Five takeaways from Matchday 3

The LALIGA EA SPORTS table is starting to take shape, following a midweek Matchday 3 which produced several fascinating storylines. Here, we take a look at a few of the main ones. 

FC Barcelona lose Marc Bernal but gain Dani Olmo

FC Barcelona are the league leaders after three matchdays, as they are the only team to have collected nine points out of a possible nine. Curiously, each of their victories have been by a scoreline of 2-1 and the most recent one was away at Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday night. The match-winner was Dani Olmo, as he scored the decisive goal on his debut for the Barça first team. That was great news for the Catalan club, however they also suffered a major blow in that game as Marc Bernal, the 17-year-old midfielder who’d started the season so well, suffered an ACL injury. So, as much as FC Barcelona have gained a star player in Olmo, they have lost an important piece in Bernal. 

Real Sociedad’s home struggles continue

Coming into 2024/25, Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil was well aware that his team needed to start performing better at home. Last season, Real Sociedad only won eight of their 19 home league games at the Reale Arena, which is a major reason why they weren’t able to return to the Champions League. However, the trend of last season has carried over into this one, as La Real have lost both of their matches so far at the Reale Arena, falling 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano on the opening weekend and then losing 2-1 against Basque neighbours Deportivo Alavés on Wednesday night. With Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona all visiting San Sebastián before the end of November, Real Sociedad need to find solutions to this problem quickly. 

Villarreal CF present their case for fourth place 

One of the most impressive teams so far in LALIGA EA SPORTS have been Villarreal CF, who sit second in the standings on seven points after drawing 2-2 at home to Atlético de Madrid, winning 2-1 away at Sevilla FC and edging RC Celta 4-3 in this midweek round. That’s an incredible start for El Submarino Amarillo and it suggests they could be serious contenders to clinch fourth place this season. Given that this will be the first season in five years in which they don’t play in Europe, they’ll be able to rest up between matchdays and could keep this level of performance up. If they keep winning, and scoring so many goals, the fans at the Estadio de la Cerámica could be in for a fun ride. 

Real Madrid don’t like the islands

August is a month in which thousands of holidaymakers visit the beautiful islands of Spain, including Mallorca and Gran Canaria. As a result of the LALIGA EA SPORTS fixture list, Real Madrid have had the opportunity to travel to both of these islands to play two of their first three fixtures of the new league season. However, they haven’t enjoyed their visits as much as most tourists. After being held to a 1-1 draw at RCD Mallorca in the opening round, Los Blancos then drew 1-1 away at UD Las Palmas on Thursday night. An early Alberto Moleiro goal put UD Las Palmas in front and, although Vinícius levelled from the penalty spot, it was the islanders who came closer to a winning goal in the final stages. Real Madrid haven’t enjoyed their island excursions this August, but every other LALIGA EA SPORTS game this season will now take place on the peninsula. 

Girona FC are matching last season’s performance

Coming into this new season, there had been some doubts over whether or not Girona FC would be able to repeat the incredible performances of last season. Not only will they have to combine their domestic duties with Champions League football, but their squad has also changed in a big way, with several departures and several arrivals. However, the Catalan outfit have collected four points from three difficult fixtures by drawing 1-1 at Real Betis, losing 3-0 at Atlético de Madrid and then thrashing CA Osasuna 4-0 on Thursday night at the Estadi Montilivi on Thursday, the same day they learned that Liverpool and Arsenal will be visiting their stadium in the Champions League this season. Comparing these three results with 2023/24, this is exactly the same haul Girona FC took from these three specific fixtures. So, Míchel’s men are currently matching last season’s performance.