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2025-26 Spanish La Liga
Matchday 8
Real Madrid v Villarreal
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Madrid, Spain
Saturday, 4 October 2025
Kick-off is at 21h00
Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso will be demanding a swift response from his team when Villarreal arrive at the Bernabeu on Saturday, October 4.
Los Blancos' struggles against neighbours Atletico Madrid continued with a humiliating 5-2 defeat at the Metropolitano on September 27 which extended their winless run in the derby to six matches.
Alonso's side also saw their 100 per cent record in
La Liga come to an end as they were knocked off top spot by arch-rivals Barcelona, who went one point clear at the summit.
It was the first time Real had conceded five goals in a league game since they were mauled 5-1 by Barca in October 2018.
The Yellow Submarine maintained their recent run of good form with a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on September 27.
Marcelino's side extended their winning streak to three games after Los Colchoneros had ended their unbeaten start to the campaign with a 2-0 victory on September 13.
The Castellon outfit opened up a three-point gap to Elche in third place and closed within two of the Madrid giants.
Alonso acknowledged that their performance was nowhere near the required standard against Atleti, but insists lessons will be learned from the experience.
"It was a bad game from us. We didn't start well and we didn't play well collectively, we didn't perform at the required level with or without the ball," the Spaniard said.
"We need to learn from this for the future. We're hurting because it was a deserved defeat... We want to get back on track, and there are always tough days when you're building something. The important thing is how we react and how we improve."
Marcelino was pleased that his players were able to step up their game in the second half after the Lions controlled proceedings in the opening 45 minutes.
"In the first half we were stretched and disorganised. We allowed them to dominate us in our own half. We were late into challenges and slow to react, which gave the opponent control," the Spaniard said.
"Even though we had a few chances, the feeling wasn't good. At half-time we adjusted and were superior to Athletic. We created chances and stopped them from threatening us."
Head-to-Head (Last Five La Liga Meetings)
Matches - 5
Real Madrid wins - 3
Villarreal wins - 1
Draws - 1
La Liga Matchday 8 fixtures:
Friday, October 3
21h00: Osasuna v Getafe
Saturday, October 4
14h00: Real Oviedo v Levante
16h15: Girona v Valencia
18h30: Athletic Bilbao v Real Mallorca
21h00: Real Madrid v Villarreal
Sunday, October 5
14h00: Alaves v Elche
16h15: Sevilla v Barcelona
18h30: Espanyol v Real Betis
18h30: Real Sociedad v Rayo Vallecano
21h00: Celta Vigo v Atletico Madrid
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