Barcelona were missing the injured Messi this week, but they still beat Inter Milan 2-0 in Wednesday’s Champions League, with Rafinha and Jordi Alba the scorers. Real Madrid just won 2-1 against Viktoria Plsen the day before, with Benzema and Marcelo on target, but Atlético were thrashed 4-0 by Borussia Dortmund, and Valencia were held to a 1-1 draw at Young Boys, Batsuyashi getting the goal for the Ches. Spanish sides did much better though in Thursday’s Europa League games, with convincing wins for all three. Betis beat AC Milan 1-2, with strikes from Sanabria and Lo Celso, Sevilla clocked up a 6-0 win against Akhisar, Sarabia converting a penalty, and Villarreal won 5-0 against Rapid Vienna, with Ekambi and Moreno amongst the scorers.

This weekend of course saw the latest “clásico”, Barcelona beating Real Madrid 5-1 to end Julen Lopetegui’s brief reign. Marcelo scored for the third time in as many games, but Luis Suárez helped himself to a hat-trick after Coutinho had started things off, and Arturo Vidal came on to wrap things up near the end. Suárez wasn’t the only one to find the net three times this weekend though, Iago Aspas doing likewise in Celta’s 4-0 win over Eibar. Things are still very tight at the top though, with x teams just x poibts da de dah. Alavés are now second after overcoming Gerard Moreno’s early opener to beat Villarreal 2-1, and Sevilla are third after a 2-1 victory over Huesca, Sarabia scoring both goals to move level with Messi at the top of the Pichichi chart. Espanyol and Levante are also in the running for the European spots, Borja Iglesias netting for the former in a 1-1 draw at Valladolid on Friday, and Roger one of the scorers for the latter in a 2-0 victory over Leganés. (29.10.18)

Pichichi League Cup ** Europe * Total (Penalties)
Messi (Barcelona) 7 0 5 12 (0)
Sarabia (Sevilla) 4 1 7 12 (1)
Ben Yedder (Sevilla) 5 0 4 9 (0)
Iago Aspas (Celta) 8 0 0 8 (0)
Stuani (Girona) 8 0 0 8 (1)
Luis Suárez (Barcelona) 7 0 0 7 (2)
André Silva (Sevilla) 7 0 0 7 (0)
Roger (Levante) 6 0 0 6 (1)
Benzema (Real Madrid) 4 0 2 6 (1)
Borja Iglesias (Espanyol) 5 0 0 5 (0)
Coutinho (Barcelona) 4 0 1 5 (0)
Dembélé (Barcelona) 3 1 1 5 (0)
Banega (Sevilla) 2 0 3 5 (2)
Muniain (Athletic) 4 0 0 4 (0)
Maxi Gómez (Celta) 4 0 0 4 (0)
Morales (Levante) 4 0 0 4 (1)
Bale (Real Madrid) 3 0 1 4 (0)
Griezmann (Atlético) 2 0 2 4 (0)
Ekambi (Villarreal) 2 0 2 4 (0)
Moreno (Villarreal) 2 0 2 4 (0)

* Includes European Super Cup
** Includes Spanish Super Cup