La Liga Table 2014: Updated Standings Following Matchday 14 Results

Real Madrid maintained their two point lead at the top of the La Liga table in week 14 as the European champions beat Celta de Vigo 3-0 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick.

Not to be outdone, Lionel Messi claimed his own treble as Barcelona beat neighbours Espanyol 5-1 at the Camp Nou while third-placed Atletico Madrid won 2-0 away at Elche.

Here, we track the results from matchday 14 and provide the latest standings in Spain's top-flight:

Date	Time (GMT/ET)	Fixture	Score
Dec. 6	3 p.m./10 a.m.	Elche vs. Atletico Madrid	0-2
Dec. 6	5 p.m./noon	Athletic Bilbao vs. Cordoba	0-1
Dec. 6	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Real Madrid vs. Celta de Vigo	3-0
Dec. 6	9 p.m./4 p.m.	Deportivo La Coruna vs. Malaga	0-1
Dec. 7	11 a.m./6 a.m.	Rayo Vallecano vs. Sevilla	0-1
Dec. 7	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Barcelona vs. Espanyol	5-1
Dec. 7	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Villareal vs. Real Sociedad	4-0
Dec. 7	8 p.m./3 p.m.	Granada vs. Valencia	1-1
Dec. 8	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Eibar vs. Almeria	5-2
Dec. 8	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Levante vs. Getafe	1-1

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Real Madrid	14	12	0	2	51	12	39	36
2	Barcelona	14	11	1	2	36	7	29	34
3	Atletico Madrid	14	10	2	2	27	12	15	32
4	Sevilla	14	9	2	3	25	17	8	29
5	Valencia	14	7	4	3	25	13	12	25
6	Villarreal	14	7	3	4	23	14	9	24
7	Malaga	14	7	3	4	17	14	3	24
8	Celta Vigo	14	5	5	4	17	16	1	20
9	Eibar	14	5	4	5	19	21	-2	19
10	Athletic Bilbao	14	5	3	6	12	15	-3	18
11	Rayo Vallecano	14	5	2	7	16	25	-9	17
12	Getafe	14	4	3	7	11	19	-8	15
13	Espanyol	14	3	5	6	15	22	-7	14
14	Real Sociedad	14	3	4	7	15	20	-5	13
15	Levante	14	3	4	7	11	29	-18	13
16	Granada	14	2	6	6	8	23	-15	12
17	Almeria	14	2	4	8	11	20	-9	10
18	Cordoba	14	1	7	6	11	22	-11	10
19	Deportivo La Coruna	14	2	4	8	12	24	-12	10
20	Elche	14	2	4	8	12	29	-17	10

Sunday Recap

Messi Hat-Trick Seals Derby Win 

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Messi matched Ronaldo’s Saturday hat-trick as the Argentine bagged a treble of his own to help Barcelona beat Espanyol 5-1 in the Catalan derby at the Camp Nou on Sunday.

The hosts survived an early scare as they went down 1-0 to Sergio Garcia’s solo effort after 13 minutes, Messi’s goals either side of half time moving Barca into the lead .

Gerard Pique and Pedro then wrapped things up for Luis Enrique’s side before Messi claimed his hat-trick nine minutes from time.

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

The victory moved Barca back to within two points of Real Madrid at the top of the table and two points ahead of reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid in third.

Messi’s goals were typical of the Argentinian superstar, the opening two well guided strikes from the edge of the penalty area, the third a fine finish following a slick move.

Indeed, the quality of the goals were used by some to indicate Messi’s edge in the ever-continuing, but largely pointless debate, surrounding who is better, Messi or Ronaldo, per Spanish football writer Rafael Hernandez:

The simple fact is that they are both extraordinary players and continue to score goals at a ridiculous rate—Messi now has 13 for the league season, Ronaldo 23 per WhoScored.com—and it is difficult to see the Liga title going anywhere other than the Camp Nou or the Bernabeu if the pair continue in their current form.

David Moyes suffered his first defeat in charge of Real Sociedad as his side were thrashed 4-0 by Villareal at the Estadio El Madrigal, all the goals coming in the final half hour of the match.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Bruno began the rout from an excellently struck free kick which rebounded down off the crossbar, ricochetting in off the goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai and it may well go down as an own goal.

Denis Cheryshev and a Mui Gomez double then completed the drubbing, revealing weaknesses in La Real’s defence and, as Goal’s Ben Hayward notes, the hosts could have had more:

Moyes’ men had not conceded once in the Scot’s first three games in charge but they will need to tighten things up in the wake of Sunday’s result as they cannot afford many more repeats as they sit only three points above the relegation zone.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Elsewhere, Sevilla won Sunday’s early game, running out 1-0 victors away to Rayo Vallecano courtesy of Carlos Bacca’s eight minute goal—an excellent piece of opportunism which saw him head the ball past the goalkeeper and tap in to an open net.

It was not a vintage display from Sevilla, per Spanish football writer David Cartlidge, in a game which saw 11 yellow cards and one red for Daniel Carrico, but they got the job done and remain in fourth place in La Liga:

Bacca has been essential to their success this term, the Colombian having scored 10 of Sevilla’s 25 league goals this season—his strike on Sunday briefly taking him level with Lionel Messi’s record before the Barca man’s hat-trick.

Rayo sit 10th after the defeat but could do with finding some more consistent form having lost five of their last seven matches in all competitions.

The final game of Sunday came alive late on as both Granada and Valencia scored in the final 10 minutes to share the spoils at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.

Alberto Saiz/Associated Press

Alavaro Negredo opened the scoring in the 83rd minute with a fine finish for his first league goal since he struck for Manchester City against Newcastle back in January.

It looked as though the visitors had claimed all three points but Isaac Success pounced in the 89th minute to scramble the ball past the keeper and slot home.

The result sees Granada up to 15th in the table while Valencia are now four points behind Sevilla in fifth.

Matchday 14 rounds up on Monday as Eibar host Almeria and Getafe visit Levante.

Saturday Recap

Cristiano Ronaldo Breaks Hat-Trick Record

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

It seems that the records fall on a weekly basis for Cristiano Ronaldo, as the attacker moved forward as the player with the greatest number of La Liga hat-tricks to his name after Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo by 3-0.

CR7 now has an incredible 23 hat-tricks in his career since joining the Galacticos from Manchester United, moving one ahead of the legendary Alfredo di Stefano, as highlighted by Sky Sports.

The Times' Gabriele Marcotti also noted that the feat moves Ronaldo past Alan Shearer in hat-trick terms, accumulated across Europe's five major league competitions:

The victory sees Los Blancos maintain their four-point gap in front of La Liga champions Atletico Madrid—who beat Elche comfortably earlier on Saturday, winning away 2-0.

Atletico's 19-year-old defensive prodigy Jose Maria Gimenez put his side into the lead with a free-kick.

And it was left to Mario Mandzukic to wrap up the points with his team's second goal—securing the points.

There was a shock in the second match of Saturday's schedule, as Athletic Bilbao fell at home to lowly relegation contenders Cordoba.

It was Cordoba's first win since promotion back to La Liga this season, per Sky Sports, and drags the club off the foot of the table.

A strike from Algeria forward Nabil Ghilas was enough to record the historic victory for Cordoba.

The final match of the day was contested by Deportivo, which hosted Malaga. And it was the away side who won the three points with a 1-0 win.

Ronaldo once again has proved why he is so many people's favourite to win the upcoming Ballon D'Or—despite the attacker having a subdued World Cup. To beat Di Stefano's record is a fantastic achievement, but his perpetual battle with Lionel Messi will continue, with the Argentine close to capturing the record himself.

But it certainly will not be CR7's last hat-trick of the season, and he will be looking to further better his numbers as Los Blancos race towards the La Liga title.