A painful moment for Espanyol striker Leo Baptistao, who goes for Gerard Moreno's cross and gets a whack on the top of the foot from Pepe. It's an honest collision; still hurts, though. The Brazilian is OK after a moment to recover.

A moment or two later, Papa Diop catches Real's Lucas Vazquez late around 40 yards from the Espanyol goal, and gets a yellow card.

A loud shout for handball from the Espanyol support as Daniel Carvajal breaks up a promising move by the home side; for a moment, there's the prospect of a Real Madrid break, but it comes to nought.

A quiet start to the second half. Espanyol's Hernan Perez, already on a yellow card, clips Real full-back Marcelo, but a free-kick is sufficient punishment.

Alex Shcnopple: Real Madrid's kit's much better than Sunderland's kit, RM's reminds me of Parma Violets, am hungry now, thanks.

Parma Violets won't fill you up, Alex. I'd go for a quiche. Or perhaps a jacket potato.

James Rodriguez's goal separates the teams. Can Espanyol find a way back to gain their first league win of the season?

Let's bring you up to date with the scores of the other three games played in La Liga today:

Osasuna 0-0 Celta Vigo

Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Valencia

Villarreal 2-1 Real Sociedad

Gloomy times at Valencia, who have lost four out of four in La Liga and sit rock bottom. Celta Vigo's point was their first, and Osasuna's second; they both look set for a season of struggle too.

On the subject of Serie A, here's a can of worms concerning our league table graphic from earlier.

Michael Maw: Your graphic omitted Sassuolo, they're in 3rd!!

Well, it's a moot point, this one. Sassuolo's 2-1 victory over Pescara in late August was turned into a 0-3 defeat by the Italian authorities, who argued that midfielder Antonino Ragusa was not registered to play. I won't bore you with all the details, but Sassuolo have appealed and the whole affair is still being sorted out.

If you record the result as 2-1, Sassuolo are third; if it's 0-3, they are not. Just to confuse matters, the Serie A table on Sassuolo's website lists them as being in ninth.  

Inter Milan come from behind to beat Juventus in an exciting derby d'Italia at the San Siro.

If you missed it earlier: Napoli remain top in Italy, after Juventus' 100% record disappeared in a 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan. It was a cracking game.

One half-time score to bring you from Serie A: Roma, who will go joint top with a win, are drawing 0-0 at Fiorentina.

Real Madrid are halfway to an unprecedented 16th successive La Liga win. It hasn't been straightforward, but they have ridden the potholes and stayed on course.

Karim Benzema gets hacked down by Oscar Duarte. The Espanyol defender, who picked up a goal and a red card as Costa Rica reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup, collects a yellow here.

To prove the point, Espanyol almost take the lead. Javi Lopez delivered a vicious ball from the right; a glance from Leo Baptistao is all it needs, or so it seems. The striker does get a glance, but it's not enough; the ball flies wide.

It's becoming a bit of a slog for Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane's selection, dictated partly by illness and injury, partly by the need to keep players fresh for Wednesday's match against Villarreal, is labouring somewhat. 

Image source, EPA

Marcelo whips a ball in from the left, and Karim Benzema gets free to head in. No goal, though - the Espanyol offside trap worked to perfection. Close call, but the right call.

Toni Kroos checks inside and sends Hernan Perez sliding away into the distance. There's a sight of goal for the Real Madrid substitute, but his 20-yard shot clears the bar.

Andy White: Another game, another suspect away kit. Too much pink and purple these days. On the plus side, it's not as bad as Sunderland's.

Agreed. Sunderland's kit was horrendous.

Brilliant footwork and strength from Luka Modric, shaking off challenges and seeking space. He almost gets in after a one-two with Marcelo, but the home defence once again stands firm. Then Marco Asensio seeks a penalty after Victor Sanchez collides with him, but the referee is satisfied that there is no foul.

Image source, Reuters

Kiko Casilla gathers an Espanyol corner, and the goalkeeper sets up a speedy counter attack with a smart throw. Marco Asensio tries to feed Lucas Vazquez, but the home side get enough players back to deal with the danger.