Club football in Europe comes to a halt this week as the season pauses for the first international break of the 2026/27 campaign.
In La Liga, it is back-to-back title winners Barcelona who look red-hot favourites to make it three on the spin after an electric run of results.
Atletico Madrid and Real Betis sit directly under Barca, one point behind, with Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid a point and a place further back.
At the other end of the table, Malaga are the only club yet to register a victory and sit bottom of the pile after seven matches.
We pick out the main takeaways from the early stages of the Spanish top-flight.
Raphinha leads Barca goal rush
Hansi Flick's Barcelona have come flying out of the blocks with a perfect seven wins out of seven in La Liga, lifting them five points clear at the top, as well as a 5-1 Uefa Champions League demolition of Dutch side Feyenoord at Camp Nou.
The goals have been relentless from the Barca attack with 31 already in the bag domestically, including four at Levante, five against Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia, then seven at home to Racing Santander.
At the heart of the goal-rush has been captain Raphinha, who tops the league's scoring charts with a spectacular 12 in seven matches, including hat-tricks in Barca's two most recent games against Santander and Sevilla. The in-form Brazilian attacker, 29, also bagged a brace in the Feyenoord thrashing.
Flick's decision to move Raphinha from the wing and into a false nine role is paying dividends, with only Echevarria (14 for Oviedo in 1943/1944) and Cristiano Ronaldo (13 for Real Madrid in 2014/15) having scored more after the first seven matches of a season. “He’s the perfect captain for this team and for this club. He’s been incredible this season,” said German coach Flick.
Vinicius's Real struggles
One of the major headlines of the summer was the future of Raphinha's international colleague Vinicius Junior at Real Madrid.
After being linked with a move to English Premier League champions League Arsenal, Vinicius eventually agreed a bumper new deal that keeps him in the Spanish capital until 2032.
Returning coach Jose Mourinho made clear the 26-year-old was central to his plans, starting Vinicius in an attacking trio alongside Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe. While his forward partners have already chipped in 10 Liga goals between them, Vinicius has found life a struggle, scoring just once, albeit having supplied three assists.
He has found himself the target of jeers from not only opposition fans but also Los Blancos supporters, with Mourinho regularly having to come out in defence of his beleaguered player.
“He is not at his best. It is something that you see. I see it. We all see it. But he knows it,” said the Portuguese coach after the Champions League win over Inter Milan, when even Mbappe was booed by the Bernabeu crowd, despite scoring the opening goal in a 2-1 win. “But, even if he is not at his best right now, he is working more than ever, whether in training or in matches.”
Alvarez faces the fury
Across the capital at Atletico Madrid there are even bigger problems for another South American forward who found himself centre stage after an ugly summer transfer saga that is yet to reach a conclusion.
Argentina striker Julian Alvarez's hopes of engineering a move to Barcelona have so far been doomed to failure, with Atletico and the Catalan club increasingly at loggerheads over his potential move.
As a result, the 26-year-old has played just 173 minutes this season, starting just one game – away to Liverpool in the Champions League. But when Alvarez has appeared off the bench at the Metropolitano Stadium, Atletico fans have made their feelings all too clear.
During Sunday's Madrid derby win, home fans were still celebrating Jonathan David putting the team 2-0 up when Alvarez – who was also on Arsenal's wish list – was brought on, but even that could not stop his arrival on the pitch being met with whistles and jeers.
“It was difficult for him, but we’re going to get him back, because he is a decisive player for what the club needs and what the club wants. And we’re going to work accordingly with him,” insisted manager Diego Simeone after the match.
Zabiri shines at Santander
Leading the way at the top of the La Liga scoring charts are the familiar faces of Raphinha (12 goals), Lamine Yamal and Mbappe (both on seven).
Sitting right below that superstar trio on six goals is young Moroccan forward Yassir Zabiri, who has made an instant impact at Racing Santander. The 21-year-old moved to Spain on loan from Stade Rennes having made just six appearances for the Ligue 1 side without scoring.
But his start at Santander has been sensational, with Zabiri scoring a hat-trick and a double in the wins over Elche and Deportivo Alaves, respectively, as well as “the best goal I have ever scored” in the 7-2 drubbing by Barcelona.
His success will be of no surprise back in his home country. Zabiri was the two-goal hero in Morocco's Fifa Under-20 World Cup final win over Argentina in 2025 and has just been called-up to the senior side for their opening Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Ominously for Santander fans, Zabiri has made clear who are his dream club. “My goal is to play for Barcelona,” he said in an interview. “I’ve been a fan of Barca since I was a child. My whole family supports them.”
