La Liga Table 2014: Updated Standings Following Matchday 8 Results
La Liga action returned on Friday following the international break with the match between Granada and Rayo Vallecano, the first of another full slate of top Spanish football to be played on Matchday 8.
Saturday saw Barcelona and Real Madrid cruise to easy wins, as both clubs are in excellent form heading into next week's Clasico.
Here are the updated La Liga standings following Saturday's action:
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| 1 | FC Barcelona | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 22 |
| 2 | Sevilla | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 19 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 9 | 21 | 18 |
| 4 | Valencia | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| 6 | Villarreal | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 14 |
| 7 | Celta Vigo | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 13 |
| 8 | Malaga | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 12 |
| 9 | Rayo Vallecano | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 12 | -1 | 11 |
| 10 | Getafe | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 10 |
| 11 | Espanyol | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 9 |
| 12 | Eibar | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 9 |
| 13 | Almeria | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 9 |
| 14 | Granada | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 8 |
| 15 | Deportivo La Coruna | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 7 |
| 16 | Real Sociedad | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 5 |
| 17 | Athletic Bilbao | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 5 |
| 18 | Elche | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 5 |
| 19 | Levante | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 20 | -16 | 5 |
| 20 | Cordoba | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | -8 | 4 |
The full schedule for Matchday 8:
| Friday, October 17 | Granada | 0 - 1 | Rayo Vallecano |
| Saturday, October 18 | Levante | 0 - 5 | Real Madrid |
| Saturday, October 18 | Athletic Bilbao | 1 - 1 | Celta Vigo |
| Saturday, October 18 | Barcelona | 3 - 0 | Eibar |
| Saturday, October 18 | Cordoba | 1 - 2 | Malaga |
| Sunday, October 19 | Atletico Madrid | 2 - 0 | Espanyol |
| Sunday, October 19 | Deportivo La Coruna | 3 - 0 | Valencia |
| Sunday, October 19 | Elche | 0 - 2 | Sevilla |
| Sunday, October 19 | Villarreal | 2 - 0 | Almeria |
| Monday, October 20 | Real Sociedad | 1 - 2 | Getafe |
Monday Recap
Real Sociedad and Getafe served up 80 minutes of exciting but goalless football, only to turn things around in the final 10, as the visitors came away with a 2-1 win.
The result isn't very good news for Sociedad coach Jagoba Arrasate, whose tenuous position will only come under more fire with his team's latest meltdown.
The first half saw the Basques frustrated by Getafe's excellent organisation, and the visitors had several good chances to open the scoring. Karim Yoda continued his excellent form by frustrating Sociedad's defence with his constant movement, but his teammates lacked an edge in front of goal.
Both teams hit the woodwork before half-time, as the first half ended 0-0. Arrasate's men came out firing early in the second half, but the opening goal eluded them until the 83rd minute.
Pablo Hervias finally broke the deadlock, and as shared by AS English, he did it in only his second appearance for the club's senior team:
That should have won the Basques the match, but instead, they ran into two goals from Yoda just minutes apart. Real Madrid TV's Phil Kitromilides couldn't believe it:
AS English didn't like what it meant for manager Arrasate:
Playing in the UEFA Champions League just last year, Sociedad are now just one point removed from last place and continue to lose matches against mid-table sides, unacceptable results for what was one of La Liga's most exciting teams in the 2013-14 season.
The departure of stars like Antoine Griezmann no doubt has its effects, but a loss like Monday's is simply inexcusable, and Arrasate's days appear numbered.
Sunday Recap
Deportivo La Coruna produced one of the shocks of the La Liga season thus far on Sunday, overcoming high-flying Valencia 3-0 at the Riazor stadium.
After eight winless games, few expected much from the hosts yet Victor Fernandez's side took advantage of mistakes from the visitors to take a 2-0 lead by the half-time interval.
Even then, many observers had anticipated a Valencia response but it never came. Indeed, it was substitute Toche who scored the only goal of the second period to further extend the Deportivo lead.
At this early stage of the season, the result moves Deportivo off the bottom of the table and out of the relegation zone. Valencia, meanwhile, drop to fourth.
Sevilla were the main beneficiaries of that shock result, beating Elche 2-0 to move up to second in the La Liga table later on Sunday afternoon.
Colombian striker Carlos Bacca continued his magnificent start to the season, scoring his sixth goal of the campaign to give the Andalusian side the lead on the hour mark.
That goal was the cue to reintroduce Frenchman Kevin Gameiro to first-team action after his injury problems, replacing youngster Gerard Deulofeu just moments later. Unai Emery's decision was justified 10 minutes later when Gameiro made no mistake from Denis Suarez's pass to open his account for the campaign.
In Madrid, Atletico put themselves back on track with a comfortable 2-0 win over Espanyol ahead of their midweek European clash with Malmo.
Captain Gabi put his recent troubles behind him to take control of the game, standing out amid the ferocious midfield battles. The experienced midfielder provided a sumptuous assist to allow colleague Tiago to open the scoring just prior to half-time before Mario Suarez extended Atleti's advantage on the 70-minute mark.
With their win, Diego Simeone's side rise to fifth in the table.
Ikechukwu Uche, meanwhile, was the star of the show for Villarreal as they rose to sixth with a 2-0 success over Almeria in the day's final game.
The Nigerian striker was twice on target for the Yellow Submarine, his third and fourth goals of the season, as Villarreal continued their excellent recent form.
Saturday Recap
Barcelona and Real Madrid both cruised to easy wins on Saturday, the perfect preparation for next week's installment of El Clasico.
Los Blancos crushed Levante 5-0 in the first match of the day, as Cristiano Ronaldo continued his incredible scoring pace by scoring another brace. He now has an incredible 15 goals in just eight matches, breaking a 71-year-old record, per the club's official website.
Ronaldo drew first blood after just 13 minutes from the penalty spot, and Javier Hernandez doubled Real's lead late in the first half, as the hosts put up a heroic defensive effort.
It was all for naught, however, and when Ronaldo and James Rodriguez scored just five minutes apart, the rout was on. Isco added a late fifth, a harsh final score for Levante.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti refused to look too far ahead, instead focusing on the Champions League fixture against Liverpool, via AS' Manu Sainz:
"I think we are going into it in good form. This was a difficult game for us to prepare for but we were earnest and focused and it all turned out well. Now we have a short period of time to recover those who have been carrying injuries and prepare for Wednesday’s game against Liverpool.
"
Eibar came close to ending Barcelona's run of not conceding during the first half but ultimately were no match for the Catalans, losing 3-0. Xavi, Neymar and Lionel Messi all scored in the second half, as the Argentina international draws ever closer to La Liga's scoring record.
As shared by 8 Fact Football, he needs just one more to tie the record of 251:
The visitors predictably came out in a very defensive formation, and to their credit, they did an excellent job of limiting looks on goal. The best chance of the first half fell to Eibar, as Ander Capa rounded Claudio Bravo (who took a poor angle leaving his goal) before inexplicably slotting the ball into the side netting.
It took another moment of brilliance from Messi to break the deadlock, waiting patiently for Xavi to find space before playing his pass, and the veteran easily converted.
Pedro nearly made it 2-0 but Neymar didn't fail minutes later, and Messi himself put the final score on the board. Goal's Cristian Nyari loved how the pint-sized forward functioned more as a playmaker than a pure scorer:
Celta Vigo managed a 1-1 draw visiting Athletic Bilbao, after the hosts had taken an early lead through a Aritz Aduri penalty. The Galicians fought back and equalised via club top scorer Nolito, maintaining momentum as the club continues to battle for a top-six spot.
Malaga scored twice in the first half to beat Cordoba 2-1, goals coming from Samuel Garcia and Nordin Amrabat (from the penalty spot). Nabil Ghilas scored late for the hosts, who didn't have enough time to find a second.
Atletico Madrid will host Espanyol on Saturday, while Valencia will try to keep pace with Los Blancos and the Blaugrana when they take on Deportivo la Coruna.
Friday Recap
Rayo Vallecano and Granada served up one of the least exciting matches of the La Liga season on Friday, but a late winner deep into injury time gave the visitors from the Spanish capital the three points.
The visitors were the better team during the opening 15 minutes and found a handful of chances through Luis Carloc Lica and Leo Baptistao. The pace of the match soon came down, however, with both clubs struggling for creativity in the attacking third.
Rough play soon took over from flair and skill, leading to three yellow cards inside the final seven minutes of the first half. The hosts took over possession but never truly threatened Tono, as the teams went into half-time tied 0-0.
Fans were left wanting, and Football Radar's Will Taylor didn't mince his words:
The second half didn't see any improvement—while Granada continued to dominate possession, neither team was able to do anything with the ball once they crossed into enemy territory.
Fans like Andy Martin were having a hard time not falling asleep:
Emiliano Insua found some space found some space in the 65th minute but failed to direct his shot on target, and another barrage of yellow cards and rough play killed any momentum either team tried to build.
As shared by Marca's Javier Estepa, Rayo striker Leonardo Baptistao will have a souvenir to remember this dull match by, courtesy of Granada's Manuel Iturra:
The visitors appeared to steal the win in the 86th minute when substitute Manucho had the ball in the back of the net, but the official judged the Angolan was offside, and a replay confirmed he made the right decision.
Rayo launched a late push for a winner but saw most of their attempts blocked by the hosts, who folded back and desperately defended the draw. A tie would have been a just result, but Manucho managed to score a late winner deep into added-on time.
Barcelona and Real Madrid both face relatively easy matches during the weekend, playing Eibar and Levante, respectively. While Los Blancos will be without star contributors Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane, via AS English, neither club is expected to struggle much.
This would set the perfect scenario for next week's Clasico, with both squads carrying phenomenal form into the showpiece. Barcelona have yet to lose this season—Real have won four straight, not counting Saturday's clash with Levante.
