La Liga: Barcelona, Atletico drop points for the first time this season

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a penalty

It was a good Saturday for Real Madrid as they won and their two biggest rivals FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both failed to gain three points from their respective games.

A returning Lionel Messi was not enough for Barcelona as they were held to a goalless draw away at Osasuna. This was the first time the Catalan giants failed to win in the league this season under new manager Tata Martino.

As expected, Barcelona had control of most of the match as they recorded 76% possession but they simply failed to break through the Osasuna defence to get the crucial goal.

Atletico Madrid, another team with a 100% record previously, lost to Espanyol due to a  Thibaut Courtois own goal. The club from the Spanish capital are second in the table, just one point behind table-toppers Barcelona.

On the other hand, Real Madrid scrapped to a 2-0 victory over last season’s Champions League quarter-finalists Malaga. An Angel di Maria goal just after the break put Madrid in front and a penalty at the end from Cristano Ronaldo saw Los Blancos run out easy winners.

Real Madrid have a chance to go level on points with Barcelona in the league standings if they can beat the Catalans in El Clasico next weekend.