Soccer-La Liga talking points

Talking points from the weekend in Spanish football. HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A MESSI SCORNED

Thierry Henry once said Lionel Messi was never more dangerous than when angry and the Argentine proved his former team mate's point with a magnificent performance in Barcelona's 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao after details of his contract with the club appeared in the Spanish media. Messi may also have been motivated by the fact he had recently been sent off against Athletic in a Spanish Super Cup final defeat, but whatever the reason, he did his talking on the pitch, scoring an outstanding free kick and repeatedly carving the visiting defence wide open.

"When Messi's all fired up like he was today he scores goals like that and there's nothing you can do about it," said Athletic defender Inigo Martinez. His side knows that only too well, after Messi responded to some aggressive fouling from Athletic in a 2015 Copa del Rey final by running through the entire team to score.

REAL MADRID FARE BADLY WITHOUT LEADERS Real Madrid were without coach Zinedine Zidane and captain Sergio Ramos when they met Levante and certainly looked to be lacking leadership as they slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat.

The team faced an uphill struggle when Eder Militao was sent off in the ninth minute and assistant coach David Bettoni committed a costly error of judgement by pushing midfield anchor Casemiro back into defence rather than bring on a centre back. With flair players Toni Kroos and Luka Modric suddenly tasked with doing the dirty work normally carried out by the industrious Brazilian, Real lost control in midfield and were well beaten by their less illustrious opponents.

NO OBSTACLE BIG ENOUGH TO KNOCK ATLETICO OFF COURSE Atletico Madrid were missing three usual starters when they headed to Cadiz without Yannick Carrasco, Mario Hermoso and Kieran Trippier but they dug deep to pull off an eighth straight league win to race 10 points clear at the top of the table.

Diego Simeone's side have been let down badly by having a thin squad in the past but years of careful investment plus the coach's knack for generating fierce yet healthy competition is finally paying off. Simeone said: "The team responded very well and stood tall but we still need more players to grow and find their role in the team, as that will create more competition and make this team even better."