La Liga refs are being totally exposed this season, as several of their decisions have been overturned by the use of the Video Assistant referee, commonly referred to as VAR.
Curiously enough both Real Madrid and Barcelona were involved in controversy this weekend, as technology gave Los Blancos a chance to win their game against Espanyol, while Los Blaugranas had to deal with a setback due to ref Gil Manzano's decision.
Marco Asensio vs Espanyol
The Spanish footballer scored a late goal for Real Madrid against their other Catalan rival, and ref Mateu Lahoz decided to rule the goal offside. Nevertheless, VAR came to Real Madrid's rescue and forced the Spanish ref to allow the goal to go up. As you can see in the pic below, Asensio was well onside when Modric's shot was deflected.
Clement Lenglet vs Girona
The French defender was sent off by referee Gil Manzano after calling a foul against Pepe Pons. After being adviced by VAR refs to look at the footage of the incident, Manzano decided to send the footballer off after throwing an elbow against Pons, who referred to this decision as "unfair".
Pichichi race
Lionel Messi had broken the tie against Karim Benzema earlier on Sunday, but a Girona footballer leveled his goalscoring account in a matter of minutes, keeping the fight to become the best striker in La Liga alive.
Standings
Here's how things stand after five games and with Matchday 6 just around the corner.
| Pos. | Team | GW | W | G | V | DV | DT | DG | P | Vorm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 32 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 70 | 22 | +48 | 81 | WWWWW | |
| 2 | Barcelona | 32 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 64 | 37 | +27 | 70 | VWWWW | |
| 3 | Girona | 32 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 67 | 40 | +27 | 68 | WVWVW | |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 32 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 59 | 38 | +21 | 61 | VWWVV | |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 32 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 58 | GGVWW | |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 32 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 51 | GGWWW | |
| 7 | Real Betis | 32 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 48 | WWVVV | |
| 8 | Valencia | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 47 | VWWGV | |
| 9 | Villarreal | 32 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 42 | WGVWW | |
| 10 | Getafe | 32 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 38 | 44 | -6 | 40 | GGVWV | |
| 11 | Osasuna | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 37 | 46 | -9 | 39 | VVWVV | |
| 12 | Sevilla | 32 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 37 | WWWVG | |
| 13 | Las Palmas | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 39 | -9 | 37 | VVVVV | |
| 14 | Deportivo Alavés | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 38 | -10 | 35 | WVVVW | |
| 15 | Rayo Vallecano | 32 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 27 | 39 | -12 | 34 | WGGWV | |
| 16 | Mallorca | 32 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 31 | VVGWV | |
| 17 | Celta de Vigo | 32 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 37 | 47 | -10 | 31 | WVGWV | |
| 18 | Cádiz | 32 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 22 | 45 | -23 | 25 | VVWVW | |
| 19 | Granada | 32 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 33 | 61 | -28 | 18 | GWVVV | |
| 20 | Almería | 32 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 64 | -33 | 14 | VGVWG |
