Sunday saw five La Liga matches take place, with the top four teams all coming away with three points.
Deportivo 0-4 Barcelona
Lionel Messi scored his 22nd La Liga hat-trick to help Barcelona cruise to a 4-0 win over Deportivo. Messi opened the scoring ten minutes in, and had three goals in just over an hour of play. With 22 hat-tricks in the league, Messi sits second all-time, behind only the 23 of Cristiano Ronaldo.
[ WATCH: Messi stands strong, scores against Deportivo ]
Getafe 0-3 Real Madrid
Not to be outdone by Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo found the scoresheet for Real Madrid (albeit only twice) as the league-leaders dominated Getafe 3-0. Gareth Bale added the other goal for Real as they remain a point ahead of Barca in the standings, even with Barcelona having played one more game than Madrid. With the loss, Getafe remains winless in La Liga since October.
[ RELATED: La Liga & Serie A Saturday roundup ]
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Granada
Atletico Madrid kept a clean sheet against bottom-of-the-table Granada, securing three points at home. Mario Mandzukic put Atletico ahead from the penalty spot in the 34th minute, and Raul Garcia added an insurance goal in the 88th. Diego Simeone’s side climbed back into third place with the win, four points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Around La Liga:
Sevilla 2-0 Malaga
Elche 1-0 Levante