La Liga Table 2014: Updated Standings Following Matchday 11 Results

La Liga returns in Week 11 with another full slate of fixtures, and after several weeks of high-profile clashes, the top contenders for the Spanish title will all be playing teams ranked well below them in the standings.

Athletic Bilbao will visit Valencia in the biggest match of the weekend, while Almeria host Barcelona and Real Madrid play their local derby against Rayo Vallecano. Sevilla will host Levante, and Atletico Madrid face a tricky trip to struggling Real Sociedad.

The full schedule for Matchday 11:

Date	Home	Score	Away
Friday, Nov. 7	Cordoba	0 - 0	Deportivo La Coruna
Saturday, Nov. 8	Almeria	1 - 2	Barcelona
Saturday, Nov. 8	Getafe	0 - 0	Elche
Saturday, Nov. 8	Real Madrid	5 - 1	Rayo Vallecano
Saturday, Nov. 8	Celta Vigo	0 - 0	Granada
Saturday, Nov. 8	Malaga	2 - 1	Eibar
Sunday, Nov. 9	Sevilla	1 - 1	Levante
Sunday, Nov. 9	Espanyol	1 - 1	Villarreal
Sunday, Nov. 9	Valencia	0 - 0	Athletic Bilbao
Sunday, Nov. 9	Real Sociedad	2 - 1	Atletico Madrid

The current La Liga standings:

Position	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Real Madrid	11	9	0	2	42	11	31	27
2	Barcelona	11	8	1	2	25	5	20	25
3	Valencia	11	7	3	1	23	9	14	24
4	Atletico Madrid	11	7	2	2	20	11	9	23
5	Sevilla	11	7	2	2	18	11	7	23
6	Malaga	11	6	3	2	14	9	5	21
7	Celta Vigo	11	5	5	1	17	11	6	20
8	Villarreal	11	4	3	4	15	13	2	15
9	Getafe	11	4	2	5	8	14	-6	14
10	Eibar	11	3	4	4	13	15	-2	13
11	Athletic Bilbao	11	3	3	5	7	12	-5	12
12	Espanyol	11	2	5	4	11	13	-2	11
13	Rayo Vallecano	11	3	2	6	14	24	-10	11
14	Granada	11	2	4	5	6	17	-11	10
15	Real Sociedad	11	2	3	6	12	16	-4	9
16	Almeria	11	2	3	6	9	14	-5	9
17	Deportivo La Coruna	11	2	3	6	12	21	-9	9
18	Elche	11	2	3	6	10	22	-12	9
19	Levante	11	2	3	6	7	25	-18	9
20	Cordoba	11	0	6	5	8	18	-10	6

Sunday Recap

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Valencia couldn't find their way past a stingy Athletic Bilbao defence on Sunday, missing out on the opportunity to pass Barcelona for second in the La Liga standings after a scoreless draw.

The Basques actually had the better start but couldn't muster any real chances early without star forward Aritz Aduriz, and Rodrigo Moreno Machado nearly surprised the visitors in the 16th minute, hitting the side netting.

Pablo Piatti also had a miss from close range, and the hosts failed to translate dominance of possession throughout the middle part of the match into goals. Xabier Etxeita had one big chance late to win the three points for Athletic, but his shot was saved by Diego Alves, with replays confirming he kept the ball out of goal using his face.

Fiaz Hamsath has the Vine:

"

Diego Alves saves with his head. https://t.co/X2akZHilpx

— Fiaz Hamsath (@fiazhamsath) November 9, 2014"

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan noticed a disturbing trend for the hosts:

Villarreal came away with a 1-1 draw at Espanyol, although El Submarino Amarillo will have been disappointed not to win, conceding the equaliser in stoppage time.

Mario Gaspar opened the score in the 26th minute in a match that saw few chances, but the hosts pushed men up the pitch late to try to salvage a point. They did just that, with Diego Colotto slotting home the rebound after Sergio Asenjo made a brilliant save.

Marcelino Toral couldn't believe his team gave away another lead late, as reported by Inside Spanish Football's Heath Chesters:

"

In our last away game against Sevilla, the same thing happened and in the 88th minute we were winning. It’s happened to us again and we need to learn from these kind of experiences. We weren’t capable of turning two clear chances into goals and when you have such a minimal advantage away from home, it’s only natural you have to suffer.

We came into this game on the back of three straight defeats, which was tremendously punishing for us, given the way we had been playing. We just need to keep working hard, because that’s the only way out of this situation. The international break will be good for us, particularly mentally. When we come back, our minds will be fresher and that will be a big help for us.

"

Sevilla only managed a 1-1 draw at home against lowly Levante, after a physical battle which was decided in the final 10 minutes.

The hosts were overwhelming favourites and took the lead in the first half, courtesy of Vitolo. The match quickly turned into a slugfest in the centre of the pitch, with numerous stoppages and six yellow cards for the visitors.

Levante are battling relegation and likely weren't expecting much from this match, but a late equaliser from Victor Casadesus gave Les Granotes a pivotal point heading into the international break.

As shared by OptaJose, Levante have truly been a difficult opponent for Sevilla of late:

There was some confusion on the pitch when eight minutes of added time was signaled, only for the official to add another minute, as shared by AS English:

Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid faced off in the most entertaining of Sunday's fixtures, with the hosts booking their best result of the season, a 2-1 win over the defending champions.

The visitors took the lead through Mario Mandzukic, but it was short lived, as Carlos Vela equalised with a spectacular effort from outside the box.

Things became chippy soon after, with the hosts the better side of the two. Sociedad had several chances to grab the lead late in the first half, but Atletico defended well.

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Guilherme Siqueira saw two yellow cards in three minutes, leaving the visitors down a man. The match soon started spiraling out of control, and Diego Simeone also got in the mix, heading the ball further away in a bid to run some clock.

His efforts were thwarted by Imanol Agirretxe, who put Real ahead in the 82nd minute. Simeone responded by introducing former Sociedad star Antoine Griezmann, and as shard by ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan, the home crowd didn't take kindly to the Frenchman:

Atletico tried to commit men forward but could not find an opening in the staunch Basque defence, as the hosts held on for a deserved win to close out Matchday 11 of the 2014-15 La Liga season. 

Saturday Recap

Daniel Tejedor/Associated Press

Barcelona escaped Almeria with a 2-1 win thanks to late goals from Neymar Jordi Alba, cancelling out Thievy Bifouma's opener.

The hosts came out in a defensive formation and proved to be very resilient, limiting the spaces in front of goal for the Blaugrana attack. Lionel Messi had a rough afternoon, wasteful in possession and missing several good chances.

The Argentine was dispossessed five minutes before the end of the first half, and the resulting counter attack saw Thievy give Almeria a shock lead. Luis Suarez and Neymar were introduced at the half, and it was the latter who tied thing up in the 72nd minute.

Daniel Tejedor/Associated Press

The Catalans piled on the pressure and were finally rewarded with seven minutes left to play, as full-back Alba scored the winner from close range.

Luis Enrique later told reporters good teams need to find ways to win matches in which they play poorly, via Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp:

"

To have success, you must win when you play poorly, like today. With the difficulties that Almería created for us and considering our lack of fluency, this is the best result we could have hoped for.

We’re continously improving things and also seeing which things needs improving at the same time. I don’t know if we’re below or above peoples’ expectations.

"

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan applauded Suarez's efforts, as the Uruguayan played his best match in the Barcelona shirt yet, but he also noted the Catalans have some real problems:

"

While Luis Suarez has still not scored for Barcelona, his showing here saved the day. Suarez made both Barca's goals, for Neymar and Jordi Alba, and hit the crossbar with a fearsome close-range volley. Four games into his Barcelona career, the 80 million-euro signing from Liverpool delivered what was by far his most impressive performance to date.

[...]The result of both the uncertainty on the bench and poor decision-making in the boardroom is that Barca have lost their "idea" -- their way of playing. The structure of the team is all awry, and players do not seem to know what their jobs are.

"

Real Madrid continued their tradition of thrashing city rivals Rayo Vallecano, romping to a 5-1 win. The returning Gareth Bale gave Los Blancos an early lead, and Sergio Ramos made it 2-0 with minutes to be played in the first half.

The Bernabeu suffered a bit of a shock when Alberto Bueno pulled one back for the visitors just before half-time, but Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema quickly ended their bid for an upset.

As shared by Bleacher Report UK, Kroos' effort in particular was clinical:

Cristiano Ronaldo added his obligatory goal late, and as shared by Real Madrid TV's Phil Kitromilides, his home scoring streak is truly mind-blowing:

Getafe and Elche gave fans little to cheer for, playing out a 0-0 draw in the second afternoon match. Celta Vigo and Granada suffered the same fate, while Malaga booked a 2-1 win over Eibar thanks to a last-minute penalty goal from Nordin Amrabat.

Friday Recap

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Cordoba and Deportivo La Coruna played out a 0-0 draw on Friday night, in one of the dullest matches La Liga has produced in recent years.

Deportivo were the better team early in the match, but their bid for the three points was quickly made more difficult by Helder Postiga, who had a nightmare outing.

The 32-year-old first gave away a penalty after 16 minutes, but was fortunate to see Federico Cartabia's effort saved by goalkeeper Fabri. As shared by Michael Jacobsen, it took a fine save to prevent the hosts from grabbing the lead:

"

Fede Cartabia missed the penalty that the now expelled Postiga committed. Last Valencia season in one sentence. https://t.co/MNV1vs6maw

— Michael Jacobsen (@VCF_Nordic) November 7, 2014"

The forward was booked for the foul that led to the penalty, and beIN Sports' Chris Moar was concerned the Portuguese star might get sent off:

"

Postiga is already an aggressive player, so being on a yellow card means he's on very, very thin ice. Hope he uses his brain.

— Chris (@MoarFootball) November 7, 2014"

As shared by OptaJose, the odds were in his favour:

The match quickly disintegrated into a physical battle in the centre of the pitch, and 12 minutes later, Postiga got involved in a shoving match with Inigo Lopez. The result was as predictable as it was tragic for the visitors, with Postiga receiving his marching orders.

Chris Moar couldn't believe it:

"

Postiga is an imbecile of the highest order. No intelligence about him, he's just here for one final pay check. Should've started Iglesias.

— Chris (@MoarFootball) November 7, 2014"

Down to 10 men, Deportivo tried to control the ball and play out the half, and Cordoba happily obliged, toothless in attack. The score was 0-0 at half-time, and the home fans were expecting their team to come out firing in the second half.

Instead, Cordoba looked just as slow and sluggish as they did in the first. Deportivo tried their hand at one or two quick counterattacks, but coach Victor Fernandez soon opted to introduce midfielders to salvage the draw.

The final score of 0-0 helps neither team, as Cordoba remain last in the standings and Deportivo sit just one point above the relegation zone. The home team left the pitch as boos rained down from the stands, and Victor Fernandez won't make any new friends with his conservative approach in the second half.

The manager showed little initiative before the match, telling reporters he has his team where he wants them, via Inside Spanish Football's Heath Chesters:

"

I know where I am, the scenario, what objective I have been contracted for and what it will cost us all to achieve this season. The president hasn’t changed that objective, which is to stay above the bottom three in La Liga, because that’s very important for the economic health of the club. That’s what he’s told me and the team captains.

"

Real Madrid and Barcelona will be in action on Saturday, playing Rayo Vallecano and Almeria, respectively.