As they arrived back in the capital on Sunday night, in addition to the tiredness, you could have excused Atletico Madrid for feeling a bit miffed. Little more than 24 hours earlier, they'd sat proudly at the top of La Liga and only hours earlier, Jorge Sampaoli had declared that "as of today, Atletico Madrid are the best team in the world." The Sevilla manager was probably right, too, and yet, by night's end, the table said something else: Atletico were fifth.If any contradiction typifies the way this still-fledgling season has unfolded, it's this. La Liga to date has been a helter-skelter affair in which themes have lasted a matter of minutes and in which positions at the top have changed by the hour.Last weekend, in addition to Atleti going from first to fifth, Barcelona went from fourth to first to second, before finishing it in third; Sevilla went from third to fourth to first, before finishing it in second; Real Madrid had the same sort of ride and ended it on top; Villarreal pinballed around, too.This weekend will be the same. Only three points separate the top five and all of them could finish the jornada anywhere between first and fifth. But it's not just how tight it all is, either. Nine rounds in, La Liga has confounded week after week. Real Madrid sit at the top of the pile but look as structurally sturdy as a Glastonbury Festival tent late on Sunday. The emerging Sevilla come next but will admit they've only truly impressed once in nine outings.Then it's Barcelona in third, despite the Catalans having found the net more often than anyone else in Europe. Villarreal are next, level with Barcelona on points even after a pre-season that pointed to them getting not better but worse. Below them all are Atletico, who might just bethe best of the bunch. Go figure.If it doesn't make a lot of sense, perhaps that's fitting. After all, La Liga knows a thing or two about not making any sense.On Monday, the league hosted its awards ceremony to honour its best for the 2015-16 season. In many ways, it encapsulated much of what La Liga is about: dubious decisions, iffy organisation and a large contingent that didn't turn up.For the first time ever, the Best Player award didn't go to Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead, with Barcelona's players boycotting the event, it went to Antoine Griezmann, despite the Frenchman not even being nominated in the Best Striker or Best Midfielder categories.That Best Striker gong went to Messi, even though he isn't a striker. Luis Suarez claimed the World Player award, whatever that is. Atletico cleaned up elsewhere, with Diego Godin, Jan Oblak and Diego Simeone taking home Best Defender, Best Goalkeeper and Best Coach, respectively.Those awards were well deserved but comical at the same time. Atletico's haul came for a season in which they finished third behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. From La Liga, most saw it as a "sorry we forgot about you that time you actually won the thing back in 2013-14," when not one of Atletico's title-winning players took home anything.Still, it was Luis Enrique who provided the best assessment. The double-winning Barcelona manager wasn't even among the nominees for the Best Coach award, and when asked about being left off that list of three on Tuesday night after his side's clash with Espanyol in theSupercopa de Catalunya, Lucho responded with: "I think I was on the list of 20..."In every way, La Liga is refuting logic. But perhaps it's better like this. "To demand sense," the famousRussian-American novelist Ayn Rand once said, "is the hallmark of nonsense."It's good to keep that in mind when trying to work out just how Real Madrid are top. On Saturday, they travel north to tackle Alaves at Mendizorrotza, undefeated in nine and one point clear of Sevilla. The basic facts look goodZinedine Zidane's men haven't lost a competitive game since April and haven't lost in the league since Februarybut watch them, and you'll come to a different conclusion.After a steady start that hinted at another step forward, Madrid have regressed systematically. Last weekend might have seen them overcome Athletic Club Bilbao 2-1 at the SantiagoBernabeu, but Inaki Williams twice had the chance to bury them, and the hosts' defence was as organised as the league it plays in.For much of the early weeks, Sergio Ramos was considered the problem in that regard. But the struggling captain hasn't been around for a month due to injury, and the issues have continued. It seems it wasn't only him, then.In Ramos' absence, Pepe hasn't recaptured the level he hit in the summer at Euro 2016, and Raphael Varane is stagnating.Against Athletic, the Frenchman showcased the conflict that exists within his game in the space of seconds.In a race with Williams for a long ball upfield, the Frenchman stormed past the Athletic winger while on warp-speed cruise control to snuff out the attack.The only problem was that his casual back pass to Keylor Navas was shorter than Joaquin's trousers at Monday's awards ceremony, allowing Williams a chance to shoot and forcing Navas to make a fine save.Madrid's centre-back pairing is not being helped by others, either. As majestic as he is going forward, defensively, Marcelo offers the cover that baby oil does to the sandal-clad British contingent on Fuerteventura. The midfield without Casemiro and Luka Modric is similar, and with the currently sluggish BBC up front, Madrid are pressing less than any elite team in Europe. They've kept one clean sheet in two months.It's all a bit strange. After last season's late surge, the men from the capital had looked well-placed for an unrelenting assault this season on the back of a stable summer. The squad was settled, the manager was popular, the peripheral circus had subsided and there was an identifiable plan on the pitch.It looked like the perfect recipe, but it's not quite coming together, and in a way, Barcelona have been similar.The Catalans were also relatively tranquil headed into this season but have made their worst start in more than a decade. Last Saturday's 3-2 win over Valencia at Mestalla might turn out to be a huge juncture in their campaign, but it also showcased much of what Luis Enrique's men are battling with.In a frenetic, end-to-end affair, Barca were rarely able to establish any sense of control. Since the arrivals of Luis Enrique and Luis Suarez, it's true that the defending champions have deliberately set out to create a slightly more volatile environment in which the forwards and not the midfielders define the team, but right now you sense that dynamic is edging its way to being a little too chaotic for comfort. The numbers illustrate the point. Though Barcelona are the highest-scoring team on the continent, they own the joint-worst defensive record among La Liga's top five. In nine outings, they've conceded 12four times what they'd conceded at this point in their treble year two seasons ago.Like Madrid's, it's a perplexing start.Such paradoxes exist elsewhere, too. Sevilla sit in second place and look to be in the title race after toppling Atletico last time out. On Saturday, Sampaoli's men tackle Sporting Gijon at El Molinon in the lunchtime kick-off. Win, and they'll temporarily go top.In one way it makes sense, but in another it doesn't. The Andalucians have been steadily building under Sampaoli, and there's a distinctive, bold identity taking shape. The manner in which they took down Simeone and Co. was mightily impressive, going for Atleti with no fear but also maintaining a strong sense of balance.It was Sevilla's sixth win of the season, but look at the other five. Two needed late winners in vastly unconvincing performances against Las Palmas and Alaves, and there was the so-close-to-cock-up job against Leganes. The 1-0 derby win over Real Betis was rather messy, too, and in that 6-4 bonanza against Espanyol, they were more exposed at the back than, well, Joaquin's ankles.Despite all that, Sevilla are in it. And Villarreal look to be in the conversation with them.Undefeated and owners of the second-best defensive record in the league, Fran Escriba's men are flying. That in itself makes little sense given that Escribapreviously seen being sacked by relegated Getafewas appointed two weeks before the season began following Marcelino's controversial exit.The summer also saw Villarreal lose Eric Bailly, Denis Suarez and Tomas Pina in the transfer market. Roberto Soldado was lost long-term to injury. Then the men from El Madrigal were dumped out of the Champions League in the play-offs that they'd fought so hard to reach.You sensed turbulence was coming, but look where they are. Their season so far has defied the mood that surrounded them when it began. In an inverse way, Madrid are the same, and so are Barcelona. Below them all is Atletico, considered by many to be the best team on the continent as we speak but somehow trailing four other sides in their own division.The thing is, it's all rather fun. So let's not piss off Rand by demanding some sense.Not to Be MissedAfter snapping that astonishingly absurd away record earlier this monthagainst Leganes, it will be fascinating to see whether Sevilla can win a few away games on the trot with the hex now broken and the psychological barrier busted through. Sporting (without a win in six) are a good opponent for it.After falling victim to Sevilla, Atletico will have their hands full against Malaga at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday evening. Also keep an eye on Simeone's choice of attirethe switch from a menacing, all-black suit to don't-get-caught-outside-in-thesesweatpants against Sevilla surely played a role in Atleti looking a little less intimidating at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.When Real Madrid travel north to meet Alaves, all eyes will be on Zidane's choice up front: Karim Benzema or Alvaro Morata'Luis Enrique faces a similarly difficult decision in how to replace the injured Andres Iniesta. For Saturday's clash with Granada, it might not matter so much immediately, but with games against Manchester City, Sevilla and Real Madrid looming, Lucho needs to settle on who it will be.There's a juiciness about Real Betis vs. Espanyol on Sunday evening. Gus Poyet is on the edge in Seville and won't be popular with the club's fanbase after dropping striker Ruben Castro against Osasuna. For visiting Espanyol, meanwhile, Quique Sanchez Flores is overseeing a team that's started far slower than the club's ambitious new ownership will have hoped. Flores called his side's remarkable comeback from 0-3 to 3-3 against Eibar last weekend "a turning point." Will it prove to be'If you fancy juicy, or at least intensity, try Athletic Club Bilbao vs. Osasuna on for size on Sunday afternoon.More football-hipster heaven this weekend: Las Palmas vs. Celta Vigo.In spells last week, Valencia were impressive against Barcelona: committed, physical, feisty, slick on the break and more than a little unlucky. Two matches in, this has been an encouraging start to life under new boss Cesare Prandelli, who, despite having willingly signed himself up for perhaps the worst job in football (see Valencia's five managers in 10 months), is targeting "a return to the Champions League." Taking their performance levels against Barcelona north to Deportivo La Coruna on Monday would be a good start.
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