MADRID, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- La Liga goes into the second international break of the season with Barcelona three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table, with the "big-two" starting to pull away from everyone else. Here are some things we learned this weekend in Spain.

1. Barcelona and Lewandowski on the fast track in Vitoria

FC Barcelona had their 3-0 win away to Alaves sewn up by the 31st minute as Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in just over half an hour to take his goal tally of the season to 10.

The striker took advantage of two assists from Raphinha and another from Eric Garcia against a rival that seemed to know that Barcelona were too good for them.

Barca coach Hansi Flick paid the price for too many squad rotations last weekend, but this time he fielded his strongest available squad and he will be delighted at how his side has got through a period of seven games in under four weeks.

2. Carvajal injury big setback for Real Madrid

Real Madrid's 2-0 win at home to Valladolid was marred by the serious knee injury suffered by Spain international Dani Carvajal.

The 32-year-old will have an operation on a torn cruciate ligament and probably miss the rest of the season, leaving Lucas Vazquez the only right back in the Real Madrid squad. Reconverted winger, Vazquez isn't as reliable in defense as Carvajal, while Nacho Ferandez's summer move to Saudi Arabia leaves Carlo Ancelotti without further cover in a horribly crowded fixture calendar.

Ancelotti will have to look to the B-team for cover, but the club could now move to sign a replacement for Carvajal in January.

3. Old habits could cost Atletico title challenge

Atletico Madrid are already seven points behind Barcelona and four behind Real Madrid and Sunday's 1-1 draw away to Real Sociedad shows why.

A wonderful moment of football from Antoine Griezmann saw Julian Alvarez open the scoring for Atletico inside of the first minute, but instead of pressing their advantage against a rival with four home defeats this season, Diego Simeone's side looked to defend their lead and had just 33 percent of the ball.

Atletico had just four shots all game and Alvarez's goal was their only effort on target. That allowed their rivals to pile on the pressure and they were finally punished by Luka Sucic's 84th minute equalizer.

Nobody in Spain has spent more on signings than Atletico for this season, but despite that, they show a lack of ambition that will cost them too many points to win La Liga.

4. It's grim near the bottom

The weekend saw Valencia, Leganes, Las Palmas and Valladolid continue to struggle in and around the relegation zone, with Valencia and Leganes drawing arguably the worst game of the season 0-0 after an opening 45 minutes in which neither side had a shot.

Las Palmas played against nine men for over half an hour, but were still couldn't cancel out Borja Iglesias' solitary goal for the visitors, while Valladolid opened the scoring at home to Rayo Vallecano, but lost thanks to Jorge de Frutos' two goals for the visitors.

With the international break giving any possible replacement coach time to get to know his squad, it would be a surprise if we don't see at least one coach lose their job in the coming days. Enditem

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