Richard Jolly, ESPN, United States
"Athletic Bilbao made the title race in Spain more exciting and condemned Barcelona to the worst week of their season with a hard-fought victory over the league leaders. It also took Ernesto Valverde's team into the top four, suggesting they are the best of the rest in the division."
Tom Timmermann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, United States
"It's almost as if form doesn't matter. Bayern Munich will win. They did it again twice last week, in the Champions League and in the Bundesliga. There may be teams that are prettier, but there are no teams more effective and dependable. All they do is win."
Leonardo Bertozzi, ESPN Brazil
"Gareth Bale does not seem to have trouble adjusting to the Spanish league. In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, he drew the responsibility and scored a hat trick in the 4-0 rout by Real Madrid over Valladolid."
Manos Staramopoulos, Eleftheros Typos, Greece
"Great victory for Athletic Bilbao and Ernesto Valverde, beating Barcelona 1-0 in Spain. It seems that there are problems in Barca without Messi."
Aurelio Capaldi, RAI Sports, Italy
"Gareth Bale made the headlines in Madrid by scoring a remarkable hat trick against Valladolid: The pressure on him keeps being enormous but he's adapting well. He looks much more comfortable at the Bernabeu than one month ago."
Orfeo Suarez Gonzalez, El Mundo, Spain
"First hat trick for Gareth Bale in Real Madrid. He is the second British player who has done that after Gary Lineker, for Barcelona. It has been a difficult adaptation for British players to La Liga in the past."
Sam Tighe, Bleacher Report, United States
"The new San Mames is a fortress yet to crumble, and on a magical Sunday night Athletic Club extended their unbeaten streak in the stadium by beating Barcelona. It was one hell of a performance, in particular from Markel Susaeta, and deserves all the adulation in the world."
Axel Torres, Marca Radio, Spain
"When Robin van Persie is not playing, Wayne Rooney seems to feel that he has more responsibility and he showed that with two superb displays against Leverkusen and Tottenham."
Ubiratan Leal, trivela.com, Brazil
"Athletic Bilbao created some sparks in La Liga by beating Barcelona. Great news from a team that enchanted Europe two seasons ago, but was a huge disappointment in 2012-13."
Julian Bennetts, Hayters news agency, England
"Another underdog story saw Hull beat Liverpool, while 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Marseille and Cardiff made it another good week for Arsenal. Newcastle deserve credit for a fourth successive win during their surprisingly good start to the season."
James Porteous, South China Morning Post
"Hard to look beyond Gareth Bale for player of the week as he starts to hit top form for Real, ensuring Ronaldo hasn't been missed with four goals in his two games this week including a perfect hat trick against Valladolid."
