Updated LaLiga table after matchday 4 | LaLiga 2019/2020 table

Real Madrid CF v Levante UD - La Liga
Real Madrid CF v Levante UD - La Liga

LaLiga action returned after the international break. As expected, there were thrilling results and some unforeseen shocks.

Matchday 4 of the 89th LaLiga season kicked off on Friday evening with Mallorca playing host to Athletic Bilbao at Estadio de Son Moix, and match referee Pablo Gonzales Fuertes took center stage when he awarded penalties to both sides.

However, neither Abdon nor Aritz Aduriz could convert their spotkicks for Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao respectively and despite fashioning numerous chances, the sides could not be separated in a goalless stalemate.

Athletic Club entered the gameweek in second place and with an opportunity to topple Atletico Madrid at the summit with victory. But their draw saw them drop into fourth place, while RCD Mallorca maintained their 14th position in the standings after their fourth consecutive draw of the season.

Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid began proceedings on Saturday, trading tackles with Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos were placed fifth on the log after drawing with both Real Valladolid and Villareal, and were seeking to bounce back with their first home win of the campaign.

The home side raced into an early 3-0 lead, as a brace from Karim Benzema and one from Casemiro put Real Madrid in a comfortable half-time lead.

However, two second-half goals from two former Real Madrid academy players in Borja Mayoral and Gonzalo Melero set up a grandstand finish. Los Blancos ultimately held on for the win to climb up to third on the standings, while Levante dropped to eighth.

Up next on the day was a trip for Villarreal to Leganes, and the Yellow Submarines put up an exquisite performance, thumping their hosts 3-0 with a brace from Gerard Moreno and an own goal by Jonathan Silva condemning the Madrid based club to their 4th defeat on the bounce.

Their victory saw Villarreal climb from 16th to 10th on the table, while Leganes remain rooted at the bottom with zero points from four matches.

The shock of the matchday took place when Real Sociedad hosted Atletico Madrid and defeated them 2-0.

Diego Simeone's men entered the fixture having picked up maximum points from their opening three fixtures, and would have been buoyed by their comeback victory over Eibar on matchday 3.

However, the hosts were playing their first home match of the campaign at their brand new stadium and shocked Los Rojiblancos, with goals from Martin Odegaard and debutant Nacho Monreal condemning the visitors to their first defeat of the season.

The loss saw Atletico Madrid drop into second place, while Real Sociedad climbed up to seventh on the standings.

The final game of Saturday was undoubtedly the most anticipated of the matchday, as Barcelona hosted Valencia at the Camp Nou.

The Blaugrana drew both legs of this fixture last season and lost the Copa del Rey final to the visitors in May, but despite not having the services of Lionel Messi, other players stepped up to ensure the Catalans ran out with a comfortable 5-2 victory.

The win saw Valverde's men climb up to fifth from their previous eighth position after the last game week, while Valencia dropped from 10th to 13th.

Eibar hosted Espanyol on the first game of Sunday, and despite playing out to a drab goalless first half, the match exploded to life upon resumption of the second 45 minutes. The home side went ahead through Ivan Ramis, before the Catalans responded with goals from Facundo Ferreyra and Esteban Granero handed Espanyol their first win of the campaign.

Espanyol held on for their first win of the season and climbed two spots from the relegation places to sit 17th while Eibar dropped down one spot to 19th.

Next up was Sevilla travelling to the Basque country to take on Deportivo Alaves, and the visitors had a chance to go top with victory in the match.

A 37th-minute goal by midfielder Juan Jordan was enough to see the Andalusians grab all three points in what was a highly cagey affair.

Julen Lopetegui's men displaced Atletico Madrid at the summit of the standings, while Alaves dropped four places into 11th.

Celta Vigo played host to Granada in the third match of Sunday, and Estadio Balaidos was stunned into silence when their side was reduced to nine men with barely 29 minutes gone in the match.

From then on, it became a herculean effort for the home side, and Granada picked up all three points with goals from German Sanchez Barahona and Yangel Herrera giving the visitors a 2-0 victory.

The defeat saw Celta drop into 16th position from their previous 11th spot, while Granada climbed up to 6th.

Two 1-1 stalemates between Real Valladolid and Osasuna as well as Real Betis and Getafe concluded proceedings on matchday 4 of the 2019/2020 LaLiga season.

The draws meant that both Real Valladolid and Real Betis maintained their respective positions of 12th and 15th on the log, while Osasuna dropped three places into ninth, with Getafe climbing two spots to 18th.

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Edited by Alan John