Bale, Suárez, Simeone and Clos Gómez...

Real Madrid opened Saturday’s proceedings and were put through the ringer in Vallecas. In the absence of the side’s most strategic players (Cristiano Ronaldo, Casemiro, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos) Zidane’s makeshift team was disorganized and lacking in concentration, conceding twice early on to hand the advantage to Rayo. Then came the reaction, led by Gareth Bale, who opened and closed the scoring and generally dragged his teammates in his wake. For me, it was his most convincing performance since he arrived in Madrid. He took responsibility for a situation that threatened to turn drama into a full-blown crisis. Lucas Vázquez bagged the other after coming on for Karim Benzema, whose injury we do not yet know the extent of.

Then the cameras moved to the Calderón. It was a game like any other for Atlético, who earned the points with graft and determination. Málaga proved a tough nut to crack and did not surrender until the final whistle. Diego Simeone was sent off and faces a three-match ban for a moment of madness from his bench; just before half time someone threw a ball onto the pitch with the clear intention of halting a Málaga attack. As the culprit could not be identified, the rules state that the manager must assume the blame. A punishment that should fall on the author of the incident, or Simeone, if he instructed it, as the replays suggest.

Barcelona rounded things off with a 6-0 victory over Sporting that is still confusing on Sunday morning. The first goal was dubious in my eyes, the second was offside, and then Sporting shot themselves in the foot by giving away three avoidable penalties which match referee Clos Gómez awarded with ever-increasing enthusiasm. Barça’s sixth was, finally, an extravagance. Luis Suárez hit four and now leads the race for the Pichichi and Golden Boot, much to the displeasure I would imagine of Ronaldo. 6-0 was a great result but it was not a vintage performance from Barcelona. They were poor in the first half and improved in the second, with Leo Messi as their enabler. But Barcelona were not free-flowing, and Neymar and the ball are still not on speaking terms.