Eric Abidal, Santi Cazorla and Athletic Bilbao: 7 Things Learned in La Liga

This week, La Liga had a few headliners.

Athletic Bilbao and Valencia faced off in the main event.

Barcelona would find out how well its defense can handle the loss of its most consistent player this season.

Malaga and Levante both had chances to fill that final Champions League spot.

The relegation battle remained close, with Villarreal unable to make any headway against the other clubs.

Perhaps most importantly, we saw a big shakeup for the remaining European Qualification spots.

Here are seven things we learned in La Liga this week.

The Europa League Continues to Hurt Clubs

When Bilbao allowed Roberto Soldado a hat trick, it was obvious that they were hurting from having to play Manchester United midweek.

The entire squad looked tired.

Last week's loss against Osasuna was a sign that they were not deep enough to handle the added fixtures.

The Basque Derby loss was not unexpected, but it still played a part in draining the club since it was one of four tough matches in less than two weeks.

Atletico Madrid was a bit more unlucky than outplayed, but they also still suffered the effects of a crowded month of fixtures.

A Luis Filipe own goal gave Mallorca their first of two goals in two minutes just after halftime.

Falcao did his best to put Atletico on top—getting one back with a beautiful chip shot—but was unable to draw them level.

Atletico now sits in 10th place and in danger of missing out on European competition next season.

Now, these two clubs will face each other on only two days of rest.

Eric Abidal Is Already Missed

In a recent article, I predicted that Eric Abidal's absence would be a huge factor for Barcelona.

This week against Sevilla, his presence was greatly missed, as Adriano was terribly exposed on the wing.

The Brazilian has great speed and is solid as an attacking fullback, but that is not what Barça needs. They have Dani Alves for that.

What they need is a more defensive-minded left back with better judgment.

On multiple occasions, Adriano was caught horribly out of position, as Jesus Navas embarrassed him all night.

If Sevilla had a better attack, Barça would have dropped even more points.

With Abidal out indefinitely, Barcelona's only real options are a sub-par Adriano and the very young and inexperienced Muniesa.

Puyol is capable of playing the position, but he will be needed in central defense, and he is not a natural left back.

With Milan due up in the Champions League, Barça's defensive woes could cost them at the worst time.

Villarreal Deserves to Be Relegated

Jose Molina became the second Villarreal manager to be sacked this season.

After losing four of their last five matches, this one was expected.

Now, Villarreal will play host to Real Madrid without a manager to lead the club. Not that it would matter anyway.

With the injuries that have plagued Villarreal this season and the lack of ambition from the club, they are doomed to be sent down.

It is what they deserve. If they stay in La Liga, it would be unfair to its more loyal players.

There is still a chance that players like Giuseppe Rossi will stay if the club remains in the first division.

What would be more fair is for him to go to Italy, Borja Valero to get his move to Atletico Madrid, Nilmar to go home to Brazil and Diego Lopez to go to a top club—maybe Atletico.

All of these very talented players are wasting away at this club and deserve better.

Sevilla Needs Another Striker

With all due respect to Frederic Kanoute, he was never going to trouble Barcelona.

He is way past his prime.

Baba Diawara may develop into a solid striker, but he will not do it this season.

Negredo is a great finisher, but has been hurt this season and still needs help.

What Sevilla really needs to get back into the second tier of Spanish football is another top attacker.

The Andalusian side's inability to score goals this season has already caused one manager to get sacked.

Their results under Michel have not been much better.

The great talent of Jesus Navas is being wasted at Sevilla.

He created multiple opportunities against Barcelona—as did Manu del Moral—and he may finally be ready to move on if Sevilla fail to get serious about their ambitions.

Malaga Have a Chance to Seal It

Santi Cazorla's glorious free kick in extra time saved a point for Malaga at the Bernabeu.

The draw put them level on points with Levante for fourth and just one goal behind the Valencian side.

As incredible as their season has been, Levante still does not look capable of outlasting Malaga.

Atletico Madrid and Bilbao are looking exhausted and unable to handle the extra pressure of the Europa League.

Malaga has a real chance to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack over the next two months.

The next seven matches are very winnable.

They will need to win almost all of those to have a cushion going into May.

They finish the season by hosting Valencia and then going to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid before finishing with Sporting.

The next two months will decide whether or not Malaga are going to make the Champions League next season.

Athletic Bilbao's Champions League Hopes Almost Gone

Bilbao's date against second-place Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final guarantees them a spot in the Europa League next season.

But I am sure they are still dreaming of the Champions League.

That dream is almost gone after losing to Valencia at home this weekend.

In a previous article, I predicted that Bilbao would miss out on the top six league spots. Now, they are in eighth, but only two points back from sixth-place Osasuna.

The bigger problem with losing to Valencia was Andoni Iraola's red card. That will see him miss at least the next match.

The timing could not have been much worse.

Now, Bilbao will be without one of their best defenders and creators while they face Atletico Madrid in a key battle.

With Sporting Gijon, Barcelona and Sevilla also coming up next, Bilbao will really need to get at least four points to have even a shot at the Champions League.

The Battle for Top 6 Is Cloudier Than Ever

Somehow, La Liga finished the week with an even more congested fight for the top six spots than before.

There are now just three European spots up for grabs and 14 teams now with a realistic shot of finishing in the top six—well over half the league.

Real Sociedad sits in 14th place, but only six points behind sixth-place Osasuna.

Many of this week's results showed that predicting every fixture going forward will be impossible.

Atletico lost to Mallorca. Rayo Vallecano got back on track by sending Betis into the relegation battle.

Osasuna dropped points to one of the worst teams in league history.

Even teams that lost are still in the hunt—Sevilla and Real Sociedad lost to Barcelona and Getafe, respectively, but are only two games out.

Now, with two league matches in seven days, we will have a better idea of who is really in the race come next weekend.

At least we should...