Analysis: Four things we learned in Spain's matchday 10

MADRID, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid all won on the return of La Liga after the international break. Here are some things we learned as domestic football returned to Spain this weekend.

1 A good day for Barcelona

FC Barcelona enjoyed a perfect day as they won 5-1 at home to Sevilla in a game that was resolved by halftime with two goals from Robert Lewandowski and another from Pedri.

The 3-0 lead allowed Barca coach Hansi Flick to rest Lewandowski and other key players for a tough week with games against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, and several young players, such as Pablo Torre, got important game time.

Perhaps the best news for Barca was the return of Spain midfielder Gavi, 11 months after suffering a knee injury. Gavi played the last 10 minutes, and his bite in midfield will be a big addition to Flick's options in the coming weeks.

2 Modric saves the day as Celta miss Aspas

Real Madrid once again made hard work of their win away to a lively Celta Vigo, with Thibaut Courtois again making several important saves in the Real Madrid goal.

Luka Modric made history when he became the oldest man to ever play for Real Madrid at 39 years and 40 days, and the Croatian international set up Vinicius Jr to score what would be the winning goal.

Celta had enough chances to have taken at least a draw from the match, and if striker Iago Aspas had started, he would probably have taken at least one of them, but Aspas was in the stands after a harsh sending-off in Las Palmas a fortnight ago, and if Celta fans were suspicious of the decision then, they will be doubly so now.

3 Athletic Club shred Espanyol

Athletic Club Bilbao remain fifth after an impressive home win against Espanyol, with Inaki and Nico Williams starring in another display of fast and aggressive attacking football, which Espanyol simply couldn't deal with.

The Williams brothers and Alex Berenguer provided mobility and pace up front, while Dani Vivian, who scored the opening goal, was rock solid behind a midfield where Mikel Jauregizar has quickly become a fixture after his promotion from the B-team.

With European matches this season packing Athletic's fixture calendar, coach Ernesto Valverde has to rotate his squad, but the contribution of players such as Jauregizar and defender Adama Boiro is making his job much easier.

4 Real Sociedad breathe easier and highlight Girona's struggles

Mikel Oyarzabal scored the only goal of the game as Real Sociedad won 1-0 in Girona to climb away from the relegation zone and above their rivals into mid-table.

Injuries and the loss of Robin Le Normand and Mikel Merino have made it a difficult start to the season for the Basque side, but they were the better side in Girona.

If Girona look to be a different side to the one that so impressed last season, that's because they are after seeing big changes in their squad.

Playing in the Champions League isn't helping either, and an injury list containing key players such as Daley Blind, Oriol Romeu and Viktor Tsygankov is making life harder than ever for coach Michel Sanchez. ■