La Liga Results 2014 Week 16: Tracking Final Scores, Top Scorers for Matchday 16

La Liga's top contenders for the 2014-15 top scorer's title will have a chance to gain on leader Cristiano Ronaldo in Week 16, as the Portuguese superstar and his Real Madrid teammates won't be playing due to the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.

Barcelona moved to within a point of Los Merengues after a five-goal salvo to destroy lowly Cordoba. It was a great response after the goalless draw with Getafe last week.

In terms of the top scorers race, Lionel Messi added a brace to his respective tally. But he still trails great rival the irrepressible Ronaldo by a whopping 10 goals.

Elsewhere, ex-Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes was left ruing his luck after being denied a win late on. Moyes' Real Sociedad surrendered a stoppage time spot kick to be denied three points in Levante.

Meanwhile, Valencia earned a rare away win thanks to a Paco Alcacer goal in Eibar.

The big game on Sunday saw Atletico Madrid turn in a sensational second half display. Inspired by Antoine Griezmann's hat-trick, the champions scored four goals after the break, winning 4-1 at the New San Mames.

The full schedule for Matchday 16:

Date	Home	Result	Away
Friday, Dec. 19	Celta Vigo	0 - 1	Almeria
Saturday, Dec. 20	Barcelona	5 - 0	Cordoba
Saturday, Dec. 20	Levante	1 - 1	Real Sociedad
Saturday, Dec. 20	Eibar	0 - 1	Valencia
Saturday, Dec. 20	Rayo Vallecano	1 - 3	Espanyol
Sunday, Dec. 21	Villarreal	3 - 0	Deportivo La Coruna
Sunday, Dec. 21	Granada	1 - 1	Getafe
Sunday, Dec. 21	Elche	1 - 2	Malaga
Sunday, Dec. 21	Athletic Bilbao	1 - 4	Atletico Madrid

The current La Liga standings:

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Real Madrid	15	13	0	2	55	13	+42	39
2	Barcelona	16	12	2	2	41	7	+34	38
3	Atletico Madrid	16	11	2	3	31	14	+17	35
4	Valencia	16	9	4	3	29	13	+16	31
5	Sevilla	15	9	3	3	25	17	+8	30
6	Villarreal	16	9	3	4	27	14	+13	30
7	Malaga	16	9	3	4	20	15	+5	30
8	Eibar	16	5	5	6	19	22	-3	20
9	Celta Vigo	16	5	5	6	17	18	-1	20
10	Espanyol	16	5	5	6	20	24	-4	20
11	Athletic Club	16	5	4	7	14	20	-7	19
12	Getafe	16	4	5	7	12	20	-8	17
13	Rayo Vallecano	16	5	2	9	17	31	-14	17
14	Real Sociedad	16	3	6	7	17	22	-5	15
15	Levante	16	3	6	7	12	30	-18	15
16	Almeria	16	3	4	9	13	24	-11	13
17	Granada	16	2	7	7	10	26	-16	13
18	Deportivo La Coruna	16	3	4	9	13	27	-14	13
19	Cordoba	16	1	8	7	11	27	-16	11
20	Elche	16	2	4	10	13	32	-19	10

The list of La Liga's top scorers:

Position	Player	Team	Goals
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	25
2	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	15
3	Neymar	Barcelona	11
4	Carlos Bacca	Sevilla	10
5	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	8
6	Joaquin Larrivey	Celta Vigo	7
6	Gareth Bale	Real Madrid	7
7	Leo Baptistao	Rayo Vallecano	7
7	Alberto Bueno	Rayo Vallecano	6
7	Jonathas	Elche	6

Athletic Club 1-4 Atletico Madrid

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

The champions produced a second half masterclass to win 4-1 at the New San Mames. Athletic Club were leading 1-0 at the break thanks to a goal from Mikel Rico, but a hat-trick from Antoine Griezmann and another goal from Raul Garcia won it for Atletico, who move to within three points of second place Barcelona.

With Real Madrid off on Club World Cup duty, it was vital that Atletico picked up a win this weekend and kept the pressure on the league leaders. But things weren't going to plan in the first half, as Diego Simeone's team struggled to cope with an effervescent Athletic team.

The hosts got their reward for their good play through Rico, who was on hand to head home from close range in the 17th minute. At the break, the hosts looked well in control.

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

What ensued in the second half was Atletico at their best, though, with Griezmann—an unpopular figure in the stadium given his connections with Real Sociedad—running riot in the Athletic defence. The Frenchman loves playing against the Basque side, as noted here by WhoScored.com:

Here's the hat-trick goal, courtesy of The Continental Zone:

This was arguably Atletico's most complete display of the campaign. The second half showcased their abilities in abundance, and after an inconsistent beginning to the defence of their title, this performance at a difficult venue was a wonderful way to end what has been a magnificent year for the champions.

Elche 1-2 Malaga

Malaga picked up their third win in succession, as they came from a goal down to beat Elche. Second half goals from Ignacio Camacho and Luis Alberto cancelled out Lomban's opener just after the break, and this win leaves Los Boquerones on the cusp of the European spots.

Bottom side Elche were looking to end their poor run of recent form, and they did well throughout the first period, nullifying Malaga's array of attacking options. Things got even better for them after the break, when Lomban put them ahead and within sight of their third win of the campaign.

But Malaga showed their resolve, responding within three minutes via Camacho. The midfielder has been pretty prolific from midfield since joining up with the south-coast club, as noted here by OptaJose:

The visitors completed the turnaround with 13 minutes remaining. Alberto—on loan from Liverpool—was brought on as a substitute and he made quite the impact, as noted by Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett:

It's looking bleak for Elche, who will feel a little unlucky not to have come away with anything from that game. But at the moment, they don't quite have enough incision in attacking areas; by contrast, Malaga are flying and will be looking to keep this impetus going when La Liga resumes following the winter break.

Granada 1-1 Getafe

Emiliano Velazquez rescued a point for Getafe, as they drew 1-1 with Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes. 

The host looked set for a vital three points that would have taken them two points clear of the relegation zone following Jhon Cordoba's finely worked first half goal. Here's the opener, courtesy of Hispanospherical:

But Velazquez netted his first goal of the season for Getafe, who moved up into 12 place as a result. As noted here by OptaJose, it was a set-piece goal that has been a long time coming for the visitors:

Both teams will be disappointed with a draw. Getafe are stranded in mid-table and are in desperate need of some momentum to help haul themselves up the table, while Granada will be looking over their shoulder in the weeks to come as they gear up for a relegation scrap in the second half of the campaign.

Villarreal 3-0 Deportivo la Coruna 

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

It's five wins in a row now for Villarreal, who kept up their wonderful recent form with a comfortable home win over Deportivo. A first half goal from Jonathan Dos Santos put the home side ahead, before a second half brace from Luciano Vietto—his sixth and seventh La Liga goals this season—added some gloss to the scoreline.

Vietto has been in excellent form as of late, as noted here by Spanish football writer David Cartlidge:

The win was blemished somewhat by Tomas Pina's red card, but Marcelino's team will be delighted with their sparkling recent form.

Despite not getting on the scoresheet, the standout performer Denis Cheryshev, who tormented the Deportivo back four. The winger has been critical to Villarreal's recent winning run, as noted here by Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com:

After this comfortable win for the hosts, Deportivo find themselves back in the relegation zone. But the Madrigal looks set to be a very difficult venue for any side to pick up points from this season. Villarreal fans may just start dreaming of a return to the Champions League if their players keep this form up for much longer.

Rayo Vallecano 1-3 Espanyol

Saturday's final game saw Rayo Vallecano overwhelmed at home by a quite brilliant performance from Espanyol forward Sergio Garcia. The mercurial attacker was at his quick-witted best to help the Catalan club move into the top 10.

David Ramos/Getty Images

The 31-year-old scored twice and also provided an assist for Lucas Vazquez. The on-loan Real Madrid midfielder's close-range conversion broke a deadlock created by Leo Baptistao's equaliser on the stroke of halftime.

That strike gave Baptistao seven league goals this season. However, as has often been the case, the 22-year-old Brazilian received little support.

Gradually, Espanyol began to control possession. The intelligent Garcia was a consistent menace playing between the lines.

He's been a familiar thorn in Rayo's side for some time:

Eventually, another Garcia masterclass proved too much for Rayo to handle.

Eibar 0-1 Valencia

Rising talent Alcacer was the hero for Valencia when he netted the only goal in a scrappy but welcome away win. Los Che haven't exactly enjoyed things on their travels this season but manager Nuno Espirito Santo will be delighted after seeing his team move up to fourth.

But Santo's young striker won't be the only player to earn plaudits. His decisive scoring chance was supplied by Pablo Piatti.

The tricky Argentine winger has been a prolific source of creativity this season:

This was an important win for Santo's men. So far this season, Valencia have produced some real quality going forward. However, the club has also been guilty of not earning points in tough situations at difficult venues.

Leaving Basque country with three is certainly a major boost to their solid league campaign. Meanwhile, Eibar remain stick in ninth place.

Barcelona 5-0 Cordoba

Messi's brilliance aside, the big story for Barca was Luis Suarez netting his inaugural league goal for the Catalan club. The former Liverpool star has certainly made fans wait, as Opta Jose noted:

Seeing Suarez shine in front of goal is a real cause for optimism for Barca fans. His combination with Messi is a potentially unstoppable one.

Once Suarez, Messi and a fully fit Neymar start to click, manager Luis Enrique's squad will boast a devastating forward line. However, one player in the attacking rotation who won't want to be forgotten is Pedro.

He recently hit a quite stunning hat-trick in Copa del Rey action and followed that with the opener against Cordoba. The 27-year-old is still quick, although not quite as fleet-footed as he once was.

What Pedro does still have is a range of clever and subtle movement. His runs off the ball consistently put him into excellent scoring positions. Having a revived Pedro to supplement his star-studded trio is a major boost for Enrique.

The battle between Barca and Los Blancos this season will be defined by firepower. The latter boasts plenty of that quality thanks to Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez.

But Barca can now credibly claim to match those options.

Levante 1-1 Real Sociedad

Moyes can only wish he possessed similar quality in attacking areas. Actually, he might just wish for a more discerning referee after his side was hit with a controversial late penalty in Levante.

The official AS Twitter feed detailed the contentious incident:

Guardian writer and noted La Liga author Sid Lowe described Moyes' reaction to the decision:

That penalty nullified a composed effort from Sociedad to protect a lead earned by Sergio Canales' goal early in the second half. But Moyes must rue his new team failing to produce some extra ingenuity to pad that lead. Being without Mexican striker Carlos Vela certainly blunted Sociedad going forward.

While the stalemate will no doubt frustrate Sociedad, it's becoming a familiar result for Levante:

Ultimately, neither side benefited from the point gained, both remaining in familiar positions in the table.

Celta Vigo 0-1 Almeria

Juan Ignacio Martinez led Almeria to a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo in his La Liga debut as manager of the club, taking advantage of the Galicians' dreadful run of form to end 2014 on a positive note, via AS English:

Tomer Hemed was gifted the only goal after 17 minutes, as Andreu Fontas tried to chest a ball back to his goalkeeper and horribly overshot his mark. As shared by Hispanospherical, all the Israel international had to do was tap it in:

Celta Vigo hadn't won a single match since their shock win over Barcelona, and the Galicians couldn't even score in their last four losses. Their struggles were once again evident on Friday against Almeria, as they wasted chance after chance.

The hosts had over 75 percent of possession, double-digit shots on goal and were even given a penalty in the second half, but as shared by Matchbook Exchange, Duran Nolito's slump continued:

Almeria were booked for time-wasting on several occasions, but the visitors held firm amid some pressure from Celta throughout the second half. As shared by Sport's Joseph Sexton, they did it all without literally any supporters:

The second half delivered little excitement, apart from the penalty, and in his first La Liga match as manager of Almeria, Martinez was able to celebrate the win. He told reporters that was the plan before the match, via Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp:

"

We’re going to Vigo with the intention of adding points because we desperately need them. The victory in the Copa del Rey has been good for us mentally and although we’re facing a good team in Celta Vigo, we want to end the year on a positive note.

We have to worry more about ourselves than our opponents, but clearly we have to be cautious of them given the potential that they have. I expect a fast-paced game with lots of football being played. We have to be strong to ensure we bring back the three points that we very much want.

"

The fast pace certainly wasn't there on Friday, but Martinez and Almeria won't care one bit. The win sees them climb out of the relegation zone, while Celta Vigo's free-fall continues.