It was a dramatic weekend in Spain, ending with Barcelona and Valencia playing out a thrilling and controversial 1-1 draw that allowed Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid close the gap in the league table.
The two Madrid clubs returned to form but the major talking point undoubtedly came from the Mestalla, where Valencia could have won, Barcelona should have won, and neither side actually did win.
Instead, the game became the perfect advert for the need for technology in football – and confirmed that Valencia are the real deal.
Here’s a look at two good and two bad performances from La Liga‘s weekend fixtures.
TWO GOOD
Goncalo Guedes
Valencia’s young Portuguese attacker is taking the league by storm, and on Sunday he showed he can produce his best against the best.
Barcelona couldn’t handle him, especially the way he and Jose Luis Gaya combined down the left, giving Barca right-back Nelson Semedo a horrid time, especially in the second half.
Guedes is on loan from PSG and if he keeps playing like this, his employers are going to have a tough decision on their hands at the end of the season.
The Parisians are loaded with attacking talent, but letting Guedes go could still prove to be a mistake.
Goncalo Guedes starred down Valencia’s left-hand side.
Atletico Madrid
It wasn’t just Antoine Griezmann‘s return to form that was a cause for delight at Atletico – it was that so many other players joined him.
Koke was sublime. Kevin Gameiro scored two and probably could have had five – not to mention, he set up the other three.
Thomas Partey, who has been a bright spark in Atletico’s disappointing start, played out of position at right-back and didn’t miss a beat.
A good day all around for Atletico.
TWO BAD
Real Madrid
Yes, they got the win, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema both got on the scoresheet. Crisis over? Not quite.
Malaga are the league’s bottom team and Madrid blew a lead twice and needed a late goal to secure the three points.
Both of Malaga’s goals came from inexplicable Madrid errors. They won, and gained two points on Barcelona, but this was far from a convincing performance.
Real Madrid’s performance in their 3-2 win over Malaga wasn’t convincing.
La Liga and the LFP
LFP president Javier Tebas has said goalline technology is too expensive to implement in La Liga. This is one of Europe’s five biggest leagues, with two of the continent’s premier clubs, and time and again, Madrid, Barca and others face the disadvantages of the league’s stubbornness regarding technology.
It is inexplicable that in 2017, Lionel Messi’s goal was clear to everyone across the world, except for the people in charge of the match.
The VAR system will be in place from the 2018-19 season – although not for goal-line replays – leaving plenty of room for controversy.
How long before La Liga is ready for goalline technology?
