	8
15	Racing Santander	8	2	2	4	−10	8
16	Osasuna	8	2	2	4	−10	8
17	Levante	7	1	3	3	−4	6
18	Elche	8	1	3	4	−6	6
19	Valencia	8	1	2	5	−9	5
20	Málaga	8	0	4	4	−9	4

Barcelona lead by five points from Atlético and Betis, and by six from Real Madrid. The points race shows Barcelona taking three points from every matchday while the other three have each dropped points at least twice. Athletic Club have played six, Rayo and Levante seven. At the bottom, Málaga are the only side without a win, a point behind Valencia.

Numbers to know

• Barcelona have scored 34 and conceded seven in eight matches.
• Raphinha leads the scorers with twelve; Sergio Camello, Zabiri, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé have seven each.
• Five red cards in nine matches: Real Madrid won with ten, Real Sociedad and Deportivo both finished with ten.
• Málaga have scored four goals in eight matches, the same number as Getafe, the fewest in the league.

Next up

Matchday 9 opens on Friday 16 October with Deportivo La Coruña v Levante at 19:00 UTC. On Saturday 17 October, Espanyol host Atlético Madrid at 12:00 UTC and Real Betis play Barcelona at 16:30 UTC. On Sunday 18 October, Real Madrid v Sevilla kicks off at 19:00 UTC, and Getafe v Rayo Vallecano closes the round on Monday 19 October at 19:00 UTC. Levante v Athletic Club, from matchday 6, is on Wednesday 21 October at 18:00 UTC. The full round is on the La Liga page.

Sources for the context: LaLiga, LaLiga, FC Barcelona, FC Barcelona.