La Liga Table 2016 Week 12: Standings and Final Scores After Sunday

Real Sociedad rose above Atletico Madrid into fifth place in the Liga standings following a 3-1 away win at Sporting Gijon on Sunday, which included a brilliant Inigo Martinez free-kick.

Fourth-placed Villarreal were downed 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames Stadium, with Raul Garcia's second-half strike proving the decisive moment.

Meanwhile, Valencia were held 1-1 at home by bottom-of-the-table Granada, and Espanyol claimed their third win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Alaves.

Read on for a closer look at how Sunday's action played out along with the updated standings in Spain's top tier.

Home	Result	Away
Alaves	0-1	Espanyol
Valencia	1-1	Granada
Sporting Gijon	1-3	Real Sociedad
Athletic Bilbao	1-0	Villarreal

#	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Real Madrid	12	9	3	0	34	10	24	30
2	Barcelona	12	8	2	2	32	13	19	26
3	Sevilla	12	7	3	2	22	17	5	24
4	Villarreal	12	6	4	2	19	8	11	22
5	Real Sociedad	12	7	1	4	21	13	8	22
6	Atletico Madrid	12	6	3	3	25	11	14	21
7	Athletic Bilbao	12	6	2	4	16	13	3	20
8	Eibar	12	5	3	4	17	15	2	18
9	Celta Vigo	12	5	2	5	18	22	-4	17
10	Las Palmas	12	4	4	4	21	20	1	16
11	Malaga	12	4	4	4	17	16	1	16
12	Espanyol	12	3	6	3	14	17	-3	15
13	Real Betis	12	4	2	6	13	22	-9	14
14	Alaves	12	3	4	5	11	16	-5	13
15	Valencia	12	3	2	7	16	22	-6	11
16	Deportivo La Coruna	12	2	4	6	10	19	-9	10
17	Leganes	11	3	1	7	9	22	-13	10
18	Sporting Gijon	12	2	3	7	11	25	-14	9
19	Osasuna	11	1	4	6	12	21	-9	7
20	Granada	12	0	5	7	10	26	-16	5

Sunday Recap

La Real's comfortable victory at the Estadio El Molinon on Sunday was their fifth in six La Liga matches and came on the back of their home victory over Atleti last time out.

Xabi Prieto followed up a parried Martinez header and clipped it home to open the scoring in the 18th minute, but 10 minutes later, Sporting equalised after Duje Cop's fine finish from the edge of the box.

David Zurutuza then re-established La Real's lead with a sweeping left-footed finish from Yuri Berchiche's low cross in the 51st minute before Martinez sealed the win five minutes later.

The Spanish centre-back lined up a free-kick from more than 30 yards, and his left-footed curling shot gave goalkeeper Pichu Cuellar no chance as the ball went in off the post.

Spanish football writer David Cartlidge offered a lofty comparison following the superlative strike:

Athletic's clash with Villarreal did not come alive until the second half, with Iker Muniain's 52nd-minute effort that whistled past the post being the first real chance of note in the match.

Inaki Williams then nearly opened the scoring for the hosts just after the hour but could only hit the post having rounded Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.

Garcia did find the net six minutes later after a concerted period of Athletic pressure, turning home from close range after Asenjo parried a shot from Aritz Aduriz.

Villarreal were largely limited to efforts from long range, and if anything, Bilbao deserved to win by a wider margin after fine efforts from Aduriz were kept out by Asenjo.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Valencia were indebted to Nani for rescuing a point against Granada, as their winless run was stretched to four La Liga games.

Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez put struggling Granada ahead just before half-time after a lifted finish nestled in the back of the net.

Portuguese star Nani then equalised soon after the break, as he converted Dani Parejo's smart ball. Neither side could find a winner.

For Espanyol, Gerard Moreno went from villain to hero, as he headed the winner nine minutes from time after seeing a penalty saved by Fernando Pacheco soon before.

It was enough for Quique Sanchez Flores' side to earn the victory, and they now have two wins and four draws from their last six La Liga matches.