Meanwhile it was a good day for Atletico's Thomas Partey, who was the best player on the pitch with a display of power and poise in midfield.

3. Sevilla and Real Sociedad should challenge for Europe

Real Sociedad would have gone top of the table if they had been able to win away to Sevilla and they took the lead through Mikel Oyarzabal in the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.

However, Sevilla's pride had clearly been stung after successive defeats and Julen Lopetegui's men battled back to take an entertaining 3-2 win.

Both sides recruited well over the summer and this game merely highlighted that both of them could challenge for a top four place this season.

4. Looking grim for Gallego

Espanyol coach David Gallego heard the chants of 'Gellego vete ya' (Gallego go now) at the final whistle of his side's 2-0 home defeat to Valladolid on Sunday.

The man in charge of Wu Lei at the club could well lose his job in the coming hours, but the former B-team boss is far from the only man to blame for the club's precarious position.

Playing in Europe needs a squad to be stronger in the following season to meet the demands of playing in midweek and at weekends, but Espanyol are weaker this season than last season after loosing striker Borja Iglesias and Spain defender Mario Hermoso during the summer. Matias Vargas looks interesting in attack but although Jonathan Calleri is a decent forward, there is no way the Uruguayan is going to get close to Iglesias' numbers in front of goal and that is a real problem.

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