Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla all dropped points in La Liga this weekend, but Real Madrid and Barcelona both recorded wins ahead of the international break.

Cordoba are still looking for their first league win of the season after drawing 0-0 with fellow strugglers Deportivo La Coruna on Friday.

Barcelona came close to suffering their third consecutive league defeat at Almeria in the early start on Saturday, but the Catalan outfit scored twice in the latter stages to record a 2-1 win and move into second position in the table.

Getafe were then held to a goalless by Elche, before Real Madrid notched their eighth successive league win with a 5-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano.

Celta Vigo and Granada played out Saturday's second goalless draw in the penultimate match of the evening, before Malaga moved into the top six with a 2-1 success over Eibar.

On Sunday, there were three draws, with Sevilla held at home by Levante, Espanyol drawing 1-1 with Villarreal in Barcelona and Valencia failing to move into second after drawing at home to Athletic Bilbao.

The shock result of the weekend occurred at the Anoeta, however, when Real Sociedad picked up just their second league win of the season with a 2-1 victory over champions Atletico, who finished with 10 men.

Here, Sports Mole selects its 11 star performers from another pulsating weekend of Spanish football.

Fabricio (Deportivo La Coruna)
Cordoba deserved to claim all three points against Deportivo on Friday, but the newly-promoted side, who are still looking for their first win, came up against an inspired goalkeeper. Fabricio was tested on six occasions and made save after save during the entertaining affair.

Diego Colotto (Espanyol)
The Argentine helped Espanyol contain the threat of Villarreal in Sunday's clash with a strong defensive performance, but the 33-year-old's biggest contribution came in stoppage time, when his goal secured a 1-1 draw for the hosts.
Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao)
The 20-year-old was a rock at the heart of the Bilbao defence in Sunday's goalless draw at Valencia. Los Che were not at their best at the Mestalla, but the Bilbao back four were still put under increasing pressure, especially late on. Laporte showed maturity beyond his tender years.
Inigo Martinez (Real Sociedad)
The Spanish youngster is one of the most highly-rated centre-backs in La Liga and he further enhanced his reputation with a strong performance against Atletico on Sunday. Defensively Martinez was impressive, but he also proved a handful from set pieces down the other end.
Loukas Vyntra (Levante)
The 33-year-old helped Levante claim a welcome point against a strong Sevilla side on Sunday. Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro both failed to get the better of the Greek, who was a tower of strength in the air and calm and composed in possession of the ball.

Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
The German international scored his first Real Madrid goal on Saturday as Los Blancos beat Rayo 5-1 in the capital. The strike from the midfielder was of the highest order, while he also set up Gareth Bale for his side's first of the match in what was a very strong performance.
Ignacio Camacho (Malaga)
Malaga's impressive start to the campaign continued on Saturday as they beat Eibar 2-1 at La Rosaleda. Camacho was a big contributor to their victory, with the Spaniard putting in a classy performance in the middle of the park. His range of passing in particular was excellent.
Manuel Iturra (Granada)
Iturra does not get too many plaudits, but the midfielder deserves them for his performance this weekend. Granada were forced to battle for their point at Celta Vigo and the Chilean was one of the main reasons for their success after putting in an all-action midfield display.

Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad)
Has struggled to find his best form for Sociedad this season, but was excellent in their 2-1 win over Atletico on Sunday. The Mexican levelled the scores with a curling effort and was unlucky not to be awarded at least one penalty. Much more like it from the attacker.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
The Portuguese notched his 18th league goal of the season in Saturday's 5-1 win over Rayo at the Bernabeu, in addition to setting up his side's third and fourth goals. The attacker is now consistently providing assists in addition to finding the back of the net for fun.
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Still waiting for his first Barcelona goal, but the striker made his mark in Saturday's 2-1 win over Almeria. The Uruguayan started the match on the bench, but provided both assists in the second period as well as rattling the crossbar with an effort of his own.