La Liga table after matchday four, and how it looks without VAR

Matchday four brought José Mourinho’s first setback of his second Real Madrid stint, a 1-0 defeat at Betis. According to AS, Barcelona maintained a perfect record by thrashing Valencia, while Alavés stunned Osasuna 5-2 to move second. Atlético were beaten 3-0 by Athletic.

VAR influenced the allocation of points in two fixtures this round. There was also an offside that cancelled a Barcelona goal against Valencia, which did not change the result.

Racing 2-2 Villarreal, would have been 1-2 without VAR, after the system advised a Comesaña foul was inside the area and Andrés Martín converted the penalty. Rayo 1-1 Alavés, would have been 2-1, with a Pelayo strike ruled out for handball.

Atlético 2-2 Villarreal, would have been 2-1, as VAR flagged Le Normand’s push on Mikautadze for a penalty and red card, and Mikautadze scored. Osasuna 1-0 Getafe, would have been 0-1, after a monitor review gave Budimir a penalty for Dejné’s hold, then an Ünal goal was ruled offside.

Without VAR, Betis and Real Madrid would have drawn 1-1 at La Cartuja, with an Espí goal disallowed for offside. Espanyol 1-1 Sevilla, would have been 2-1 at RCDE Stadium, after an offside call against El Hilal.

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”