As the players walked out onto the Camp Nou pitch on Sunday amidst the traditional backdrop of the Cant del Barça, there was a feeling of eeriness and unease.

On the other side of the city, and across Catalunya, chaos unfolded on the streets as Spain's national police cracking down on polling stations of what the Spanish government and constitutional courts and deemed an illegal referendum. By the end of the day, over 800 were injured, many of them elderly, as images of police brutality shocked the world. All of that in opposition to democracy.

Outside the stadium, there was uncertainty as well as Barcelona threatened to suspend their match against Las Palmas only for them to press ahead but behind closed doors leaving thousands of fans, some of whom had travelled from as far away as Melbourne, Australia, stranded.

The action of the pitch was brutal too as Barcelona ran rampant with a comprehensive 3-0 win, a match which an emotion Gerard Pique would describe as the worst experience of his professional career.

But amongst the stands of 100,000 capacity venue, all was silent in the name of political unity and defiance, depending on how you looked at it, of course. The somewhat peaceful, less raucous atmosphere on the inside serving as a complete juxtaposition mayhem around the region. And as the stands set empty, it was quite fitting that the phrase 'mes que un club' – more than a club – stood out the brightest.

Fitting because, in Spain, football and politics traditionally don't mix. Espanyol's coach Quique Sanchez Flores, for instance, alluded to that following their defeat to Real Madrid in which much of the supporters at the Santiago Bernabeu backed a united Spain, singin "Y Viva Espana".

"I'm not going to mix politics or sport or take part in this show," he said.

But at the Blaugrana, they do mix – they come hand in hand, in fact. They're identification with Catalonia isn't vague and ambiguous. Instead, it's clear, distinct unmistakeable. It has always been at the heart of the political economy, and as one writer once described it, Barcelona is the "symbolic unarmed army of Catalonia".

So while, for many, independence is important, democracy, they will say, is even more so. And on what was one of the darkest days in Spain's modern history, it was the Barcelona, an institution also dealing with its own political controversies, who stood up to adversity.

Barcelona in EPL?

Talk of Catalonian independence has naturally led to speculation of Barcelona's future in LaLiga.

Earlier this month, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane claimed that it was hard to imagine the league without their eternal rivals.

"I can't see a Spanish league without Barcelona. It's all I can say as a fan of football, of this sport," he said.

"I'm not going to get into it because there are people who want it and people who don't. I simply can't see a Spanish league without them."

But as tensions over the weekend's referendum gripped the nation, LaLiga boss Javier Tebas hit back saying the Blaugrana could not remain in the league in the event of secession.

A breakaway Catalan league has been touted as an option, so too the prospect of joining the Ligue 1. But the most mouth-watering of them all would be potentially seeing Barcelona play in the Premier League.

That's right; we might finally get an answer to the question of whether Lionel Messi could do it on a wet Tuesday night in Stoke.

Not under Arsene Wenger's watch though: "If Barcelona want to join the Premier League, it makes things even more difficult for everybody. But I don't think they have gotten as far as that.

"We have enough clubs here with 20 but if you want to go up to 24, we have to invite the Scottish clubs before we go for the Spanish."

Always the party-pooper.

Isco – Real Madrid's real star

This time last year, Cristiano Ronaldo was making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, most of which were along the lines of "Ronaldo's worst start to the season since joining Real Madrid".

At that point, he had one goal in six LaLiga matches.

Those headlines are back, having failed to score in three successive league matches. To make things worse, he now trails nemesis Lionel Messi by 11 goals.

But while Ronnie might be the cover star, and the highest rated player on the newly released FIFA 18, it was Isco who showed why he's currently on the world's in-form players, slotting home a brace to ease past Espanyol and break their winless streak at home this season.

Atletico's inconsistent start

Things were looking decent for Diego Simeone's men just one week ago. They were second in the league behind Barcelona, leapfrogging Sevilla with their second win at new home the Wanda Metropolitana.

They looked to be cruising to a third win midweek against Chelsea only for Alvaro MorataMichy Batshuayi to claim the first Champions League win in that venue.

But at least they had a simple fixture against Leganes to look forward. So they thought.

Prior to the match, Simeone claimed that the side were enthusiastic ahead of the tie, but wary of Leganes' defensive discipline in equal measure.

Despite a several clear cut chances, and a tactical tinkering which saw them line-up with a 3-2-3-2 formation, Leganes proved they had the ability to match it with the league's best despite a lowly budget and even lower reputation.

Follow Cronan on Twitter: @Cronan_Yu