The Spanish Take: La Liga Roundup Matchday 8

Narrow wins all around as the fixtures start to pile up. With so much football being played, it is no surprise that the top teams are starting to feel it now. 1-0 wins for Barca and Madrid, while Atleti held onto a slender 2-1 win to bag all 3 points.

Also read: Winners and Losers: Premier League Gameweek 10

Barca do well to stay on top of the table in spite of the growing injury list

Barca started the game with 3 left-backs in the backline, which should tell you the number of injuries the team has suffered. Alba, Alonso, Pique, and Balde started the game, and as makeshift as it looked, they got the job done. The difference between the two sides was Pedri’s goal which was ultimately a simple tap-in from a couple of yards out after the Unai Nunez’s poor clearance.

Celta has often caused Barca trouble, as the Galician side has won 1 and gotten two draws in the last five matches between the two sides. Barca struggled to find a second goal that let a gnawing unease manifest in the Camp Nou.

A special shout-out to Gavi, who is already one of Barca’s key players.  The 17-year-old was in the thick of things, getting into 15 duels during the game and putting in the ball for Pedri’s winner.

This win sees Barca return to the top, takes their win streak to 7, and makes it 7 clean sheets for Ter Stegen.

1 – Barcelona have conceded just one goal in LaLiga 2022/23, the fourth time a team has conceded one or fewer goals after the first eight games of a season, after Deportivo in 1993/94 (1), Real Madrid in 1997/98 (1) and Barça themselves in 2014/15 (0). Strength. pic.twitter.com/5AyKFaMP0V

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 10, 2022

The tables have turned for Madrid, good performance, yet the scoreline doesn’t reflect it

After countless matches where they played below par yet won by 2-3 goals, now the tables have turned. Madrid played really well in this match, starting off on the front foot. They were rewarded for it as Militao opened the scoring in the 3rd minute, which ultimately turned out to be the winning goal.

Modric, Valverde, Tchouameni, Vini, and Rodrygo all peppered the Getafe goal, but Soria held on. With cat-like reflexes, he kept out shot after shot, in total, Madrid took 19 shots in the game.

VAR did come to Getafe’s rescue twice, first to disallow a penalty and then Rodygo’s goal, but Madrid did enough to take home all 3 points.

The Griezmann saga finally came to a close as Oblak’s heroics led Los Colchoneros to victory

After weeks of seeing Griezmann coming off the bench precisely after the 61st minute, the saga came to a close prior to kickoff. A deal was agreed upon, and the Frenchman was again an Atleti player. He celebrated in style, putting in a pinpoint cross for Correa to head in. The Argentine also was on hand to double their lead in the second half.

Girona, though, were no pushovers, they grew in confidence as the game wore on and looked dangerous at times. They did manage to get the better of Oblak after the hour mark, as the game was set for a grandstand finish. The Slovenian had other ideas, back to his vivacious best, making save after save, ensuring the home fans went home with smiles on their faces.

Best of the rest

Almeria 3-1 Rayo Vallecano

Almeria climbed out of the relegation zone with a splendid 3-1 win at home. They did have Rayo keeper Diego Lopez to thank as he caused one of the goals with a pass straight to the striker and should have done better for the second.

Credit to Almeria, who raced into a 3-0 lead within 40 minutes and did well to hold on as Rayo took control in the second half. The visitors pulled one back, but it would turn out to be just a consolation.