It was a weekend for the big boys, and Atletico Madrid‘s hopes for a La Liga title moved even closer after Rudi Garcia’s 14th minute tally pushed the hosts by Villarreal to remain atop the table with 79 points, one more than No. 2 Barcelona.
Speaking of Barca, have you heard of this Lionel Messi fellow? Presumed dead (or at least “just great”) in December, the 26-year-old bagged another two goals as the hosts all-but-condemned Real Betis to the drop. His 15th penalty pen was met by an 86th minute goal to complete the brace. It gives him 10 goals in his last five La Liga matches, which is pretty decent if you’re looking for adjectives.
Real Madrid walked into Anoeta like they owned the place, beating Real Sociedad 4-0 behind goals from four different players. It was 1-0 at half before Gareth Bale, Pepe and Álvaro Morata netted in the second half to complete the win. Sociedad remains six points back of No. 4 Athletic Bilbao, which plays Monday, and three back of No. 5 Sevilla.
Easing concerns over UEFA Champions League second legs, each Top Three club faces a Bottom Six club next week, though only Real Madrid is home. In UCL, Real is on the road with a 3-0 lead on Borussia Dortmund, while Barca heads to Atleti tied at one.
There was an absolutely massive relegation six-pointer at Almeria, where a 32nd minute goal from Arribas (above) would stand as the match-winner as Osasuna picked up an unlikely three points on the road to leap out of the relegation zone, passing the hosts by those three points.
Elsewhere
- Rayo Vallecano 3-0 Celta Vigo — Bueno lived up to his name with a second-half brace that, upon completion, see teams five points clear of the relegation zone.
- Valladolid 0-0 Valencia -- Scoreless draw does little for the visitors’ hopes for Europe, but the home team will be happy with the point that moves them out of the drop on goal differential.
- Sevilla 4-1 Espanyol — Kevin Gameiro has his A-game in order, with a brace in the home side’s onslaught of the “other” Barcelona side.
- Malaga 4-1 Granada— The visitors slipped back toward the drop zone by going down 4-0 before pulling one back in the 78th minute to save a little face in goal differential, which could become crucial.
- Elche 1-0 Getafe – Richmond Boakye’s 90th minute winner dramatically pulled the home team four points ahead of the visitors, who slipped into the final drop slot.
- Levante vs. Athletic – Monday
Standings |
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Atlético Madrid | 32 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 70 | 22 | 48 | 14-3-0 | 11-1-3 | 79 |
| Barcelona | 32 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 92 | 26 | 66 | 15-0-1 | 10-3-3 | 78 |
| Real Madrid | 32 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 90 | 32 | 58 | 13-0-2 | 11-4-2 | 76 |
| Athletic | 31 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 53 | 34 | 19 | 11-3-2 | 5-5-5 | 56 |
| Sevilla | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 59 | 47 | 12 | 9-3-4 | 6-5-5 | 53 |
| Real Sociedad | 32 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 54 | 48 | 6 | 10-3-3 | 4-5-7 | 50 |
| Villarreal | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 51 | 38 | 13 | 7-6-3 | 7-1-8 | 49 |
| Valencia | 32 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 45 | -1 | 8-3-5 | 3-5-8 | 41 |
| Levante | 31 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 29 | 38 | -9 | 5-5-5 | 5-5-6 | 40 |
| Espanyol | 32 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 35 | 40 | -5 | 7-3-6 | 4-4-8 | 40 |
| Málaga | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 40 | -5 | 6-2-8 | 4-6-6 | 38 |
| Rayo Vallecano | 32 | 11 | 3 | 18 | 37 | 68 | -31 | 7-0-9 | 4-3-9 | 36 |
| Celta Vigo | 32 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 34 | 47 | -13 | 4-6-6 | 6-0-10 | 36 |
| Elche | 32 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 26 | 42 | -16 | 6-6-5 | 2-5-8 | 35 |
| Granada | 32 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 29 | 46 | -17 | 6-1-9 | 4-3-9 | 34 |
| Osasuna | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 28 | 53 | -25 | 5-3-7 | 4-3-10 | 33 |
| Valladolid | 32 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 32 | 50 | -18 | 5-8-3 | 1-5-10 | 31 |
| Getafe | 32 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 29 | 49 | -20 | 4-6-6 | 4-1-11 | 31 |
| Almería | 32 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 34 | 60 | -26 | 5-5-6 | 3-1-12 | 30 |
| Betis | 32 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 28 | 64 | -36 | 4-3-9 | 1-4-11 | 22 |