(MENAFN) Real Madrid saw its near-perfect La Liga campaign disrupted Sunday after being held to a goalless draw at Rayo Vallecano, marking only the second time this season the giants have dropped points in domestic competition.

Xabi Alonso's squad struggled to generate genuine scoring opportunities following their midweek Champions League setback against Liverpool, while Rayo executed an aggressive pressing strategy that successfully neutralized the league leaders and contained Kylian Mbappe.

Rayo's resilient performance carried added significance considering manager Inigo Perez's team had competed in a UEFA Conference League fixture Thursday evening, leaving them with merely 65 hours—48 fewer than Real Madrid—to recover before Sunday's clash.

Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski emphatically demonstrated his complete fitness restoration by netting a hat-trick as FC Barcelona secured a 4-2 victory at Celta Vigo. The Polish striker converted a ninth-minute penalty before reclaiming the advantage after Sergio Carreira equalized his initial strike in the 10th minute. Borja Iglesias leveled proceedings again at 2-2 in the 41st minute, before Lamine Yamal pushed Barcelona ahead on the halftime whistle with a brilliant solo effort.

Barcelona dominated proceedings after the interval, with Lewandowski completing his treble via a header that deflected off the post following a corner kick.

Fifth-placed Betis battled to a 1-1 stalemate at Valencia in a fiercely contested encounter. Cucho Hernandez gave Betis the lead in the 74th minute, but Luis Rioja curled home an equalizer eight minutes later, lifting Valencia clear of the relegation zone.

Mallorca secured all three points at Getafe through Vedat Muriqi's 14th-minute strike, claiming a 1-0 victory.

Nico Williams produced a spectacular match-winner as Athletic Club Bilbao edged bottom-dwelling Oviedo 1-0. Williams maneuvered past three defenders before finishing off the crossbar's underside to settle a contest in which Athletic squandered multiple opportunities to extend their lead, while Oviedo had a goal disallowed for an extremely marginal offside.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Atletico Madrid dispatched Levante 3-1 on Saturday. Atletico took the lead when goalkeeper Matt Ryan's save rebounded into the net off defender Adrian de la Fuente, and despite former Atletico defender Manu Sanchez equalizing with a header, Griezmann's second-half double sealed the outcome.

Gerard Moreno found the net against his previous employers as Villarreal defeated Espanyol 2-0, with Alberto Moleiro adding a second goal after the break.

Ruben Vargas' 51st-minute penalty delivered Sevilla a 1-0 home triumph over Osasuna, snapping a three-match losing streak.

Girona prevailed 1-0 over Alaves, with Viktor Tsygankov converting from a Bryan Gil cross, while Elche and Real Sociedad finished 1-1 on Friday.

MENAFN10112025000045017169ID1110318309