La Liga Winners and Losers After Final 2019 Week 6 Table
Real Madrid stormed to the top of La Liga after the latest top-flight matches in Spain.
Zinedine Zidane's side continued their unbeaten run in the league on Wednesday with a 2-0 win over Osasuna.
Barcelona defeated Villarreal 2-1 on Tuesday, but Lionel Messi lasted only 45 minutes after suffering an abductor muscle injury.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Thursday's matches saw Eibar stage a dramatic comeback in a 3-2 win over Sevilla.
Elsewhere, Celta Vigo scored in stoppage time to gain a 1-1 draw with Espanyol, and Real Sociedad moved up to second after cruising past Alaves during a 3-0 victory.
Here's the results from La Liga's midweek action:
Tuesday's Results
Barcelona 2-1 Villarreal
Real Valladolid 1-1 Granada
Real Betis 3-1 Levante
Wednesday's Results
Leganes 1-1 Athletic Club
Mallorca 0-2 Atletico
Valencia 3-3 Getafe
Real Madrid 2-0 Osasuna
Thursday's Results
Eibar 3-2 Sevilla
Celta 1-1 Espanyol
Sociedad 3-0 Alaves
La Liga Table (Position, Team, Played, Goal Difference, Points):
1. Real Madrid 6, +6, 14
2. Real Sociedad 5, +6, 13
3. Atletico Madrid 6, +3, 13
4. Athletic Club 6, +5, 12
5. Granada 6, +6, 11
6. Barcelona 6, +4, 10
7. Sevilla 6, +2, 10
8. Villarreal 6, +3, 8
9. Real Betis 6, -1, 8
10. Getafe 6, +1, 7
11. Levante 6, -1, 7
12. Osasuna 5, -1, 7
13. Valencia 6, -2, 6
14. Real Valladolid 6, -3, 6
15. Celta Vigo 6, -3, 6
16. Eibar 6, -2, 5
17. Alaves 6, -5, 5
18. Espanyol 6, -6, 5
19. Mallorca 6, -6, 4
20. Leganes 6, -6, 2
Winners And Losers
Winner: Real Madrid's Youth Movement
The 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League raised questions about Zidane's ability to make Real winners for a third time in his career. The French legend gained success with Los Blancos as a player and manager, but his second stint at the helm appears to be a tougher proposition.
However, Madrid have four wins and two draws in their opening six La Liga games, and with their youthful core displaying a depth in quality, the club are back on top at the summit.
Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo are two of Zidane's highly rated youngsters, and the forwards found the back of the net to beat Osasuna.
Zidane rotated his options for the game, allowing Vinicius to start on the left and new signing Luka Jovic in the middle as the striker. The 21-year-old signing from Eintracht Frankfurt has struggled to make an impact, but the Serb gave a competent display.
Rodrygo replaced Vinicius after 71 minutes, and the 18-year-old took just one minute to double Madrid's lead. He scored on an impressive solo effort, and the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was satisfied with the victory.
Real have an extensive rebuilding project on their hands, but their decision to put faith in their younger talent is paying dividends.
Martin Odegaard is also impressing on loan at Sociedad this season, and the 20-year-old could soon find his way back to Madrid to join Zidane's young collective.
Loser: Lionel Messi
It was supposed to be a gentle return for Messi after he started his first game of the La Liga campaign on Tuesday, but the Camp Nou supporters anxiously watched their icon leave the game because of further injury.
Messi has been missing time due to a calf injury since pre-season, and Barca coach Ernesto Valverde was forced to substitute the forward at half-time.
The Blaugrana will now have to wait to discover the depth of Messi's new injury, but Valverde said he does not think the abductor problem is serious, per Sky Sports: "When something happens to Messi, the world stops. Not only here at Barcelona. I don't think it is serious. We did not want to take any risk. We will see anyway. ... He has been injured for a long time, and we do not want to take any risks at the moment."
Barca are sixth after Tuesday's win, but the starting XI has not looked the same with Messi on the sidelines.
The Spanish champions visit the capital on Saturday to face a tricky opponent in Getafe, and they will not want to see Los Blancos increase their four-point advantage over them in the table.
Winner: Antoine Griezmann
With Barca's title challenge in early trouble and Messi struggling for fitness, the biggest winner in the weeks ahead could be the France international.
The pressure is on Griezmann since his high-profile switch from Atletico Madrid, and the attacker opened the scoring on Tuesday night. The 28-year-old has started all of Barca's La Liga matches this term, and he's returned three goals and two assists.
At Atleti, Griezmann was the central protagonist, but at Barca he is fighting to prove he's good enough to star in Catalonia.
If Messi remains on the sideline, Griezmann has the perfect chance to impress Valverde and help close the gap on their rivals.
Loser: Alvaro Morata
Morata's career has been in steady decline since he decided to swap the white of Real Madrid for the blue of Chelsea. The striker lasted 18 months in London before landing at Atleti, but he has failed to impress.
A lack of consistency has seen the Spain international on the bench, and his cameo at the end of Atletico's 2-0 win over Mallorca should have represented a good chance for the 26-year-old.
Morata lasted only seven minutes after arriving as a 69th-minute substitute, and two acts of dissent saw the striker given his marching orders for two yellows.
It was an embarrassing moment for a player trying to re-establish himself in La Liga. Griezmann's transfer to Barca should have helped Morata gain more minutes, but he needlessly let down Diego Simeone on Wednesday.
