The 2025/26 La Liga season continues to serve up drama and unpredictability after Matchday 8, with the title race already shaping into an intriguing battle between familiar rivals.

Real Madrid have reclaimed top spot in the 2025/26 La Liga standings with a commanding performance against Villarreal, while Barcelona suffered a major setback under Hansi Flick, losing their grip on first place after a heavy defeat to Sevilla.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, failed to build on their derby triumph, dropping valuable points against Celta Vigo. Elsewhere, Girona finally ended their winless run to spark hope of a turnaround, whereas Elche’s dream start to life back in the top flight came to an end with a frustrating defeat to Alaves.

With plenty of movement at both ends of the table, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the key talking points from Matchday 8 of the 2025/26 La Liga season.

Real Madrid return to winning ways in La Liga

While Los Blancos did secure a 5-0 win over Kairat Almary in the UEFA Champions League midweek, they were heading into the weekend’s fixture against Villarreal under some significant pressure, given what had happened to them at the hands of Atletico Madrid in their last La Liga outing.

As expected, the team in white bounced back in sensational fashion. While Kylian Mbappe did bag a goal, he was not really at his best. However, Vinicius Junior did step up on the night and got them the desired results. The Brazilian international has been a bit inconsistent, but he is certainly showing signs that the best is around the corner.

Barcelona knocked off the top of La Liga

After Real Madrid dropped points in the Madrid derby last week, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona claimed the top spot for the first time this season. While they secured the summit with dominant performances, the defending champions went through a nightmare against Sevilla on Sunday.

Sevilla took the lead early in the game as Alexis Sanchez converted a penalty against his former club after a contentious foul by Ronald Araujo. Los Nervionenses went on to double it before the break. However, Marcus Rashford brought the Catalan giants back in the mix with a very late strike in the first half.

Flick’s team did push hard to get back in the game throughout the second half, but two late goals by Sevilla brought an end to Barcelona’s struggles. The result was a massive blow as their unbeaten start in La Liga came to an end, and they eventually lost the top spot to Real Madrid, who are back in control of the title race.

Atletico Madrid fail to capitalise on the Derby win

With three straight wins across competitions, it felt like Atletico Madrid were back on track and ready to challenge for major titles. However, it was a touch too early to make a prediction of that kind, as Diego Simeone’s team yet again dropped points in the league.

The Colchoneros could only manage to secure a point against Celta Vigo after Clement Lenglet was sent off towards the end of the first half. Given the kind of performance they had put up against Real Madrid, a lot was expected from them. But things did not go according to plan.

After taking the lead quite early in the game, Atletico Madrid went on the defensive and eventually ended up paying the price as Iago Aspas’s strike snatched two important points from their jaws. They once again find themselves eight points off the top and certainly have a lot of catching up to do if they do not want to be out of the title race within the first half of the season.

Girona’s winless streak comes to an end

After weeks of struggles, Girona finally managed to secure their first three points of their 2025/26 La Liga campaign against Valencia. While they still find themselves in the relegation battle, they have things going just at the right time. A few more positive results could completely transform their season and ensure they do not end up fighting for survival yet again.

It was not really that good a performance from their end, but they did get the job done. They took the lead in the first half, but Valencia were back in it at the start of the second half. Six minutes later, Arnau Martinez gave Girona the lead, and they managed to hold onto it despite going down to nine men in the final phase.

Girona certainly showed a lot of character as Valencia were completely in control of the proceedings, but they managed to get the desired result. With two draws and a win, they are surely in a much better position than they were a few weeks back.

Elche’s dream run ends

Of all three promoted teams in the 2025/26 La Liga season, Elche have by far been the best of the lot. Prior to their defeat at the hands of Deportivo Alaves, they had 13 points in just seven outings and were sitting in a European spot.

The newly promoted side were unbeaten in the top flight, and the star certainly suggested that they might be involved in the relegation battle. However, they have finally suffered the first blow of the season. Elche have tasted their first defeat, and they have slipped down to seventh in the table.

Both teams were on even terms heading into the final 15 minutes of the game. But Alaves had the edge as they were more creative in the final third. Soon after they took the lead in the 76th minute, Elche were reduced to ten men. While they did give it their all to save the game and Andre Silva did score in injury time, Alaves ended up scoring three on the night to secure a comfortable win.