Sevilla

Sevilla were the best performers of Matchday 8, as they bulldozed their way past FC Barcelona, demolishing them 4-1. Alexis Sánchez came back to haunt his former team, as he opened the scoring from the spot in the 13^th minute. Sevilla then kept creating very clear chances, but they were unable to convert one of them until Isaac Romero slotted in the second goal of the game. Before half-time Marcus Rashford pulled one back for FC Barcelona against the run of play, but Sevilla did not let themselves get intimidated by the scoreline. They kept playing their game in the second half and finished off a historic afternoon by scoring two more goals in stoppage time. FC Barcelona have now lost their last two games, and this international break might give them the time they need to get things back on track.

Athletic Club

Athletic Club finally managed to win a game, after having experienced an awful stretch of games this past month. Out of their last eight matches, this was their first and only win, and the first game in which Nico Williams came back from injury. They haven’t been able to win without him this season, which is very worrying about a team which is currently playing in the Champions League and wants to play it again next year. Nevertheless, this victory gives them a bit of relief going into the international break.

Pau López

The Spanish goalkeeper was Real Betis’s hero yesterday, as he saved a penalty in stoppage time to secure the win, after a very controversial penalty call from the referee. Betis were leading the game 2-1 and in what looked like would be the last cross of the game, a foul was called on Valentín Gómez for stretching out his arm while going up to head the ball away. Real Betis were furious with the referee’s decision, but the only person that could save them was Pau López, and he did just that.

Vinícius Júnior

Vinícius Júnior was the star player in Real Madrid’s important win over Villareal. He scored two goals and is now looking like he’s finally found the way to consistently perform, having stacked up six goal contributions in his last five games. These performances have helped him get called up for Brazil again, as he was left out last time because he had picked up a suspension for one of Brazil’s two games.

Girona

Girona have managed to win their first game of the season, moving up from rock-bottom to 18^th place in the league table. They beat Valencia in a drama-filled clash, which saw them pick up two red cards after having gone up 2-1. Despite going down to nine men in total before the final whistle, they were still able to take all three points and finally give their fans something to cheer about this season.

All images courtesy of LaLiga Content Hub