La Liga Table 2018 Week 7: Updated Standings Following Friday's Results

Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol kickstarted Week 7 of the La Liga season with a gripping 2-2 draw on Friday.

The point sees Rayo move up one place in the standings to 17th, while Espanyol ascend past Sevilla into fifth, continuing their encouraging start to the 2018-19 season.

Later this weekend all the focus will be on the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night, as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet in a crucial derby encounter. Elsewhere, after their loss against Leganes in midweek Barcelona will be out to bounce back against Athletic Bilbao.

Here's a recap of the action from Vallecas on Friday night and a preview of what's to come this weekend.

Week 7 Fixtures

Friday

Rayo Vallecano 2-2 Espanyol

Saturday

Real Sociedad vs. Valencia

Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao

Eibar vs. Sevilla

Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid

Sunday

Huesca vs. Girona

Villarreal vs. Valladolid

Levante vs. Alaves

Real Betis vs. Leganes

Monday

Celta Vigo vs. Getafe

The La Liga table in full can be viewed here.

Friday Recap

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Friday's match got off to a perfect start for Vallecano, as they took the lead through forward Raul de Tomas after just six minutes, netting a brilliant low shot from 25 yards.

BBC's Andy West outlined why he's such a big fan of the Rayo man:

Kevin Egan of beIN Sports is expecting big things from the Real Madrid loanee in the future:

The response from Espanyol was positive, though, and within 13 minutes they had restored parity again, with Borja Iglesias reacting quickest to a loose ball in the box. Then, on the stroke of half-time, the visitors were sharper in the area again, with Esteban Granero this time gobbling up a rebound.

The home team clearly weren't feeling sorry for themselves, though, as they stormed out of the traps after the break and won a penalty within the first minute of the restart. Gael Kakuta dispatched the effort from 12 yards.

In the second half, both teams sought a winner, with Didac Vila going close for Espanyol and Adri Embarba seeing a shot blocked for Rayo. But in the end, a point was fair in an entertaining and even game.

Weekend Preview

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Real Madrid missed a huge opportunity to move into the outright top spot in La Liga on Wednesday, as they suffered yet another disappointing defeat away at the Sanchez Pizjuan.

While losing to Sevilla away from home doesn't represent a major surprise, the manner of the defeat would've concerned manager Julen Lopetegui, as the Los Blancos defence was pulled apart at times in a remarkable opening period. They are set to be without Marcelo on Saturday too.

For the European champions, to be in this type of situation at half time in a La Liga match was extremely rare:

Atletico, who have avoided defeat on the last five visits to the Bernabeu in La Liga, will be confident of making this a testing afternoon for their city rivals too.

After a challenging start to the season, they appear to have rediscovered their groove in their last two contests and their routine 3-0 win over Huesca represented perfect preparation for what promises to be a draining occasion in the capital

Barcelona also need a performance after their slump at bottom club Leganes. The Blaugrana, so cohesive and functional last season, have appeared anything but as of late and manager Ernesto Valverde will want to see more defensive solidity from his team this weekend.

Rafael Hernandez of fansite Grup14 has been far from impressed with the team in 2018-19:

Athletic also need to find some defensive steel in this one, as they were hammered 3-0 at home by Villarreal in their last outing. Alaves, who have shocked plenty to sit in third place ahead of this weekend, will travel to Levante.