After a shaky start to the season, the picture in La Liga is beginning to clear, with the traditional powerhouses showing why they are still the teams to beat.

Things are starting to get clearer in La Liga after Matchday 4 of the 2025/26 season. Real Madrid are now the only team with a perfect record in the league, continuing to dominate under Xabi Alonso despite a massive blunder from the referee.

Meanwhile, things have finally started to click for Simeone’s Atletico, as they recorded their first win of the season. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona were at their brutal best, decimating Valencia 6-0. For the first time this season, none of the traditional big three of La Liga dropped points.

While Villarreal are slowly fading from the title race, Elche have maintained their unbeaten start and could certainly push for a mid-table finish if they continue in this vein. Having analysed all the fixtures closely, The Hard Tackle breaks down five key takeaways from the fourth round of action in the 2025/26 La Liga season.

Newly promoted Elche remain unbeaten in La Liga

It was already a surprise to see Elche heading into Matchday 4 unbeaten, and yet again, they have managed to avoid defeat. The newly promoted outfit have secured three draws and a win so far this season. Given the kind of start they have had, one can certainly bet on them surviving in the top flight.

They squared up against a struggling Sevilla side on Saturday. Despite inconsistent performances, the home team were the favourite to secure all three points. But Elche yet again punched above their weight and secured a draw.

Although not the best team on the night, they have made it a habit of coming away from games with at least a point. They will face fellow promoted club Real Oviedo in matchday 5, and a win there could certainly strengthen their case for a mid-table finish.

Real Madrid clinch victory despite a referee blunder

League leaders Real Madrid started the game against Real Sociedad in fine fashion as Kylian Mbappe bagged a goal in the 12th minute to give his team the lead. While Los Blancos were in complete control of the game, a referee blunder could have cost them big time.

In the 32nd minute, Dean Huijsen was sent off by Jesus Gil Manzano for what he deemed to be a last-man challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal. However, the reality is that Eder Militao was only a few metres away from the Sociedad player, who didn’t really have the ball in complete control.

It was a clear and obvious error from the officials, and VAR didn’t ask the referee to cross-check the decision on the pitch-side monitor. Reports suggest that the VAR official from the game could now be suspended.

Despite being down to ten men, Los Blancos kept putting pressure on Sociedad and bagged another goal in the first half. But they decided to sit back in the second half and had to deal with a lot of pressure to secure a 2-1 win. With this win, they are now the only team with a 100% record in La Liga.

Atletico Madrid are finally up and running in La Liga

Having failed to win any of their first three league games, Diego Simeone was under a lot of pressure. Given the number of signings they made in the summer, Atletico were expected to challenge for the league title. However, they were sitting towards the bottom of the table, and the title was already looking beyond their reach.

But they managed to turn things around just in time with a win over Villarreal, who had been off to an impressive start. Atletico dominated the proceedings, created a handful of chances, and made the most of them to secure an easy 2-0 win.

While they have bagged their first win, Simeone’s team are already seven points behind the league leaders, and they will have to get on a roll to get themselves back in contention for the title.

Villarreal stumble after a bright start

After securing Champions League football with a fifth-placed finish last time out, Villarreal were off to a promising start to the new season with back-to-back wins over Real Oviedo and Girona.

However, things haven’t gone according to plan for them in their last two outings. They struggled against Celta Vigo and could only manage a point. While they were expected to dominate the proceedings, Celta were the ones who had the upper hand throughout.

After a disappointing performance, the Yellow Submarine were hoping to get things back on track against Atletico. With Simeone’s team struggling, Villarreal certainly had a chance to cause an upset. But, they were clearly the second-best team on the night and ended up losing 2-0.

Barcelona are back at their absolute best

After a shaky start to the season, Barcelona delivered a dominant performance against Valencia, showing signs of the team they are capable of being. Despite injury setbacks and several doubts over the lineup, Hansi Flick’s side fired on all cylinders, cruising to a comprehensive 6-0 victory.

Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski each scored a brace, highlighting their attacking firepower. More importantly, the team looked well-organised, controlled possession, and created chance after chance, leaving no doubt that the Catalans are back in form just in time for their Champions League opener against Newcastle United.

Having played out a draw against Rayo Vallecano last time out, it was a much-needed performance for them. There were doubts about their defensive unit being good enough following Inigo Martinez’s departure, and they answered those questions to a great extent.