MADRID, Oct. 30 (silubaba) -- Real Madrid remain top of La Liga after their late win over FC Barcelona in the first meeting between the two sides this season. However, the 'Clasico' wasn't the only game played in Spain this weekend. Here are some things we learned in Matchday 11.
1. Bellingham is the difference for Real Madrid
Barcelona were leading 1-0 and had hit the woodwork twice when Jude Bellingham received the ball in space around 10 meters outside the area in the 69th minute.
What happened next is already written in the annals of Madrid's history as he arrowed a powerful shot into the Barca goal to level the scores. Then with the game wide open in the closing moments, he timed his run into the penalty area to perfection to score the winner to complete a smash and grab that had looked unlikely 20 minutes earlier.
Bellingham has scored 10 goals in 10 league games for Madrid and three more in three Champions League appearances, and nearly every goal has been decisive.
His improvement in front of goal is spectacular, as he netted 14 goals in 42 appearances for Borussia Dortmund last season, and his strikes are saving his side from a lot of problems.
2. Gundogan not happy with Barca teammates
Ilkay Gundogan didn't hold back his criticism after Barca's defeat with some stinging comments to the press after the game.
"After losing such an important game, I would like to have seen more anger and disappointment," said the German international.
"There has to be more emotion when you lose and when you know you could have played better. We must make a big improvement, otherwise Real Madrid will pull away from us. I didn't come here to lose like this," he added, in words that question the attitude of some of his teammates.
Whether Gundogan is fair to doubt his teammates is open to debate, but Barca's physical level dropped after the break, with a long injury list and lack of recovery time after Wednesday's European game also factors that contributed to their defeat.
3. Meanwhile, in Girona...
With Bellingham capturing all the headlines on Saturday, few seemed to realize that if he hadn't scored his injury-time winner, Girona would be top of La Liga on Monday morning after their 1-0 win at home to Celta Vigo.
Yangel Herrera's 90th-minute shot from outside the area was enough to give Michel's side their ninth win in 11 games, and even though Celta managed to limit Girona's attacking play as few others have done this season, their perseverance saw them over the line.
The visitors were furious at having an 85th minute 'goal' ruled out by VAR, and it is hard to understand why an error from Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga was considered a foul by Carlos Dotor.
4. Oyarzabal back to his best
It has been a long way to recovery for Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal, after a cruciate knee ligament injury over year ago saw him miss out on the World Cup finals.
Some Real Sociedad fans were even starting to wonder if he would ever get back to his best, with players such as Ander Barrenetxea and Take Kubo outperforming him on a regular basis.
However, this season Oyarzabal has got better with every game, and although they only earned his side a point, the two goals he netted in the 2-2 draw away to Rayo Vallecano are confirmation that he is back to his best. ■
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