La Liga Matchday 5 saw Barcelona and Real Madrid continue winning, Raphinha and Inigo Vicente shine, while Atletico Madrid secured victory and Valencia sacked Carlos Corberan after a poor start to the 2026-27 season.
La Liga Matchday 5 produced another eventful weekend of football, with FC Barcelona maintaining their perfect start to the season, Real Madrid recording a comfortable home victory and Valencia making the first managerial change of the campaign. Individual performances from Raphinha and Inigo Vicente also stood out, while Atletico Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna added further interest to an action-packed round of fixtures.
Barcelona continued their impressive form with a 4-2 away win over Levante at the Ciudad de Valencia Stadium. While Lamine Yamal’s two goals attracted much of the attention, Brazilian forward Raphinha was once again one of Barcelona’s most influential players.
Raphinha played a central role in Barcelona’s attacking movement during the opening stages of the match and helped create the goals that gave the visitors a commanding 2-0 lead after just 19 minutes. He set up Xavi Espart and Yamal as Barcelona made a fast start and took control of the contest.
The Brazilian’s omission from the recent Ballon d’Or nominees list may have raised eyebrows, but his early-season performances have underlined his importance to Barcelona. A muscle injury prevented him from getting an opportunity to impress at the World Cup, but the setback has also meant that he began the new club season fresh and in strong physical condition. His creativity, work rate and ability to influence games in the final third have made him a key figure in Barcelona’s perfect start.
Real Madrid also enjoyed a relatively straightforward Matchday 5, defeating Rayo Vallecano comfortably at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The contest was largely settled during the opening 17 minutes after Kylian Mbappe and Alvaro Carreras put Real Madrid into a 2-0 lead.
Rayo Vallecano, who were without several important players, struggled to put the home side under serious pressure. Real Madrid continued to dominate, and Jude Bellingham added a third goal before halftime to leave the result looking secure.
The performance highlighted the enormous attacking strength available to Real Madrid. With players such as Mbappe and Bellingham capable of deciding matches quickly, the Madrid side can punish opponents who give them space or fail to match their intensity. However, more demanding tests are likely to come later in the season when Real Madrid face stronger opposition, and those matches could provide a clearer indication of their title credentials.
Elsewhere, Inigo Vicente continued to make a major impact for Racing Santander following the club’s return to La Liga. Racing claimed a 2-1 home win over Deportivo Alaves, securing their second home victory since returning to the top flight.
Although striker Yassir Zabiri received much of the credit after scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the campaign, Vicente was instrumental in both decisive moments. The midfielder helped create the equalizer by setting up Zabiri before playing the important pass that eventually led to Salinas providing the assist for the winning goal.
Vicente’s form has been particularly significant given the doubts that existed over whether he could successfully adapt to La Liga. The former Athletic Bilbao midfielder had played fewer than 90 minutes of top-flight football before this season, despite regularly impressing in the second division. His performances in the opening weeks have gone a long way toward answering those questions and suggest he has the quality to compete consistently at the highest level.
The weekend also brought the season’s first managerial casualty. Valencia dismissed coach Carlos Corberan on Sunday after the club remained at the bottom of the La Liga table with only one point from five matches.
The decision followed Valencia’s 1-0 defeat to Sevilla on Friday, a match in which the team delivered another disappointing performance and failed to register a single shot on target. The loss came after the previous weekend’s heavy home defeat against Barcelona, increasing pressure on Corberan and his coaching staff.
Corberan was not considered solely responsible for Valencia’s problems. The club also dismissed sporting director Ron Gourlay, while injuries and concerns over squad planning have contributed to the difficult start. However, Valencia’s lack of a clear playing identity and the growing lack of confidence among the players ultimately left the coach under pressure.
Atletico Madrid also secured a 3-0 victory away to Real Sociedad, with Alejandro Grimaldo converting an 84th-minute penalty and Jonathan David scoring on his debut to help settle an otherwise closely contested game. Meanwhile, Deportivo La Coruna remained unbeaten following a 1-1 draw away to Getafe.
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As La Liga moves beyond Matchday 5, Barcelona’s strong start, Real Madrid’s attacking power, emerging talents such as Inigo Vicente and the early pressure on struggling clubs such as Valencia have already provided several major talking points for the season ahead.
