LaLiga 2023-2024 (First Division)

[AlanK]

The Top and The Drop with Jornada 7 complete

1. Girona-------------19 points; +18-8
2. Real Madrid---------18 points; +13-6
3. Barça--------------17 points; +18-8
4. Athletic------------14 points; +13-6
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5. Atlético------------13 points; +15-5
6. Real Soc.-----------12 points; +13-10
------------------------------------
7. Rayo---------------11 points; +7-9
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-------------------------------------
18. Las Palmas--------5 points; +2-6
19.Granada-----------4 points; +10-18
20. Almería-----------2 points; +8-18

[AlanK]

Here's Jornada 8

Fri. 29 Sept. 2100 Barça 1, Sevilla 0 Ter Stegen has looked very good. Can Barça win this to take over first place Yes, they did it . . . thanks to an own goal by Sergio Ramos at 76'. Barça will fall back out of first place to the winner of the Girona-Real Madrid game; should the latter two tie, Barça would remain on top.

Sat. 30 Sept.

1400 Getafe 0, Villarreal 0 At 24', Baena of Villarreal sees a red care for an elbow-to-the-face foul. Scoreless first half. 11,255 on hand. And it ends scoreless.

1615 Rayo 2, Mallorca 2 At 4', Alvaro García gives Rayo the lead--1-0. Assist by Camello. After long consultation with VAR, Muuiqu's goal is pronounced legal, and it's 1-1 just after 45'. And it's 1-1 at the half. At 59', Darder assists Antonio Sánchez, who makes it 1-2. At 99', pk awarded to Rayo after consultation. At 100', Falcao's shot is saved by Rajkovic . . . but the goalie had moved his feet off the line prematurely, and Falcao gets another chance . . . and makes no mistake--2-2 the final.

1830 Girona 0, Real Madrid 3 Girona has a chance to go top . . . as does Real Madrid. At 17', Bellingham assists Joselu, who scores--0-1. At 21', Tchouaméni heads in a corner--0-2, and el Real is making it look easy . . . At the half in Montilivi it's still 0-2. Can Girona get back into it 14,184 reported on hand. At 71', Bellingham appears to have iced the win--0-3 And that's the final score. Ugly incidents at the end of the game; there will surely be repercussions later.

After the above game, it's Real Madrid 21; Barça 20; Girona 19.

2100 Real Soc 3, Athletic 0 At 30', Le Normand puts in a loose ball to give La Real the lead--1-0. If they go on to win, La Real will climb into the last CL spot, at least until Atleti plays tomorrow. Halftime. At 48', Take Kubo makes it 2-0 for la Real. Wow, the people are singin' in Anoeta, where Oyarzábal just made it 3-0 for la Real. La Real sleeps in the last CL spot

Sun 1 Oct.

1400 Almería 3, Granada 3 A win would leave Almería still in the drop; with a win Granada would rise above the drop, at least for the moment. At 41', Luis Suárez gives Almería the lead--1-0. And at 44', Luis Suárez does it again to put Almería up 2-0. Outta sight Luis Suárez scores yet again at 45'+1'--a five-minute hat trick, and it's 3-0. Halftime. Almería looks like a pretty good bet to win for the first time this season. At 56', penalty awarded to Granada, but Puertas's shot is saved by the goalie; still 3-0. At 65', another penalty kick awarded to Granada; Bryan Zaragoza converts at 66', so it's 3-1. Whatta game At 70', Ricard Sánchez of Granada cuts the deficit to 3-2 with a wonderful shot. Really glad I got up very early to watch this game--at 86', Uzuni ties it for Granada--3-3. At 101', Granada has two near misses, but the game ends in a tie--3-3 the final.

1615 Alavés 0, Osasuna 2 At 36', Arnáiz of Osasuna scores with a rocket from beyond the balcony of the area--0-1. Halftime in Mendizorroza. At 49', Antonio Blanco of Alavés sees a red card. At 90', Budimir scores to pretty much ice the win for Osasuna--0-2. And that's how it ends.

2100 Betis 3, Valencia 0 At 41', Assane Diao gives Betis the lead--1-0; that's the score at halftime. At 52', Marc Roca heads in and it's 2-0. At 85', Abde scores his first goal for Betis and pretty well ices the win--3-0. Betis climbs into seventh place on GD over Rayo.

2100 Atlético 3, Cádiz 2 At 12', Lucas gives Cádiz the lead--0-1. Roger Martí makes it 0-2 at 27 At 32', Correa puts Atleti on the board--1-2. And it's 1-2 at the half. At 46', Nahuel Molina ties it for Atleti--2-2. Atleti takes the lead at 66', as Angel Correa scores his second of the game--3-2. That's the final; Atleti climbs to fourth place

Mon. 2 Oct. 2100 Las Palmas 2, Celta 1 A win by Las Palmas would lift them above the drop. A tie would not. At 34', Strand-Larsen scores to give Celta the lead--0-1. Oops--almost four minutes later, the goal iss disallowed for a foul--0-0. Scoreless at halftime. At 67', Douvikas gives Celta the lead--0-1. At 83', penalty awarded to Las Palmas; Jonathan Viera converts at 84'--1-1. At 97', Viera assists Marc Cardona, who scores the winner with only seconds remaining. Thus Celta falls into the drop, and Las Palmas escapes therefrom

[AlanK]

Jornada 8 is done and dusted; The Top and The Drop

1. Real Madrid--------------21 points; +16-6 Next hosts Osasuna.
2. Barça--------------------20 points; +19-8 At Granada.
3. Girona-------------------19 points; +18-11 At Cádiz.
4. Atlético------------------16 points; +18-7 Hosts Real Soc. Has a game in hand.
-------------------------------------------
5. Real Sociedad-------------15 points; +16-10 At Atlético. At Atlético.
6. Athletic------------------14 points; +13-9 Hosts Almería.
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7. Betis--------------------12 points; +10-12 At Alavés.
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-----------------------------------------
18. Celta-------------------5 points; +8-13 Hosts Getafe.
19. Granada----------------5 points; +13-21 Hosts Barça.
20. Almería----------------3 points; +11-21 At Athletic.

[AlanK]

Jornada 9 starts

Fri. 6 Oct. 2100 Athletic 3, Almería 0 A win would lift Athletic to fourth place. A win would lift Almería out of last place. At 10', Guruzeta gives Athletic the lead--1-0. Halftime. Almería's goalie, Maximiano, is keeping them in the game. 43,677 on hand. At 63', Oscar De Marcos assists Dani García, who heads in a rocket of a shot--2-0. Great goal At 81', Nico Williams assists and Sancet smashes it home from in close--3-0. And that's the final.

Sat. 7 Oct.

1400 Cádiz 0, Girona 1 Girona tries to bounce back after the crushing defeat by Real Madrid. At 10', Darwin Machís of Cádiz sees a red card. First half ends scoreless, but not without a lot of action 16,438 on hand in the Nuevo Mirandilla. Breakthrough at 59': Aleix García fires in from the balcony of the area--0-1, and Girona is in great shape . . . At least for the moment, they're back in first place. And 0-1 is the final.

1615 Real Madrid 4, Osasuna 0 At 9', Bellingham scores from inside the area to give el Real the lead--1-0. Still 1-0 at the half. 70,864 reported on hand. At 54', Bellingham scores another--2-0; this one was effectively a "caño" perpetrated upon the goalie. At 65', it's 3-0. as Vini Jr. beats the goalie one-on-one. At 70', Joselu makes it 4-0. At 83', penalty kick awarded to el Real; at 84, Joselu's kick saved by goalie. With the win, el Real retakes first place.

1830 Mallorca 1, Valencia 1 At 5', Dani Rodríguez gives Mallorca the lead--1-0. At 45'+3', Diego López scores with a great header to tie it 1-1 at the half. 17,659 on hand in San Moix. Second half produces no goals, so 1-1 is the final.

2100 Sevilla 2, Rayo 2 At 21', Oscar Valentín scores to give Rayo the lead--0-1. I could fall flat on my face five time at 26', Alvaro García scores for Rayo with a sweeeet vaselina--0-2. Halftime in the Sánchez Pizjuán. At 50', Sow scores from beyond the balcony to make it 1-2. 35,817 reported on hand. It comes down to 96', with a corner headed in by En-Nesyri--2-2 the final.

Sun. 8 Oct.

1400 Villarreal 1, Las Palmas 2 At 45'+2', Coco scores for the Canaries with a free kick--0-1 at the half. The goal by Coco was the first goal scored by Las Palmas on the road this season At 51', Marc Cardona converts a pk for Las Palmas--0-2. 16,249 reported on hand. At 92', Gerard Moreno, on as a sub, connects with a long shot that puts the Yelllow Submarine on the scoreboard--1-2 with almost 10 minutes to play. But Villarreal, after a truly lackluster performance, goes down to defeat--1-2 the final.

1615 Atlético 2, Real Soc. 1 At 22', Koke assists Lino, who beats the goalie one-on-one--1-0. Halftime. At 73', Atleti leaves Oyarzabal unmarked and Carlos Fernández assists as Oyarzabal advances, takes the pass and beats Oblak and it's 1-1. At 86', pk awarded to Atleti for handball in the area. Griezmann takes the pk at 89' and makes no mistake--2-1 for Atleti. And that's the final.

1830 Alavés 1, Betis 1 At 32', Ayoze Pérez puts in a rebound to give Betis the lead--0-1. At about 35', a rebound hits Bellerín and goes in to tie the score--1-1. Halftime. 18,288 reported on hand. Scoreless second half--1-1 is the final.

1830 Celta 2, Getafe 2 At 2', Borja Mayoral gives Getafe the lead--0-1. At 24', Bamba ties for Celta--1-1. At 33', Greenwood puts Getafe back in the lead--1-2. At 43', Strand Larsen ties it for Celta--2-2. Halftime. Scoreless second half; 2-2 is the final.

2100 Granada 2, Barça 2 Barça was unrecognizable for much of the first half, giving up goals to Bryan Zaragoza at about 20 seconds and then again at 29'--0-2 after half an hour. At 45'+1, Lamine Yamal scored to put Barça on the board; what will Barça look like in the second half At 86', Sergi Roberto puts the ball in the net to tie it . . . Everyone will have their own opinion as to whether the goal should have been disallowed for offside of a player who was not the shooter. At the very end of added time, a Barça goal was disallowed for offside . . . but in any case, 2-2 is the final.

[Lorric]

Two more nice goals for Bellingham, crowd singing Hey Jude, love it!

I can't wait to see what Bellingham will do in an England shirt this window.

He did shine against Scotland but not in the one that mattered, Ukraine away. Same situation this window, a friendly and a big qualifier, Italy home. A big stage where hopefully he'll really show himself this time...

[Lorric]

Just watched the Napoli highlights as I'd forgotten to. Fantastic goal by Bellingham!!! Oh my goodness. What do we have on our hands with this man...?

[Jackson Harrison]

Just watched the Napoli highlights as I'd forgotten to. Fantastic goal by Bellingham!!! Oh my goodness. What do we have on our hands with this man...?

The future of our England team is bright, we may actually win something one day! (or maybe not)

Harry Kane, Jude's coming for you!

[AlanK]

Jornada 9 is complete and in the books; here are The Top and The Drop

1. Real Madrid--------------24 points; +20-6 Next at Sevilla.
2. Girona------------------22 points; +19-11 Hosts Almería.
3. Barça-------------------21 points; +21-10 Hosts Athletic.
4. Atlético-----------------19 points; +20-8 At Celta. Has a game in hand: Dec. 23 hosts Sevilla.
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5. Athletic-----------------17 points; +16-9 At Barça.
6. Real Soc.----------------15 points; +17-12 Hosts Mallorca.
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7. Betis-------------------13 points; +11-13 At Getafe.
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18. Celta------------------6 points; +10-15 Hosts Atlético.
19. Granada---------------6 points; +15-23 At Osasuna.
20. Almería----------------3 points; +11-24 At Girona.

Jornada 10 begins Fri. 20 Oct.

[AlanK]

Jornada 10 kicks off

Fri. 20 Oct. 2100 Osasuna 2, Granada 0 Osasuna is in mid-table; Granada is in the drop. At 11', Chimy Avila assists Budimir, who scores--1-0. And it's 1-0 in El Sadar at the half. At 59', Budimir converts a pk and it's 2-0. At 76', Lucas Boyé of Granada sees a red card. Osasuna wins it, 2-0.

Sat. 21 Oct.

1400 Real Sociedad 0, Mallorca La Real is #6; Mallorca is #15. Scoreless first half in Anoeta. 31,279 on hand. La Real just couldn't put it together for the first hour, but then Take Kubo entered the game; at 64', Take Kubo assists Brais Méndez, who heads in the go-ahead goal--1-0. That goal earns three points and lifts la Real to fifth place for the moment, at least.

1615 Getafe 1, Betis 1 Geta is in mid-table; Betis is #7. At 57 seconds, Marc Roca gives Betis the lead--0-1. At 17', Borja Mayoral heads in to tie for Getafe--1-1. And that's the halftime score. And also the final score.

1830 Sevilla 1, Real Madrid 1 Sevilla is #14, two points above the drop. El Real is #1; their lead over #2 Girona is two points. Scoreless first half. 41,212 on hand. At 74', Alaba of Real Madrid scores an own goal--1-0. But at 78', Carvajal heads in to tie for el Real--1-1. And 1-1 is the final score. Girona can catch Real Madrid on points if they beat Almería tomorrow.

2100 Celta 0, Atlético 3 Celta is the top of the drop; Atleti is #4, with a game in hand. At 25', Iván Villar, Celta's goalie, sees a red card and a pk is awarded to Atleti, converted by Griezmann at 29'--0-1. At halftime, Atleti is in second place, ahead of Girona on GD. At 64', Griezmann makes it 0-2. At 70', Griezmann completes a hat trick and it's 0-3. 20,282 on hand in Balaídos.

Sun. 22 Oct.

1400 Las Palmas 0, Rayo 1 #10 hosts #8. At 32', pk to Las Palmas for handball in the area. Munir's shot is saved by Dimitrievski. Scoreless at the half. 24,548 on hand. At 90', penalty awarded to Rayo. Bebé, on as a sub, converts at 92'--0-1. At 94', Oscar Valentín of Rayo sees a second yellow. Rayo holds on to win and climbs to seventh place, where they will be at the jornada's end.

1615 Girona 5, Almería 2 Girona is #2; Almería is in last place and has yet to win a game. Girona would catch Real Madrid on points with a win. At 2', Girona's goalie mishandles Baptistao's shot, which goes in--0-1. At 24', Baptistai scores again; he puts in the rebound of a shot that Girona's goalie can't hold--0-2. This is shaping up as the upset of the year to date. But at 37', Iván Martín cuts the margin to 1-2, and at 39', Dovbyk ties it--2-2. And at 43', Dovbyk scores another, and Girona is ahead 3-2. Halftime. At 71', the Almería goalie can't handle Savinho's shot, and it's 4-2. At 85', Stuani makes it 5-2. And thus it ends--Girona trails Real Madrid only on GD--the difference is three goals.

1830 Villarreal 1, Alavés 1 Villarreal is two points and two places above the drop. Alavés is even on points with Villarreal, trailing them only on GD. Scoreless first half. At 48', Samu beats defenders and goalie to give Alavés the lead--0-1. At 64', pk awarded to Villarreal for a handball in the area. Gerard Moreno takes the pk at 65' and ties the score--1-1. And that's the final score.

2100 Barça 1, Athletic 0 full time. Barça is #3, three points off the league lead; Athletic is back of the last CL spot only on GD. Ter Stegen was Barça's standout player in the first half; Athletic played quite well and was very close to scoring on occasion. Can Barça put it together a bit better in the second half About 38,000 in the Lluis Companys see a much better Barça in the second half than they did in the first half. At 79', 17-year-old Marc Guiu makes his debut for Barça, and 23 seconds later he scores the winner. Barça is now third, one point back of both el Real and Girona.

Mon. 23 Oct. 2100 Valencia 2, Cádiz 0 Valencia is #9; Cádiz is two points and four places back of Valencia. At 4', Gayá gives Valencia the lead with a beautiful vaselina--1-0. At 22', Navarro of Cádiz sees a red card. At 26', Hugo Duro makes it 2-0. Halftime. And second half is scoreless; Valencia wins for the first time in awhile.

[AlanK]

The Top and The Drop are locked in with one game (Valencia-Cádiz) yet to be played in Jornada 10; to wit

1. Real Madrid-------------25 points; +21-7 Next at Barça.
2. Girona-----------------25 points; +24-13 Hosts Celta
3. Barça------------------24 points; +22-10 Hosts el Real.
4. Atlético----------------22 points; +23-8 Hosts Alavés. Still has a game in hand.
------------------------------------------------
5. Real Soc.---------------18 points; +18-12 At Rayo.
6. Athletic----------------17 points; +16-10 Hosts Valencia.
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7. Rayo-------------------16 points; +12-13 Hosts la Real.
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18. Celta-----------------6 points; +10-18 At Girona.
19. Granada--------------6 points; +15-25 Hosts Villarreal.
20. Almería--------------3 points; +13-29 Hosts Las Palmas.

[Lyonnais]

WS marks - Update after MD10 (average o the 5 best marks)


Top 10

8.80 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, AMC, 20, ENG)
8.17 Joao Cancelo (Barcelona, DR, 29, POR)
8.15 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico, AMC, 32, FRA)
8.08 Bryan Zaragoza (Granada, FWL, 22, ESP)
7.94 Savio (Girona, ML, 19, BRA)
7.90 Jules Koundé (Barcelona, DC, 24, FRA)
7.89 Aleix Garcia (Girona, DMC, 26, ESP)
7.87 Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, MC, 25, URU)
7.84 Stole Dimitrievski (Rayo, GK, 29, MAC)
7.84 Saul Niguez (Atletico, MC, 28, ESP)
etc.


Best XI

......... B.Zaragoza (Granada) - A.Griezmann (Atletico) - Savio (Girona) ............
....... A.Garcia (Girona) - J.Bellingham (R.Madrid) - F.Valverde (R.Madrid) .........
D.Rico (Getafe) - L.Badé (Sevilla) - J. Koundé (Barcelona) - J.Cancelo (Barcelona)
....................................... S.Dimitrievski (Rayo) ..................................


U21 Players

8.80 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, AMC, 20, ENG)
7.94 Savio (Girona, ML, 19, BRA)
7.47 Nico Williams (Athletic, AML, 21, ESP)
etc.


Best per club

8.80 Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, AMC, 20, ENG)
7.94 Savio (Girona, ML, 19, BRA)
8.17 Joao Cancelo (Barcelona, DR, 29, POR)
8.15 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico, AMC, 32, FRA)
7.76 Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad, FWR, 22, JPN)
7.84 Inaki Williams (Athletic, AMR, 29, GHA)
7.84 Stole Dimitrievski (Rayo, GK, 29, MAC)
7.57 Pepelu (Valencia, MC, 25, ESP)
7.72 Isco (Betis, AMC, 31, ESP)
7.58 Ruben Pena (Osasuna, DR, 32, ESP)
7.75 Borja Mayoral (Getafe, FW, 26, ESP)
7.45 Sergi Cardona (Las Palmas, DL, 24, ESP)
7.54 Loic Badé (Sevilla, DC, 23, FRA)
7.80 Filip Jörgensen (Villarreal, GK, 21, CEN)
7.44 Luis Rioja (Alaves, AML, 30, ESP)
7.54 Jeremias Ledesma (Cadiz, GK, 30, ARG)
7.66 Vedat Muriqi (Mallorca, FW, 29, KOS)
7.42 Jorgen Strand Larsen (Celta, FW, 23, NOR)
8.08 Bryan Zaragoza (Granada, FWL, 22, ESP)
7.44 Largie Ramazani (Almeria, AML, 22, BEL)

[Lyonnais]

XG Analysis after 10 games played (1/4 of the season)


Table

What would be the table if all goal chances had been converted?

Barcelona would be ahead in front of Real Madrid, Atletico and Athletic Bilbao.
It's not that Barça are not efficient, it's mainly due to Real Madrid's remarkable defensive efficiency (-6 goals) or maybe clumsiness of their opponents.
Note that Girona excellent ranking is due tio a remarkable offensive efficiency (24 goals scored vs. 20 goal chances). Girona is by far the biggest over-achievers in the Liga so far (25 points vs. 16 expected points).
The biggest under-achiever is Celta (6 pts vs. 13 expected), being the least performant offensively (10 goals scored vs 16 expected) and defensively (18 goals conceded vs 17)

Code: Select all

Xpts	Pts	Difference		
22,32 	24	1,68 	-	Barcelona
19,61 	25	5,39 	-	Real Madrid
17,91 	22	4,09 	-	Atletico
17,17 	17	-0,17 	-	Athletic
---------------------------------------------
16,58 	16	-0,58 	-	Rayo
16,42 	25	8,58 	-	Girona
15,25 	9	-6,25 	-	Alaves
----------------------------------------------
13,53 	14	0,47 	-	Valencia
13,34 	6	-7,34 	-	Celta
12,64 	14	1,36 	-	Betis
12,28 	13	0,72 	-	Osasuna
12,25 	18	5,75 	-	Real Sociedad
11,72 	11	-0,72 	-	Getafe
11,65 	9	-2,65 	-	Villarreal
11,62 	9	-2,62 	-	Sevilla
11,14 	8	-3,14 	-	Mallorca
10,89 	11	0,11 	-	Las Palmas
-----------------------------------------------
10,28 	9	-1,28 	-	Cadiz
9,40 	3	-6,40 	-	Almeria
8,27 	6	-2,27 	-	Granada

Efficiency in attack (difference between XG and goals scored)

Code: Select all

XG	Goals	Difference		
18,68	23	4,32 	-	Atletico
19,92	24	4,08 	-	Girona
14,48	18	3,52 	-	Real Sociedad
12,80	15	2,20 	-	Granada
13,39	14	0,61 	-	Sevilla
(...)
14,94	12	-2,94 	-	Rayo
24,05	21	-3,05 	-	Real Madrid
10,53	6	-4,53 	-	Las Palmas
15,78	10	-5,78 	-	Celta
15,38	8	-7,38 	-	Alaves

Efficiency in defense (differencee between XGA and goals conceded)

Code: Select all

XGA	GA	Difference		
13,37	7	-6,37 	-	Real Madrid
14,69	9	-5,69 	-	Las Palmas
16,64	12	-4,64 	-	Real Sociedad
17,48	14	-3,48 	-	Cadiz
15,95	13	-2,95 	-	Girona
(...)
15,10	16	0,90 	-	Villarreal
16,60	18	1,40 	-	Celta
11,45	13	1,55 	-	Rayo
21,14	25	3,86 	-	Granada
22,57	29	6,43 	-	Almeria

Individual efficiency

Players with the most goal chances so far.
Rdorygo is wasting whereas Bellingham and Griezmann are 'improving' the ball as we are saying in French

Code: Select all

XG	Goals	Difference		
6,20 	5	-1,20 	-	Joselu (Real Madrid)
5,94 	5	-0,94 	-	Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
5,74 	4	-1,74 	-	Vedat Muriqi (Mallorca)
4,91 	1	-3,91 	-	Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
4,88 	7	2,12 	-	Antoine Griezmann (Atletico)
4,87 	5	0,13 	-	Borja Mayoral (Getafe)
4,81 	2	-2,81 	-	Kike garcia (Alaves)
4,80 	8	3,20 	-	Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
4,70 	3	-1,70 	-	Samu (Granada)
4,49 	4	-0,49 	-	Inaki Williams (Athletic)

[AlanK]

Chapeau Lyonnais, what a great piece of work.

[AlanK]

Jornada 11 begins

Fri. 27 Oct. 2100 Girona 1, Celta 0 The "equipo revelación" hosts the top of the drop, or #2 hosts #18. First half ends scoreless. Girona not playing at their usual level; Celta doing what they can. At the half, Girona is technically in first place by a point . . . At 69', Stuani and Portu come in for Girona--can they improve on their team's poor showing to this point At 83', Celta puts the ball in the net, but fouls the goalie in the process--still 0-0. But at 91', Yángel Herrera puts in from outside the area what proves to be the winner for Girona. Girona will occupy first place all alone after the jornada's end . . . that is, if Real Madrid does not win in the Lluis Companys tomorrow in the Clásico.

Sat. 28 Oct.

1400 Almería 1, Las Palmas 2 The "farolillo rojo" hosts #12. At 23', Munir gives Las Palmas the lead from in close--0-1. And it's halftime . . .still 0-1. Can Almería come back for their first win of the season At 73', Ramazani, on as a sub, ties it for Almería--1-1. But at 94', it's Kaba of Las Palmas who kicks in a loose ball from the edge of the area to win it for the visitors--1-2 the final.

1615 Barça 1, Real Madrid 2 #3 hosts #1 in "El Clásico." At 7', Gundogan makes a great move and scores--1-0 for Barça at the half. And the final score is Barça 1, Bellingham 2, as Bellingham scores from distance at 68' and from in close at 92'. El Real is back on top of LaLiga, ahead of Girona on GD. 50,112 reported on hand.

1830 Mallorca 0, Getafe 0 #17 hosts #11. First half ends scoreless. 15,310 on hand. Game ends scoreless. At the moment, Getafe is 12th and Mallorca 14th.

2100 Cádiz 2, Sevilla 2 #16 hosts #13--each has nine points. Chris Ramos scores at 8'--1-0 for the home team. At 28', Darwin Machís makes it 2-0 for Cádiz. Sevilla cuts the deficit: Ocampos scores at 37'--2-1. Ugly first half At 60', Rakitic scores from the top edge of the area to tie it--2-2. . . . which is the final score. Cádiz and Sevilla each have 10 points; Sevilla has the edge in GD..

Sun. 29 Oct.

1400 Betis 2, Osasuna 1 #9 hosts #10. At 45'+1', after pure boredom up to that point, Isco centers for Willian José to smash the ball hom--1-0 at halftime. 49,123 reported on hand. At 85', Rubén García ties it for Osasuna--1-1. But at 95', Isco finds the winner for Betis--2-1.

1615 Rayo 2, Real Sociedad 2 #7 hosts #5, the latter being two points ahead of the former. At 31', Mumin fires in a rebound to give Rayo the lead--1-0. At 41', Barenetxea assists Oyarzáabal, who scores to tie it--1-1. That's the score at the half. At 65', handball penalty called against Espino of Rayo. Oyarzábal converts at 66'--1-2. At 91', Rayo's hero from last weekend, scores from a goodly distance--2-2--Bebé is the hero once again, and Rayo wins a point

1830 Athletic 2, Valencia 2 #6 hosts #8, with the former just three points ahead. At 32', Nico Williams assists De Marcos, who scores for 1-0. Halftime. At 62', Fran Pérez, on the break, ties it for Valencia--1-1. 46,563 reported in attendance. Valencia takes the lead at 69', as Fran Pérez assists Hugo Duro, who scores--1-2. At 97', Berenguer heads in from Iñaki Williams to tie it--and that's the final, 2-2.

2100 Atlético 2, Alavés 1 #4 (which has a game in hand) hosts #15. At 26', great move and great shot by Riquelme to score for Atleti--1-0. At 45'+1', Morata makes it 2-0. Atleti will pass Barça and finish the jornada in third place with a win. At 96', Guevara scores for Alavés--2-1 is the final score.

Mon. 30 Oct. 2100 Granada 2, Villarreal 3 #19 and #14 both hurting badly; the latter three points ahead of the former. At 18', Sorloth assists Gerard Moreno, who makes it look easy--0-1. At 21', Sorloth is fouled in the area, and Gerard Moreno makes no mistake with the pk--0-2. At 28', Sorloth scores from the edge of the area--0-3. At 29', Ricard pulls Granada a bit of the way back--now 1-3. Oh my stars and little comets At 34', Uzuni makes it 2-3 from inside the area, which makes it 2-3 with a long way yet to go in this game. Halftime without further scoring--2-3. 16,638 on hand. Granada certainly had their chances, but Villarreal holds on lo win.

[Lorric]

Bellingham!!!

El Classico. Away. Down 1-0. He scores both goals in a 1-2 win and the winner was at '90+2'. He's 20 and he's gone there and taken Zidane's shirt number and filled every bit of that shirt. He's the man. He's THE superstar at the biggest club in the World.

I don't even know what to think. What have we got on our hands here?