La Liga Table 2014: Updated Standings Following Matchday 10 Results
Matchday 10 of the 2014-15 La Liga season brings us another number of interesting fixtures that continue to shake up the rankings. Back-to-back league defeats has seen Barcelona's progress halted, while Real Madrid continue to surge in form of late.
Valencia beat Villarreal on Sunday to keep matters close at the summit, Barca's stumble providing Los Che with an opportunity to keep the Spanish titans within touching distance.
Here's the full schedule for Matchday 10:
| Friday, Oct. 31 | Deportivo La Coruna | 1-2 | Getafe |
| Saturday, Nov. 1 | Granada | 0-4 | Real Madrid |
| Saturday, Nov. 1 | Atletico Madrid | 4-2 | Cordoba |
| Saturday, Nov. 1 | Barcelona | 0-1 | Celta Vigo |
| Saturday, Nov. 1 | Real Sociedad | 0-1 | Malaga |
| Sunday, Nov. 2 | Athletic Bilbao | 1-0 | Sevilla |
| Sunday, Nov. 2 | Villarreal | 1-3 | Valencia |
| Sunday, Nov. 2 | Levante | 2-1 | Almeria |
| Sunday, Nov. 2 | Elche | 2-1 | Espanyol |
| Monday, Nov. 3 | Rayo | 2-3 | Eibar |
And here's a look at the La Liga standings:
| 1 | Real Madrid | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 24 |
| 2 | Valencia | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 23 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 23 |
| 4 | Barcelona | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 22 |
| 5 | Sevilla | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 22 |
| 6 | Celta Vigo | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 19 |
| 7 | Malaga | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| 8 | Villarreal | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 9 | Eibar | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | -1 | 13 |
| 10 | Getafe | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | -6 | 13 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -6 | 11 |
| 12 | Athletic Bilbao | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -5 | 11 |
| 13 | Espanyol | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 10 |
| 14 | Almeria | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -4 | 9 |
| 15 | Granada | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -11 | 9 |
| 16 | Deportivo La Coruna | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -9 | 8 |
| 17 | Elche | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -12 | 8 |
| 18 | Levante | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -18 | 8 |
| 19 | Real Sociedad | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -5 | 6 |
| 20 | Cordoba | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -10 | 5 |
Sunday Recap
An enthralling Sunday of Spanish drama saw the action continue to unfold among La Liga's hierarchy, with Sevilla and Valencia's result meaning that just two points now separate first from fifth.
Although their home record remains untarnished, Sevilla lost for the second time this season in away territory, dropping 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao and missing their chance to claim top spot in Spain's standings.
Aritz Aduriz struck for the Basque outfit just 13 minutes into their meeting, and Athletic's staunch defending proved sufficient, Sevilla managing to register just four shots on goal, three of which were off target.
It was hardly a clean win for the home team, however, as OptaJose shows:
Nuno Espirito Santo ensured his men made no such mistake on their trip to Villarreal, however, where defender Shkodran Mustafi stole the show with a brace.
Manu Trigueros was both hero and villain for the hosts, scoring an own goal before grabbing an 88th-minute consolation for Villarreal, OptaJose confirming his landmark achievement in this derby fixture:
As a result of their win, Los Che are now just a point off league leaders Real Madrid and sit second in the table, their evolution under the Peter Lim ownership continuing in strong fashion for now.
In Sunday's late fixture, Elche defied the odds to win just their second match of the season, beating Espanyol 2-1 despite finishing with only nine men on the pitch.
Fortunately for the hosts, Jonathas had already clinched two goals for the home side, who picked up a rather displeasing total of eight yellow cards, two of their players sent off for repeated bookable offences.
David Cartlidge of beIN Sports likens Brazilian Jonathas to Chelsea's Diego Costa, and highlights the importance of his performances this season:
Levante were the other home outfit to win by a 2-1 scoreline on Sunday, fending off the challenge of Almeria to distance themselves from the bottom of the standings.
Jonathan equalised for the visitors after David Barral opened the scoring inside 26 minutes, but Casadesus would mimic his strike partner's success and put Levante back in front just 15 minutes from time, holding out for the three points.
Saturday Recap
Real Madrid recorded their 11th straight win on Saturday with a 4-0 drubbing of Granada, a match in which James Rodriguez scored his first La Liga brace to display his continuing adaptation to life in Spain.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring, but Rodriguez's delightful volley, per 101GreatGoals, stood out as a particular pick of the bunch:
Carlo Ancelotti's side are enjoying a stellar stretch of form lately, and Iker Casillas spoke of his aspirations for the campaign moving forward, per the club's official website:
"We're enjoying a great period and I hope that at the end of the season we pick up major silverware like we did last year. We have good young players and more experienced guys who help the youngsters so that they know what Real Madrid is all about. We have the ingredients to win major trophies and make history, and I hope that's the case.
"
The biggest shock of the day came in Catalan country, where Barca suffered defeat for the second time in as many matches, falling to third place as a result, Real taking the summit in their place.
Celta Vigo held firm to beat Luis Enrique's men 1-0, Duran Nolito setting up Joaquin Larrivey for the visitors' only goal at the Camp Nou. Squawka points out that this is an unfamiliar dip for the Spanish titans:
Atletico Madrid were as joyful as Real to see their rivals suffer another loss, having beaten Cordoba 4-2 earlier on Saturday to move into second spot.
And while Rodriguez is growing as a La Liga force for Los Blancos, Antoine Griezmann continues to impress for Los Rojiblancos, striking twice in the hammering of lesser opposition.
Diego Simeone hailed his summer recruit's performance, quoted by Inside Spanish Football in praising the rounded nature of Griezmann's contribution:
"He’s been working very hard and his growth is due to his daily work. He played a complete game in every aspect, not just goal-scoring. There are plenty of valid arguments as to why he played the game we’ve been expecting from him. The game was a response to Tebas? Cordoba played a great game and we responded with our way of thinking on the pitch.
"
In the late fixture, Malaga recorded their fourth successive win thanks to Juanmi's 72nd-minutes strike against Real Sociedad, the hosts having now failed to win any of their last eight outings.
Nordin Amrabat has been the Anchovies' saviour in scoring and setting up goals this season so far, and the Moroccan international again provided the assist to guide his side to victory on Saturday.
Friday Recap
Getafe recorded an easy 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Friday, adding even more pressure to the crisis that is starting to engulf the Estadio de Riazor.
The visitors had the better of play from the opening kickoff, but with opportunities limited, fans had to wait until the 35th minute to see the first goal.
Karim Yoda (who else) fired a shot on goal that struck the post and bounced back into play, only to strike the unfortunate Fabri. The goalkeeper was unable to prevent the ball from crossing the line, and the officials ruled it an own goal.
As shared by the English-language feed of Mister Chip, he became just the second stopper in Deportivo history to score an own goal:
OptaJose added even more insult to injury:
The hosts were powerless to fight back in the first half, and Getafe doubled their lead within minutes of the restart, as Angel Lafita scored an easy tap-in. This fan shared the Vine:
"0-2 Lafita https://t.co/Pt8WshIqhr
— Javi (@ilragazzo85) October 31, 2014"
The visitors started pushing for a third goal, as the Estadio de Riazor started to boo its own players. This seemed to wake Deportivo up, and with 20 minutes left on the clock, the home side started taking control of the ball more.
Helder Postiga got the hosts on the board with 10 minutes left to play, opening the door for a frantic finale. It was too little too late, however, as Getafe held on for the win.
Scouted Football's and Deportivo fan Chris fears for Victor Fernandez's job following another disappointing loss at home:
"Victor Fernandez has to go. The squad is good enough to stay up. They just need a push in the right direction; a clear system.
— Chris (@MoarFootball) October 31, 2014"
The manager was convinced the club's fans would stand in his corner before the match, as reported by Inside Spanish Football's Heath Chesters, but those same fans were very vocal in their disapproval on Friday:
"It’s a very important game for us. We want to multiply the value of the draw at Espanyol. We need to get back to achieving a positive result, we need to win again. We’ll have the support of our fans behind us, so I’m convinced they’ll shake Riazor like they did the day against Valencia.
"
Getafe continue their solid season, surviving comfortably in the middle of the standings and with a healthy lead over the relegation-threatened teams.
La Coruna sit just three points above the relegation zone, and their failure to grab any points at home against some of the lesser clubs in La Liga is a worrying trend with an eye on the future.
All statistics come courtesy of WhoScored.com.
