Barcelona win eight from eight as Vinícius sees red and Rayo-Athletic is abandoned

Barcelona beat Getafe 3-0 on Saturday to make it eight wins from eight in LaLiga. The rest of matchday 8 was shaped by a red card for Vinícius Júnior at the Bernabéu and a supporters' protest that got Rayo Vallecano against Athletic Club abandoned after 13 minutes. Four things we learned.

1. Barcelona keep winning without their stars

Hansi Flick started without Pedri, Pau Cubarsí and Fermín López, and Raphinha was out with a knock, yet the game was settled by half-time. Anthony Gordon scored his first goal for the club in the 2nd minute, Gabriel Jesus punished a Getafe error at the back in the 30th, and Jules Koundé finished a Lamine Yamal cross in the 73rd.

The win extends what Cadena SER called the best league start in the club's history: 24 points from 24, with 34 goals scored and seven conceded. Counting the Champions League win over Feyenoord, Barcelona have won all nine of their games this season. Trips to Galatasaray, Betis and PSG come next, before the Clásico against Real Madrid on 25 October.

2. Real Madrid won, but Vinícius may miss the Clásico

José Mourinho benched Vinícius and started Yan Diomande, who scored the only goal in the 62nd minute after a run and pass from Federico Valverde. The assistant raised his flag, but VAR showed Diomande had been played onside. Vinícius came on in the 52nd minute and appeared to make it 2-0 after a long run by Jude Bellingham, but the goal was ruled out on review and referee Isidro Díaz de Mera sent him off in the 73rd minute for pulling Villarreal's Saliba by the hair.

The referee's report, published by Marca, says Vinícius was dismissed "for pulling an opponent's hair, with the ball in play, without the ball being contested between them". It adds that he kept protesting "at the top of his voice" with "an aggressive attitude" and "had to be held back by team-mates". A straight red carries at least a one-match ban; two or more games would rule him out of the Clásico, as Madrid only host Sevilla in between. Vinícius apologised on Instagram: "Sorry to my team and to the fans." Mourinho skipped his press conference; according to Mundo Deportivo, his message was: "I want to be there against Sevilla and Barça."

3. Atlético are the closest chasers

Atlético Madrid won 2-1 at Alavés thanks to an 87th-minute header from Cristian "Cuti" Romero from a Baena delivery. Alejandro Grimaldo had put Diego Simeone's side ahead, Lucas Boyé equalised from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after a foul by Robin Le Normand, and Alavés played more than half an hour with ten men after Ángel Pérez was sent off following a VAR review for a dangerous tackle on Julián Álvarez.

It was a fourth win in a row for Atlético, second on 19 points, five behind Barcelona and one ahead of Real Madrid. Alavés have now gone four games without a win.

4. Vallecas turned on its president

Rayo Vallecano were back at Vallecas after three matches unable to play there, and the game lasted 13 minutes. During an Athletic corner, fans began throwing paper planes and rubber balls onto the pitch in protest against club president Raúl Martín Presa, chanting "Presa, go now". Referee José María Sánchez Martínez stopped play twice, Rayo's Isi and Óscar Valentín went to the stand to appeal for calm, and when objects rained down again after the restart he abandoned the match. By then play had been halted for more than half an hour.

LaLiga condemned events that "put safety at risk and make the normal course of the competition impossible" and said a new date would be announced. According to Marca, it told both clubs the game could not be completed on Saturday or Sunday, and a resumption behind closed doors is the likely outcome. Rayo's statement called the protest an "attack" that "was planned"; the Bukaneros supporters' group called it "legitimate and democratic". For Terzic's Athletic it is a second postponed match this season: their game at Levante, called off in September because of a storm, will be played on 21 October.