LaLiga returned from the international break with another pulsating round of fixtures.

Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) are here to reflect on it all as the top three all won in different ways, and a couple of surprises were found in unexpected places.

Barça continue where they left off before the break: scoring lots of goals and winning matches comfortably. They swatted Sevilla aside with another brace from Robert Lewandowski, but surely the best part was Gavi's return after almost a year out injured. With Bayern and El Clásico next up for Hansi Flick, this was the perfect start to a testing week.

Real Madrid also won, but struggled to take all three points from Balaídos. In the end, experience and individual quality came through, but Carlo Ancelotti may be concerned with the lack of rhythm in their playing style.

Atleti also resemble something which has lots of shiny parts but no clear instructions on how to piece them together. Leganés gave them a scare in the partially-closed Metropolitano, but Alexander Sørloth's brace turned the game around.

Athletic found home comforts easier to come by as they dispatched Espanyol, but Villarreal were made to pay the penalty against Getafe. Marcelino was raging post-game, and Paco sympathises, but only so far...

There were also significant away wins for the Reals Valladolid, Betis and Sociedad, all of which leaves the middle of the table looking intriguing and tightly compacted. Perhaps the under-rated story of the season, however, is Mallorca, who are just one point off a Champions League spot as we approach November. Bravo Jagoba Arrasate.

Subscribe to get all the reaction to the matches this week, which includes a battle at the bottom in LaLiga (Paco's beloved Valencia), plus a full round of European action. Join the fun at lllonline.substack.com.

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