Atletico Madrid moved to within two points of FC Barcelona at the top of the table after Julian Alvarez scored the only goal of a hard-fought clash against Deportivo a Coruna at the Metropolitano Stadium on 25 October 2026. The Argentine forward, who was reportedly keen on joining Barcelona during the summer transfer window, netted his first league goal at the Metropolitano in almost a year to settle an otherwise uneventful contest.

Alvarez Breaks the Deadlock

The decisive moment came in the 47th minute, when Alex Grimaldo threaded a pass through to Alvarez, who calmly slipped the ball into the net to give Atletico all three points. The strike injected life into a match that had offered little before the interval. Notably, Alvarez's willingness to join a direct rival over the summer adds an ironic edge to his role as the man keeping Atletico in Barcelona's rear-view mirror.

Villarreal's 10-Man Comeback Stuns Valencia

Villarreal produced one of the weekend's most dramatic results, fighting back from a goal down to beat Valencia 2-1 at the Mestalla — and doing so with 10 men for the final stretch. Valencia had taken an against-the-run-of-play lead in the 38th minute through Pepelu, who converted from the penalty spot after defender Renato Veiga was penalised for fouling Dani Raba.

Alex Freeman levelled for Villarreal with a header in the 69th minute, but the visitors were reduced to ten men 10 minutes later when midfielder Pape Gueye was sent off for a high elbow on Valencia's Jose Luis Gaya. Valencia also finished with 10 men when Harvey Elliott received a second yellow card in the 89th minute for protesting. In stoppage time, substitute Georges Mikautadze latched onto Alberto Moleiro's pass to complete the turnaround in the 96th minute. The result leaves new Valencia head coach Javier Aguirre without a win in his first three games in charge.

Racing Santander End Their Winless Run Against Espanyol

Racing Santander ended a run of three defeats and a draw with a 2-1 home victory over Espanyol, who slipped into the bottom three as a result. Edu Exposito's deflected shot put the visitors ahead in the 61st minute, but Racing replied swiftly. Jeanuel Belocian drilled home a left-footed equaliser in the 68th minute, before Yassir Zabiri headed Racing in front in the 84th minute, taking his tally for the season to eight goals.

Elche Cruise at Rayo Vallecano; Alaves Deny Malaga

Elche recorded a comfortable 3-0 win away to Rayo Vallecano, in the Vallecas Stadium's first fixture since a supporter protest led to Rayo's earlier clash with Athletic Bilbao being suspended after just 13 minutes. Federico Redondo and Fer Nino converted penalties in the 23rd and 36th minutes respectively — the latter awarded after Pathe Ciss fouled Thomas Lemar. Ciss had an immediate chance to reduce the deficit from the spot but struck the crossbar. German Valera wrapped up the points in the 68th minute. Meanwhile, Malaga came agonisingly close to their first win of the season on Friday night. Adrian Nino gave them a first-half lead at Deportivo Alaves, but substitute Aitor Manas scrambled home an equaliser in the 89th minute after goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero had denied Toni Martinez's initial effort, denying Malaga a crucial three points.