It started with a solitary Friday night Getafe goal and ended with a Monday night sharing of the spoils between Rayo Vallecano and Valencia.
And while the majority of La Liga headlines over the weekend will centre on the change of leadership at the summit, it was actually the outcome of the early Saturday encounter which may well prove just as important when the 2025-26 campaign is evaluated.
For the standout for this SBOTOP observer was the character displayed by Osasuna at Mallorca.
Trailing by two goals in four second-half minutes from Vedat Muriqi, they seemed set to remain in the drop zone and lose ground on a side also battling to beat the drop. Yet Osasuna reduced the arrears through Raul Garcia with eight minutes remaining and, when Flavien Enzo Boyomo equalised in the second minute of stoppage time, the away delight would have been obvious for all connected with Los Rojillos. Mallorca stay one point and one place above Osasuna, just out of the bottom three.
During a weekend in which the bottom two, Real Oviedo and Levante, both lost, it was Girona who also caught the attention. Catching the spotlight has been nothing new for Girona in recent years.
In fact, it’s still questioned just how exactly did a team, playing in the Spanish top flight for just the fourth time in their history, finish third in La Liga and qualify for European football for the first time in their history 18 months ago?
They’ve not fared so well since, naturally given the size of the club. But they showed at the weekend they can still make life difficult for the best of them by holding Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw, thus costing Los Blancos the chance to return to the top.
Girona had led through an Azzedine Ounahi effort just before halftime and held onto that lead until midway through the second period when Kylian Mbappe tucked a penalty beyond the reach of Paulo Gazzaniga to equalise from the spot after Vinicius Jr. was tripped by Hugo Rincon in the box.
That is how it finished and the 1-1 draw didn’t stop questions being asked about manager Xabi Alonso or his team which has now won just one of its past five games in all competitions.
Three league draws has seen the advantage lost to reigning champions Barcelona and, according to some reports, there is some concern amid a reported difference of opinion in the dressing room, with some players unconvinced about Alonso’s methods.
That would seem harsh for a team which has only lost once domestically all season (so have their city rivals Atletico) who are currently in fourth place. That just three points separate the top four suggests we may even have a title race beyond the usual Real-Barcelona duopoly this term (although I doubt the La Liga 2025 betting odds will agree with that sentiment).
The surprise package in there, and one creating some wonderful La Liga 2025 highlights, is Villarreal who struck in the 95th minute to win a five-goal thriller at Real Sociedad.
Both teams played their part in an exciting contest which saw Ayoze Perez and Alberto Moleiro put the visitors in a commanding position. They were pegged back to 2-2 in the second half as Carlos Soler and Ander Barrenetxea struck.
However, Alberto Moleiro volleyed home his second of the afternoon in the fifth minute of stoppage time, which sparked wild scenes for the Yellow Submarine contingent and inflicted a first league defeat in six for spirited Sociedad.
Lying in fifth place, ahead of Espanyol on goal difference, are Real Betis after they won 2-0 at Sevilla in the El Gran Derbi. This is no ordinary game as I found out a few years ago.
In the words of one guide: game days are a party in these two neighbourhoods, an experience you shouldn’t miss. Choose your colors, the Betis’ green and white or Seville’s red and white, and enjoy a magnificent day of football.
Betis had the upper hand on Sunday afternoon as they won at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan for the first time in over five years.
After a tight first half, they broke the deadlock nine minutes after the restart when Pablo Fornals robbed Batista Mendy, skipped away from a couple of challenges and slotted past Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Sergi Altimara doubled the lead soon after, and despite the match briefly being suspended for fan trouble, Los Verdiblancos saw out the victory.
The hosts’ misery was compounded when Isaac Romero was dismissed in the closing stages.
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