The second week of games in La Liga is not over yet, but there are some talking points that emerged from the matches that took place from Friday to Sunday.
Barcelona and Real Madrid won their games, and they had different ways to do it. Los Blaugranas struggled against Valladolid -and their horrendous pitch- but ended up claiming three points. Ousmane Dembele was one of the team's reference points despite a complicated first half, especially when he scored the game-winning goal for Valverde's men.
| Ousmane Dembele stats vs Real Valladolid:
— Barca Universal (@BarcaUniversal) August 26, 2018
Shots: 5
Pass Completion: 66%
Dribbles: 1
Dispossessions: 4
Game Winning Goals: 1
Take the good with the bad! pic.twitter.com/R5BHNGXbVX
Dembele's performance came in handy for Barcelona, especially since their main threat was well-guarded by Valladolid's defenders.
27 - No player lost more possessions than Leo Messi in La Liga (27) & Neymar in the Top 5 European Leagues (34) the last weekend. Focus pic.twitter.com/vTbIW4Bcac
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) August 27, 2018
Speaking about their bitter rival, Real Madrid managed to walk away from Montilivi Stadium with their first-ever win there. During that match, Ramos' "Panenka" penalty earned the Spanish footballer one record only accomplished by Lionel Messi.
Sergio Ramos is the 2nd player in #LaLiga history to score in 15 consecutive seasons, joining Lionel Messi.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 26, 2018
.@realmadrid converted 2 penalties in the game and now has the most PKs awarded in the last 5 La Liga seasons (42) surpassing Barcelona (40). pic.twitter.com/WlF8uaBXo5
If that wasn't enough reason to celebrate, the one and only Gareth Bale has established himself as Real Madrid's attacking reference. Will he be able to fill Cristiano Ronaldo's shoes?
150 - Gareth Bale has scored his 150th goal in his professional career (only clubs). Dragon. pic.twitter.com/P8NprzXNIW
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) August 26, 2018
Here's how La Liga's standings look like after 18 games.
How does it look so far? #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/mfcuXdwQSO
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) August 26, 2018