Tracking Performances of Real Madrid, Barcelona Superstars After Weekend Oct. 18

Barcelona and Real Madrid occupy two of the top three places in Spain's La Liga standings again this weekend, after both picked up a comfortable three points from their matches in game week eight.

Real trounced Levante, 5-0, on Saturday, before Barca topped Eibar, 3-0, later that evening.

We've clocked the performances of all the biggest attacking names involved once more as we bring you our updated look at how the superstars of La Liga perform throughout the season.

Real Madrid Performances and Grades

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Gareth Bale was an unused substitute for Real as they defeated Levante, with Sky Sports reporting he remains doubtful for their midweek Champions League clash as he recovers from a muscle strain.

Both the other big-money signings featured, though, with Cristiano Ronaldo maintaining goalscoring form and James Rodriguez also putting in an accomplished display.

The former scored a penalty early on in the game and after the hour mark, made one of his trademark surging runs to drive through the defence and finish well for his second goal of the game—and his 15th of the league season in just seven appearances.

Though he started with a central attacking role, Ronaldo's influence could be seen across the pitch for most of the match as he worked the channels as well as running in behind the Levante defenders.

"

What a goal by Ronaldo! His 15th League goal of the season. https://t.co/tekMIJVfuU

— The Footy Arena (@thefootyarena) October 18, 2014"

James, meanwhile, continued his upsurge in form with another very polished performance, spraying passes about and helping his team dominate proceedings. More spectacular, though, were his dribbling through the centre and looking to break the lines of the Levante back line.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

The Colombian managed to pick himself up a smart assist for Javier Hernandez's goal, while he also added gloss by notching a strike himself.

Ratings: Cristiano Ronaldo, 9/10. James Rodriguez, 9/10. Gareth Bale, N/A.

Barcelona Performances and Grades

Barca are, of course, still without Luis Suarez—though, the Uruguayan forward will return next weekend for El Clasico as these two sides meet for the first time this season.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Lionel Messi and Neymar both led the attacking line once more in Suarez's continued absence—and both players found themselves on the scoresheet once more.

In an initially frustrating first hour or so, Messi was a buzzing, menacing presence across the entire front line, dropping deep to pick up possession and then looking to exchange passes with those ahead.

While he was thwarted in finding the back of the net for a time by a combination of last-gasp defending and some unusually wayward finishing, he was eventually the player who opened up the Eibar defence and set the platform for the win.

A one-two to break into the box between Messi and Xavi has been a common sight for Barcelona over the years—but it came the other way around this time as Messi threaded a well-weighted ball through for the club captain to score. Messi himself then added a goal and could have had another with a late header from close range.

"

Here is that Xavi goal complete with Messi assist http://t.co/nU3cfKnvpP

— SPORT English (@Sport_EN) October 18, 2014"

Neymar, meanwhile, spent much of the game on the periphery of things. But several times, he was impressive in his attempts to stretch play, run in behind the full-back—and, of course, was decisive in the final third with a goal and an assist of his own.

Ratings: Leo Messi, 9/10. Neymar, 7/10. Luis Suarez, N/A.

Matchday Stats Comparison

Player	Mins played	Touches	Key passes	Shots	On target	Dribbles	Assists	Goals
James	90	80	5	4	2	0	1	1
Ronaldo	90	59	4	7	4	4	0	2
Messi	90	106	3	8	6	6	1	1
Neymar	77	67	2	3	1	6	1	1

Season Stats Comparison

Player	Apps	Goals	Mins per goal	Assists	Key passes per game	Shots per game	Dribbles per game
Messi	8	7	103	7	3.5	4.6	3.9
Neymar	5 (2)	8	53	1	0.6	3.1	2.0
Suarez	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ronaldo	7	15	42	1	2.7	6.9	1.9
Bale	7	4	151	3	1.4	3.0	0.9
James	8	2	339	3	2.6	2.1	0.9

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