15 points, one defeat: Vigo cling to the summit

The ball had barely settled in Vigo’s net before the shape of the Spanish First Division changed. C. Leonesa had arrived beneath the leaders in 18th; their 1-0 win on 21 September was Vigo’s first defeat of the season and left the summit less secure, even as the home side stayed top on 15 points after six games.

Vigo had opened with four wins from four, enough to lead when the table was last in focus. Now their return is five victories and one loss. The defeat does not hand over first place, but it gives the chasing pack a clear opening: Athletico Madrid and Barcelona are both on 12 points from five games, with a match in hand on Vigo.

Athletico beat Levante 2-0, while Barcelona put four past Girona in a 4-1 victory. Real Betis also made a strong week count, beating Vallecano 2-0 before winning 3-2 at Leganés. They climbed from ninth to fourth, level on 12 points with Athletico and Barcelona but having played six times. Real Madrid FC, meanwhile, beat Leganés 2-0 and remain the division’s only unbeaten side: 11 points from five games, with three wins and two draws.

The weekend’s sharpest reversal came at the bottom. C. Leonesa’s victory over Vigo followed a 4-1 defeat by Ponferrada, who have turned that result into a climb from 17th to 12th. The winners against Vigo remain 18th on four points, but have their first victory after six games. Sevilla, beaten 1-0 by Real Sociedad, sit 19th on three points from five; Oviedo are last, also on three from five, after losing 3-0 to Espanyol.

There was better news for the Basque clubs than the table’s lower reaches might suggest. A. Bilbao beat Alavés 2-1 to rise from 18th to 13th, while Real Sociedad took a 1-0 win at Sevilla. Alavés, who had been second, fell to sixth after their defeat. Espanyol moved up from 11th to seventh with their clean-sheet win over Oviedo.

Villarreal’s 2-0 win at Valencia and Real Madrid FC’s victory over Leganés added to a round in which the table’s middle shifted as sharply as the top. Getafe fell from sixth to ninth after losing 1-0 to Vigo; Leganés dropped from eighth to 11th after two defeats, including Betis’s late-week win. The leaders have lost their perfect start, but the chase still has work to do: Vigo’s three-point advantage comes with the most games played among the leading five.