Atletico Madrid won early Sunday and then watched a humbling defeat for Barcelona, and yet another disappointing draw by Real Madrid, to lead the Spanish league for the first time this season.
Atletico dominated in a 2-0 win at Valencia, while Madrid drew 1-1 at home with Eibar for its fourth-consecutive draw, and Barcelona conceded three goals in 11 minutes in the first half in a 4-3 loss at Celta Vigo. The crucial fourth goal was an embarrassing mistake by goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The results left Diego Simeone's team in the lead with 15 points from seven matches. Madrid also has 15 points, but an inferior goal difference. Barcelona, still without the injured lionel Messi, stayed on 13 points after its second league loss. It is one point behind third-placed Sevilla, which defeated Alaves 2-1 on Saturday.
"There is still a lot of league left and it's all tight at the top," Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. "All teams are losing points. It says a lot about the level of this league."
Celta Vigo took advantage of an early breakdown by Barcelona and the late blunder by Ter Stegen to hold on to its home victory.
Pique scored twice and Neymar once as Barcelona came close to rallying from the three-goal deficit, but the goalkeeper's mistake with the game at 3-2 dampened the team's chances.
Instead of sending the ball into attack, the German goalkeeper tried to pass it to a defender, but Celta midfielder Pablo Hernandez timed his jump perfectly and the ball struck his head and hit the far post before crossing the line.
REAl MADRID 1-1 EIBAR
Midfielder Fran Rico put Eibar ahead with a header in the sixth minute and Gareth Bale equalized from close range in the 17th, but Madrid was not able to capitalize on its scoring chances for the rest of the match, prompting jeers from fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
"That is normal when the results are not good," Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas said of the crowd's reaction. "The fans come here looking for the victory. They are upset, just like we are."
Alvaro Morata, who replaced Karim Benzema at halftime, had a goal disallowed for offside in the 54th, after Cristiano Ronaldo just missed with a close-range header. Bale struck the post with a header in the 60th.
Madrid was coming off league draws against Villarreal, also at home, and at las Palmas. It also drew at Borussia Dortmund in a Champions league match.
It was the first point earned by Eibar against Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. "It was historic," Rico said. "Many players can spend years without being able to do what we did here today. We know it's not something you get to achieve every day."x
Swansea hire Bradley
lONDON: Bob Bradley became the first American manager in the Premier league after being hired by Swansea on Monday, finally landing the opportunity he had been chasing to lead a top-flight side in Europe.
Swansea hired the former US national team coach to replace Francesco Guidolin, who became the first manager to be fired in the Premier league this season — on his 61st birthday.
The Italian coach has only been at the south Wales club since January but lost his job after the team opened the season by winning only one of its seven league matches. Swansea swiftly secured the release of Bradley from French second-tier club le Havre, which he has been coaching since leaving Norwegian side Stabaek last year.
Bradley faces a daunting first game in charge of Swansea with a trip to Arsenal on Oct 15, taking on Arsene Wenger — the league's longest-serving manager of 20 years.