Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerard Pique and 5 Things Learned in La Liga

The first April fixtures are finished and there were definitely some surprises.

If this weekend is a sign of things to come, La Liga fans are in for a great month!

Real Madrid rebounded very well by beating Osasuna, 5-1. That now makes 13 goals in three matches for Jose Mourinho's side.

The relegation battle heated up when Granada beat Racing, Villarreal was held to a draw and Zaragoza continued its great run.

Malaga's streak ended against Betis, but a draw in the Valencia Derby kept the Andalusians in fourth.

After a weekend of exciting Spanish football, here are five things we learned.

Cristiano Ronaldo Is the Perfect Footballer

This is not actually something learned this week—we have known it for a while.

But this week, we saw everything Cristiano Ronaldo has to offer in a single match when Real Madrid man-handled Osasuna.

We saw that he can shoot from distance with incredible accuracy and power.

We saw him finally get his first free-kick goal of the season—albeit via deflection.

But we knew CR7 could do these things before this season. What is surprising some fans is how much he has grown as a team player.

Watch this play and see why Ronaldo is the complete footballer.

Karim Benzema will get deserved praise for the goal, but Ronaldo created this.

He showed his pace, dribbling, vision, ambidexterity and ability to open play—all within 15 seconds.

Lionel Messi may be widely praised as the best in the world, but Cristiano Ronaldo is every bit as deserving of respect and praise as Messi.

Pique Finally Recovering

Gerard Pique has been injured for much of the season.

When he has played, he has been one of Barcelona's most disappointing players.

Against Athletic Bilbao, Pique finally started playing at his normal high level.

With a converted defender in Mascherano and a sub-standard Adriano alongside, Pique needed to lead and anchor the defense to keep Barcelona in the title race.

Against a very fast, very creative Bilbao squad, he was the main reason Victor Valdes kept a clean sheet.

After nearly adding a goal of his own, Pique denied Iker Muniain near stoppage time and controlled the back half of the pitch all night.

If Barcelona really is going to win any silverware the rest of the season, it is this version of  Pique that is needed.

And the Hottest Team in the League Is...

Real Zaragoza?

Aside from Barcelona, no team in La Liga is on as good a run as the Aragonese side.

After their third dramatic win in a row, Zaragoza now have just one loss in the last six games—quite the run for a team that was on the path to becoming the worst club in league history.

The victory over fellow bottom-feeders Sporting Gijon puts Manolo Jiminez's side just three points behind Villarreal—who failed to score against Espanyol.

The club's strength is about to be seriously tested as it faces Barcelona and Sevilla in consecutive weeks.

Taking points from either match could be enough to bring Zaragoza out of relegation for the first time all year.

It also makes the May 6th match against Racing one that may decide the fate of both clubs.

No One Wants to Play in the Champions League

Clearly this is not true—I hope.

But with the way the contenders have played lately, it seems that clubs are trying NOT to reach 50 points this season.

To be fair to Malaga, they have been in spectacular form lately and lost to a very tough Betis side that needed a win.

However, the loss of Jeremy Toulalan already looks like it could be the difference between third and sixth.

Valencia has now gone four matches without a win and has only three league victories in 14 matches.

When they tied Levante in the Valencia Derby, they allowed their neighbors to get within three points of fourth.

Levante has now failed to win their last two matches and has Atletico Madrid coming to town this weekend.

At least Diego Simeone's men are showing some desire to finish in the top four.

Atletico Madrid Back in the Hunt

Less than a month ago, Atletico Madrid was 10 points back of fourth place.

Now Falcao has led his side to within five after capping off a dominant team performance against Getafe.

Madrid will now travel to Germany as they aim to beat Hannover in the Europa League quarterfinals before welcoming Levante on three days' rest.

If Atletico can beat the Valencians this weekend, it will put them level on points and once again within striking distance of the Champions League.

The club is about to begin the most difficult part of its remaining schedule.

We are going to see just how badly Atletico Madrid wants to qualify next season.

Weekend Outlook

Every week from here on out is vital.

The main event for the second week of April will be Real Madrid hosting Valencia.

If Unai Emery's side fails to upset Real, it could fall behind Malaga and level on points with Levante.

Real Madrid has been great over the last 10 days, but Valencia will provide the first real test since dropping six points two weeks ago.

Malaga has a very winnable match against Racing, but Levante will have a tough time against Atletico Madrid.

Sevilla will travel to Bilbao in what could end up being the final chance for either side to make a run for for the top six.

A month ago we would have looked at Barcelona's trip to Zaragoza as a given three points for La Blaugrana, but the recent form of the struggling Aragon side makes this a surprisingly intriguing match.

I expect a lot of changes in the standings after this weekend.