La Liga Results 2017 Week 3: Final Scores and Updated Table After Saturday

Barcelona continued their flawless start to the new La Liga season with a 5-0 victory over neighbours Espanyol at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick with Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez also on target for the Blaugrana, who also gave summer signing Ousmane Dembele a debut, replacing Gerard Deulofeu in the second half.

Meanwhile, champions Real Madrid dropped points for the second successive matchday after being forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Atletico Madrid were also frustrated, Diego Simeone's side held to a goalless draw at Valencia while Saturday's only other fixture saw Sevilla comfortably beat Eibar 3-0.

Read on for a roundup of Saturday's La Liga results, complete with updated standings and a recap of the day's best action.

Saturday's La Liga Results

Real Madrid 1-1 Levante

Valencia 0-0 Atletico Madrid

Sevilla 3-0 Eibar

Barcelona 5-0 Espanyol

La Liga Table (Goal Difference)

1. Barcelona 9 (+9)

2. Sevilla 7 (+4)

3. Real Sociedad 6 (+4)

4. Leganes 6 (+1)

5. Atletico Madrid 5 (+4)

6. Real Madrid 5 (+3)

7. Levante 5 (+1)

8. Valencia 5 (+1)

9. Girona 4 (+1)

10. Athletic Bilbao 4 (+1)

11. Getafe 4 (0)

12. Real Betis 3 (-1)

13. Eibar 3 (-3)

14. Deportivo La Coruna 1 (-3)

15. Espanyol 1 (-6)

16. Celta Vigo 0 (-2)

17. Malaga 0 (-2)

18. Alaves 0 (-3)

19. Villarreal 0 (-4)

20. Las Palmas 0 (-5)

Recap

Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga with a comfortable win over Espanyol, as Messi inspired the hosts to victory yet again.

There was an element of fortune about his first goal, Messi initially in an offside position before showing some lovely footwork in the box, as noted by football writer Kieran Canning:

Messi then added a second after a helpful ricochet saw the ball fall to Jordi Alba, who crossed for the Argentinian to slide in and finish from close range.

The 30-year-old then added a third, finishing off a lovely passing move involving both Alba and Suarez for yet another hat-trick, per Squawka:

The evening then got even better for the hosts, Pique heading home a fourth before Dembele set up Suarez for a fifth, his first assist for his new club, and the Uruguayan's first goal of the season.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are already four points behind Barcelona after drawing with Levante and had to come from behind after Ivan Lopez put the visitors ahead after just 12 minutes,

The visitors capitalised on some poor defending with Lopez flicking home at the near post and catching out Dani Carvajal, who was trying to control the ball after a long throw, which did not impress ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

There was further misery to follow for Madrid as Karim Benzema departed due to injury, with Gareth Bale taking his place.

Madrid did manage to equalise, goalkeeper Raul only able to parry a header from Sergio Ramos, with Lucas Vaquez on hand to tap the ball home.

However, while they managed to get back on level terms, it was not a typical performance from Real Madrid, per football writer Sid Lowe:

The hosts did have chances to win the game, with Bale guilty of missing several decent attempts, and really ought to have taken one of them, according to Canning:

The day then took another turn for the worse late on with Marcelo sent off after he let his frustrations get the better of him, per Corrigan:

Ultimately it was a disappointing day for the champions, who dropped points again and lost Benzema to a thigh injury and Marcelo to suspension, per Corrigan.

Atletico Madrid were also forced to settle for a point after a 0-0 draw with Valencia at Mestalla Stadium.

The visitors did have their chances with Angel Correa, Luciano Vietto and Nicolas Gaitan all having decent attempts but unable to break the deadlock.

After three away matches in a row, Atletico will now head to their new home, the Wanda Metropolitano, for their next clash against Malaga.