LaLiga Hypermotion after Matchday 4: Castellón lead, Sabadell win from 89th-minute penalty and just two points separate 2nd to 11th

What's up, lads? Four matchdays in and this is starting to take shape… or maybe the complete opposite, because I've never seen a Hypermotion this tight at the top: from second to eleventh there's just two points. Two. Sporting are 11th with seven points and could be third. Let's break it down, because matchday 4 was absolutely packed: an unexpected leader climbing to the summit, a mad match decided by a penalty in the 89th, three goalless draws, four red cards, a manager sacked and a much-talked-about debut that ended without a goal.

🟠 Castellón, leaders: three wins, a draw and one goal conceded

CD Castellón have tiptoed to the summit using the most boring and most effective formula out there: not conceding. Just one goal against in four matchdays. Against Albacete they wrapped it up in six minutes of the second half, with Camara's 1-0 in the 55th (assist by Fran Castillo) and Suero's 2-0 in the 61st, set up precisely by Camara. 12,699 people at the Castalia to watch their side top the table.

Behind them, Eibar doing their thing: three straight wins and—brace yourselves—three consecutive clean sheets. They steamrollered Granada with goals from Iván Gil (8'), Adu Ares (43') and Guruzeta (57'). And on top of that Ipurua gave us the weirdest moment of the night: after Jair Amador's red card in the 76th, Granada ran out of substitutes and lost Hormigo to injury in the 82nd, so the final minutes were played out ten versus ten.

🎢 Sabadell 3-2 Córdoba: the match of the matchday

Monday night at Nova Creu Alta served up the most bonkers match of these four weeks. Nicholas Gioacchini made it 2-0 in eleven minutes (7th and 11th), the second after being flagged offside then overturned by VAR. Córdoba got back into it through Carracedo's penalty (26') and equalized courtesy of Enol Rodríguez in the 76th. And just when it looked like it was heading for a point, a handball penalty—from Carracedo himself—and Urri's goal in the 89th sealed a 3-2 win.

Sabadell are now third and unbeaten—2 wins and 2 draws—and there are only three teams yet to taste defeat: Castellón, Sabadell and Leganés. Córdoba, meanwhile, drop into the relegation zone with 3 points and a nightmare night for debutant goalkeeper Guilherme Fernandes, whose risky pass led directly to Sabadell's opening goal.

🔴⚪ Sporting: first defeat, yet the best part was the finish

I already told you everything about our Sporting 0-2 Girona in the post-match video: we dominated, we pressed, we created chances, and Girona had two shots and scored two goals. Asprilla's chip in the 27th and Carles Pérez's cracker in the 76th—on his Girona debut—left El Molinón empty-handed. And yet the team left to a standing ovation. Our unbeaten run is over, but Sporting remain among the tightest defences alongside the teams up top, with just 2 goals conceded in four matchdays… and, let's be honest, we're also the team that creates the least: 2 for.

🥅 The matchday of the keepers: three goalless draws and nine clean sheets

What a defensive masterclass, lads. Eldense 0-0 Mallorca (with a missed Álex Sala penalty right before half-time that cost the reds the top spot), Las Palmas 0-0 Leganés and Oviedo 0-0 Burgos.

The one at Tartiere was something else: Aldasoro was sent off in the 26th minute—yellow first, then a straight red after a VAR review for his challenge on Galdames—and Oviedo spent seventy minutes a man down… while having the clearest chances. 22,059 fans, the best attendance of the matchday. The neighbours have one goal for and one against in four games: three goalless draws from four matchdays is very much their style.

⚽ Almería 3-2 Cádiz: five goals and an own goal in the 92nd

The other cracker. Javi Muñoz opened the scoring in the 12th, Javi Castro equalized in the 24th, and Almería went in at the break leading 3-1 thanks to Miguel de la Fuente (35') and Léo Baptistão (43'). Cádiz pressed hard until the end and got their reward with Chirino's own goal in the 92nd, but there was no time left. García Pimienta made seven changes to his starting XI and it paid off; Brian Cipenga chipped in three assists in a single match. Cádiz, with three draws and a loss, remain without a win.

😰 And down below: Ceuta and Albacete, zero from twelve

The bottom zone is getting very ugly very quickly. Ceuta lost 0-2 to Celta Fortuna (Capde in the 43rd and Somuah in the 93rd) and have four defeats from four with 12 goals conceded and just 1 scored. Nice touch of the night: the Celta B players took the pitch wearing shirts that read "We Stand with Ceuta". Albacete are in the same boat: 0 points, 2 goals for and a fourth consecutive defeat.

And the first managerial casualty of the season: CD Eldense sacked Claudio Barragán after the matchday, despite the 0-0 with Mallorca, with 2 points from 12. Josep Ferrando, previously their assistant, takes over on an interim basis. On the watchlist: Iván Ania at Córdoba and whoever's in the Albacete dugout.

📊 The table after matchday 4

Official standings after matchday 4. The live table with each team's fixtures is always updated in the LaLiga Hypermotion 26/27 hub.

🎯 The top scorer: Asprilla pulls ahead

Yaser Asprilla (Girona) leads with 4 goals after the one he fired past us at El Molinón, followed by Gioacchini (Sabadell) with 3 after his brace on Monday. On two apiece: Nacho Quintana and Hugo López (Andorra), Somuah and Álvaro Marín (Celta Fortuna), Gorosabel (Real Sociedad B), Álex Forés (Burgos), Enric Gallego (Tenerife), Camara (Castellón) and Miyashiro (Las Palmas). The full and updated top scorers list is here.

🧐 Matchday 4 curiosities

• Only three unbeaten sides left in the division: Castellón, Sabadell and Leganés.
• Four red cards: Aldasoro (Oviedo, 26'), Jair Amador (Eibar, 76'), Capa (Ceuta, 89') and Lachuer (Valladolid, at full-time for squaring up to a rival).
• Two goals in stoppage time: Somuah at 93 against Ceuta and an own goal by Chirino at 92 in Almería.
• Strangest goal: Valladolid's 1-0 over Andorra was an own goal by Diego Alende in the 12th minute after a foul by Lachuer… the same player who'd later be sent off.
• Oviedo have the fewest goals for in the division: just one. And one conceded. Four matchdays, two goals total in their games.
• Zubieta, the disallowed goals stadium strikes again: Real Sociedad B 1-1 Tenerife was marked by goals chalked off. Enric Gallego (29') and Soroeta (81') both had efforts ruled out.
• Best attendance: 22,059 at Carlos Tartiere, ahead of 17,826 at Gran Canaria and 15,989 at Zorrilla.
• Debuts: Carles Pérez scored on his bow with Girona; Ángel Baena made his Sabadell debut and teenager Enzo Pérez turned out for Oviedo.
• LaLiga Hypermotion is clocking up 15% higher average viewership per match than at the start of last season, with 18 former top-flight sides competing this term.

👤 Morata bowed in… and Leganés keep missing out

On Friday, at Gran Canaria, Álvaro Morata made his Leganés debut as a starter with just three training sessions under his belt. He played 66 minutes, had a chance in the 2nd minute ruled out for offside (he drifted offside four times in the first half alone) and went home empty-handed in the 0-0. Leganés are fourth and unbeaten, but with just three goals in four matchdays: if Morata clicks, that team will go up. He knows it and said as much on El Larguero this week: he turned down a Champions League side because scoring twenty or thirty goals wouldn't change his life, but winning promotion with Leganés would. His full transfer story is here.

📅 What's coming: matchday 5

The fifth matchday is spread from Friday to Monday. Sporting host Eldense on Sunday the 13th at 14:00 at El Molinón, against a side arriving in virtual last place with two points and a new boss: a must-win game if there ever was one. Before that, Saturday sees Girona-Castellón pitting the leaders against one of the challengers, and Sunday there's Valladolid-Oviedo at 16:15. Celta Fortuna-Eibar wraps it up on Monday.

And as always: before kick-off you can vote your starting XI for Sporting-Eldense, and after the final whistle, rate each player. See you Sunday at El Molinón, lads. 🔴⚪

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