La Liga Table 2014: Updated Standings Following Matchday 15 Results
Real Madrid opened Week 15 of the 2014-15 La Liga season with a difficult but ultimately comfortable 4-1 win over Almeria, ensuring they'll travel to the World Club Cup as leaders in Spain.
Barcelona were unable to keep the pressure on their great rivals, however, as Getafe held Luis Enrique's team to a 0-0 draw.
The Basque derby between David Moyes' Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao will undoubtedly steal the headlines this week, and Deportivo La Coruna and Elche will close things out on Monday. The full schedule for Matchday 15:
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| Friday, Dec. 12 | Almeria | 1 - 4 | Real Madrid |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Getafe | 0 - 0 | Barcelona |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Valencia | 3 - 0 | Rayo Vallecano |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Cordoba | 0 - 0 | Levante |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Malaga | 1 - 0 | Celta Vigo |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Espanyol | 2 - 1 | Granada |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Sevilla | 0 - 0 | Eibar |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Atletico Madrid | 0 - 1 | Villarreal |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Real Sociedad | 1 - 1 | Athletic Bilbao |
| Monday, Dec. 15 | Deportivo La Coruna | 1-0 | Elche |
The current La Liga standings:
| 1 | Real Madrid | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 13 | 42 | 39 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 7 | 29 | 35 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 32 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 30 |
| 5 | Valencia | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 13 | 15 | 28 |
| 6 | Villarreal | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 27 |
| 7 | Malaga | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 27 |
| 8 | Celta Vigo | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 20 |
| 9 | Eibar | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 20 |
| 10 | Athletic Bilbao | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 19 |
| 11 | Espanyol | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 17 |
| 12 | Rayo Vallecano | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 28 | -12 | 17 |
| 13 | Getafe | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 16 |
| 14 | Real Sociedad | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 21 | -5 | 14 |
| 15 | Levante | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 29 | -18 | 14 |
| 16 | Deportivo La Coruna | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 24 | -11 | 13 |
| 17 | Granada | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 25 | -16 | 12 |
| 18 | Cordoba | 15 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 22 | -11 | 11 |
| 18 | Almeria | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 24 | -12 | 10 |
| 20 | Elche | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 30 | -18 | 10 |
Sunday Recap
Atletico Madrid were beaten at the Vicente Calderon for the first time since 2013, losing 1-0 to Villarreal. Argentine youngster and former Diego Simeone prodigy Luciano Vietto scored the only goal, turning Diego Godin around before finishing expertly.
The Yellow Submarine did an excellent job stonewalling the Atleti for 90 minutes, not allowing the hosts any space to operate in. Eyeing the counter-attack, Villarreal executed perfectly. As shared by BeIN Sports' David Cartlidge, it was almost poetic Vietto was the one to break the deadlock:
This fan shared the Vine:
Atletico had a goal ruled out for a foul in the buildup and hardly ever threatened otherwise, and ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan noticed the home fans reacted to the loss more on shock and confusion than anger:
As shared by OptaJose, the defending champions hadn't lost a match at the Calderon since May of 2013:
Speaking to reporters after the match, Simeone displayed a lot of class, congratulating Vietto on his wonderful goal. Per Football Espana, he said:
"I'm happy for Luciano Vietto. I only speak of the match because I'm only aware of the game. The match was even, with chances for both teams. He who took more risks had more chance of winning.
The match was decided by a goal from Vietto and I'm happy for him, even though we went a year without losing here [before his goal].
Maybe in the last 20 minutes there was some degree of imbalance. They also scored a nice goal on the counterattack, so we must congratulate our opponents and prepare for the next game.
"
Espanyol beat Granada thanks to a last-minute goal from Christian Stuani, taking advantage of a man advantage after Juan Carlos had been dismissed for the visitors.
Sevilla failed to take advantage of Atletico's loss and leap over the defending champions in the standings, playing out a drab goalless draw against Eibar.
Carlos Vela opened the score after just three minutes for David Moyes' Real Sociedad in the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao, and via OptaJose, the fact the Mexican international was the man to find the back of the net shouldn't come as a huge surprise:
Oscar de Marcos tied things up after 61 minutes, however, ensuring the spoils would be shared in the Basque derby.
Elche and Deportivo La Coruna will wrap up Week 15 when they meet on Monday.
Saturday Recap
Real Madrid have a four-point lead atop of the La Liga standings after Barcelona toiled to a 0-0 draw with Getafe. Despite dominating possession at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, the Blaugrana were unable to make a breakthrough, as Lionel Messi, Pedro and Luis Suarez all drew blanks.
It was the genial Argentina forward who came closest for the visitors, as his second half free-kick cannoned off the crossbar with Vicente Guaita well beaten in the Getafe goal. But in addition to that chance, the Nou Camp club spurned a glut of opportunities and will undoubtedly see this as two points dropped.
This infographic, courtesy of barcastuff, provides us with a frustrating insight into the Catalonians' afternoon:
"Infographic: Shots Getafe and Barcelona today #fcblive [via @noticiasfcb1899] pic.twitter.com/wg4fKh3Q89
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) December 13, 2014"
Indeed, the Bluagrana could have actually lost this one had it none been for a superb fingertip saved from Claudio Bravo, per BleedBarca:
"Claudio Bravo save @barcastuff https://t.co/Vy2uAx3NtX
— . (@BleedBarca) December 13, 2014"
A win here and a win at home to Cordoba next week would have ensured that Barca were top on Christmas day. But that accolade is beyond them after this dreary stalemate, and Madrid will return from the Club World Cup in Morocco with their status as league leaders intact.
While Barca dominated the ball and had a whopping 23 shots, Xavi admitted that after the progress this team has made in recent weeks, this was a step back, per BBC Sport:
"There is a long way to go still but it's a step backwards.
It was the kind of game we usually cope with but if we don't break the deadlock things get tricky. We have a lot of good goalscorers up front but today the ball didn't want to go in.
"
The same cannot be said of Valencia, who blitzed Rayo Vallecano with a devastating 23-minute spell to win 3-0 at the Mestalla. They scored all three goals during that window, as a Sofiane Feghouli brace and a strike from Pablo Piatti ensured the game was all but over at the half time interval.
Algerian international Feghouli was the undoubted star man for Los Che, as his direct dribbling and clever movement caused no end of problems for Rayo. He showcased a scarcely seen aerial prowess too, as he headed home Antonio Barragan's sumptuous cross to put Valencia ahead, per La Liga Time:
"GOAL! Feghouli puts Valencia in front with a great header. Valencia 1-0 Rayo Vallecano: https://t.co/QjB3QUwzaS
— La Liga Time (@laligatime) December 13, 2014"
The only blemish on the night for Valencia was the a card for Andre Gomes, although replays did indicate that the decision was a little harsh on the midfielder. Nonetheless, the home side kept their three-goal cushion intact and moved to within one point of fourth place Sevilla with this victory.
Following the Valencia game was a clash between Cordoba and Levante, and while the 0-0 stalemate wasn't a game for the purists, it was certainly an important result for the former of the pairing, as noted here by AS:
In the final game of the day, Malaga beat Celta Vigo in a tight contest at La Rosaleda Stadium. Both sides had plenty of opportunities in this one, but were rather profligate in front of goal. With that in mind, Malaga will be thankful Samuel brought his shooting boots, as it was his his 21st minute strike that saw the hosts take a well earned victory, leapfrogging Villarreal into sixth place in the table.
Friday Recap
Real Madrid beat Almeria 4-1 to start Week 15 on Friday, but the score was far more lopsided than the actual play on the pitch. Almeria pushed Los Blancos to the very limit for large stretches of the game, conceding two avoidable goals in the final minutes.
The hosts were actually the better team until Isco gave Real the lead with a fantastic solo effort, cutting inside before curling the ball past Ruben Martinez. The Vine, courtesy of Bleacher Report UK:
Isco's strike was stunning, but it paled in comparison to Verza's, who tied things up just minutes later:
Gareth Bale gave Real a 2-1 lead going into half-time with a well-placed header, beating the offside trap with a perfectly timed run.
Almeria showed no fear whatsoever in the second half and were awarded a penalty after Marcelo tripped up Edgar Antonio Mendez.
The Brazil international was already on a yellow card and should have been dismissed earlier after a blatant hand-ball, and when the official reached for the card, it seemed Real's push for 20 straight wins would be come even more complicated.
Inexplicably, the official allowed Asier Illarramendi to talk him into giving the midfielder the yellow card instead of Marcelo, allowing him to stay on the pitch. To make matters worse for the hosts, Iker Casillas produced this fine stop to deny Verza his second goal of the night:
Almeria pushed for the equaliser but were punished on the counter-attack, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice in quick succession. First, he played in Karim Benzema, who offered the ball back so the Portugal international could finish on an open goal.
Minutes later, Dani Carvajal found Ronaldo with a smart cross, and the Ballon d'Or favourite blasted home from close range. As shared by Squawka Football, his scoring record this season defies all logic:
Bale and Marcelo could have heaped more misery on Almeria's back four, who suddenly couldn't stop anything, but Ruben twice came up with excellent saves to keep the score 4-1 until the final whistle.
As shared by The Ancelotti Way, manager Carlo Ancelotti sounded confident ahead of the upcoming World Club Cup:
"Ancelotti: "We will go to Marocco with full confidence. I think the CWC starts at the perfect moment for us."
— The Ancelotti Way (@TheAncelottiWay) December 12, 2014"
Real Madrid have now won 20 matches in a row, an incredible streak, and on current form, it's hard to see anyone stopping Los Blancos from winning the La Liga title this season.
Barcelona will have a chance to keep pace on Saturday, when they travel to play Getafe.
