LaLiga talking points

Here are the talking points from the weekend's action in LaLiga:

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BARCELONA PROBLEMS DEEPER THAN KOEMAN

Barcelona may have sacked beleaguered coach Ronald Koeman, but that was not enough to entice fans back to the Camp Nou with Saturday's 1-1 draw with Alaves attended by 37,278 fans, their worst home attendance in 20 years.

They are ninth in LaLiga with 16 points from 11 games, equalling their worst start to the season since the introduction of three points for a win.

Barcelona face a crucial game in Champions League this Tuesday against Dynamo Kyiv without at least six important players and no return imminent for forwards Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele.

Even their hope of bringing former club legend Xavi Hernandez back as their new manager is falling apart. The former Barca midfielder is currently the coach of Al-Sadd and the Qataris expressed publicly they are unwilling to let him go.

VINICIUS BRUSHES OFF BRAZIL SNUB

After not being selected by Brazil coach Tite for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, Vinicius Jr scored a brace in Real Madrid's 2-1 win against Elche and consolidated his role as one of the best players in LaLiga this season.

Vinicius has already scored seven goals in 11 league games, more than his total in the previous two seasons combined.

Brazilian and Spanish media have questioned Tite’s decision to leave the young striker out from his squad as pressure grows on the coach one year out from the World Cup in Qatar.

LEADERS SOCIEDAD STUNNED BY LAST-MINUTE STRIKE

Surprise LaLiga leaders Real Sociedad lost their opportunity to keep a three point advantage over Real Madrid and Sevilla in the standings after conceding a last-minute stunner from Athletic Bilbao in the Basque Derby on Sunday.

In a sold out Reale Arena in San Sebastian, Real dominated but only managed to score in the second half through an Alexander Isak penalty.

Bilbao's Inigo Martinez was sent off in the 84th minute for a second bookable offence, but Athletic kept fighting and managed to equalise in stoppage time with a long range free kick from captain Iker Muniain.

Sociedad are still unbeaten since losing on the opening day of the season to Barcelona but are now only one point ahead of Real Madrid and Sevilla and have played one more game than both.