La Liga Table 2014: Updated Standings Following Matchday 16 Results

La Liga leaders Real Madrid and Sevilla won't be in action in Week 16, but the rest of the league will take to the Spanish pitches for the final time in 2014 hoping to finish the year on a winning note.

Los Blancos are in Morocco for the FIFA Club World Cup, and Barcelona took the opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings with a 5-0 thrashing of Cordoba.

Valencia eked out a 1-0 win over Eibar, while Real Sociedad played out a draw against Levante. Atletico Madrid came from behind to beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 on Sunday, finishing off Week 16. The full results:

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:

Pos	Team	PL	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	Villarreal	16	9	3	4	27	14	13	30
6	Sevilla	15	9	3	3	25	17	8	30
7	Malaga	16	9	3	4	20	15	5	30
8	Celta Vigo	16	5	5	6	17	18	-1	20
9	Eibar	16	5	5	6	19	22	-3	20
10	Espanyol	16	5	5	6	20	24	-4	20
11	Athletic Bilbao	16	5	4	7	14	20	-6	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	Deportivo La Coruna	16	3	4	9	13	27	-14	13
18	Granada	16	2	7	7	10	26	-16	13
19	Cordoba	16	1	8	7	11	27	-16	11
20	Elche	16	2	4	10	13	32	-19	10

Sunday Recap.

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Atletico Madrid finished the year on a winning note, rolling past Athletic Bilbao 4-1 despite trailing at half-time.

Athletic Bilbao took an early lead thanks to Mikel Rico and played well in the first half, as the visitors didn't muster much danger. Playing a very deep defensive line, the Basques were free to dictate play, despite holding the lead.

The score was 1-0 going into half-time, but as shared by ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan, a one-goal lead was hardly cause to celebrate for the hometown fans:

The second half turned into the Antoine Griezmann show, with the France international tying things up within minutes of the re-start. The former Real Sociedad star rose highest on an excellent cross and found the target, via The Continental Zone:

Spending the past several seasons playing for Basque rivals Sociedad, Griezmann has been a thorn in the side of Bilbao, per OptaJose:

Atletico were given a penalty minutes later for the slightest of touches inside the box, and Raul Garcia didn't fail from 12 yards out.

The hosts clearly started getting frustrated at this point, and Iker Muniain took out his anger with a ridiculous flying stamp on Jose Gimenez. While the latter screamed in agony, Muniain somehow was let off with a simple booking.

As this image from La casa del futbol shows, that was clearly the wrong decision:

Corrigan also had difficulty understanding the decision:

Griezmann made it 3-1 on the counter-attack to put the match to bed, and he completed his hattrick with 10 minutes left to play.

Earlier in the day, Villarreal easily beat Deportivo la Coruna 3-0 to stay right on the heels of Valencia, with talented youngster Luciano Dario Vietto bagging another brace. Manager Marcelino told reporters he's happy with his performances but that he has to be careful, via Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp:

"

You have to be careful with young players because they have lot of growing ahead of them. Despite our form, the team needs a break given that. We’ve been working at our maximum for four months now and this rest is very much welcomed.

"

Granada and Getafe played out a 1-1 draw, while Malaga came back from a one-goal deficit to beat Elche 2-1.

Saturday Recap

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Barcelona took advantage of the fact Real Madrid would not be playing this week, beating Cordoba 5-0 to close the gap at the top of the La Liga standings to just a single point.

Lionel Messi finished the year with a brace, taking his overall record to 58 goals, according to Sergi Dominguez:

Pedro ensured the hosts would have an easy afternoon by opening the score inside two minutes, his fourth goal in the past two matches. He also provided Luis Suarez with the 2-0, as the Uruguay international scored his first ever goal in La Liga.

Football Vines shared the historical moment when Suarez nutmegged Juan Carlos:

"

Luis Suarez scores his first ever La Liga goal for Barcelona http://t.co/lWBhRz1KNr

— Football Vines (@FootballVines) December 20, 2014"

Cordoba hardly ever threatened the Blaugrana, who cruised to an easy win and added three more goals in the final 10 minutes. First Gerard Pique headed home from a free-kick, before Messi worked his magic.

As shared by this fan, his touch on the last goal was truly impeccable:

"

Messi's 2nd goal but look at his touch. https://t.co/xSnBBt8IXp

— ❤️=⚽️ (@Total_Futbol_) December 20, 2014"

After the match, Pedro commented on his scoring drought recently ending before confirming he plans to stay with the Catalans for the foreseeable future, per Barcastuff:

"

Pedro: "Happy with the job today, a pity of last weekend's draw. Another goal? I was calm, I knew the goals would come." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) December 20, 2014"

"

Pedro: "Rumours in England about Arsenal interest? It's just paper talk. I want to stay and have a great year at Barça." #fcblive

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) December 20, 2014"

David Moyes and Real Sociedad gave up a lead in the final minute to draw Levante 1-1, after a penalty goal from Andreas Ivanschitz wiped out the opening goal from Sergio Canales.

Football author and La Liga expert Sid Lowe didn't fully agree with the decision:

The result means Moyes still hasn't won a match with La Real away from the Basque Country, and more will be expected from the club in 2015.

Paco Alcacer scored the only goal in Valencia's 1-0 win over Eibar, a match that quickly spiraled out of control, leading to numerous bookings for the hosts.

As shared by this fan, Valencia were lucky to take the lead, as the ball fell to Alcacer following a wicked deflection:

"

Half-time #eibarVCF 0-1. Lucky goal by Paco Alcácer is the only difference in a terrible 1st half. https://t.co/1LK7vJo5vf

— Michael Jacobsen (@VCF_Nordic) December 20, 2014"

Sergio Garcia scored twice  and Lucas Vazquez added another to give Espanyol a 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano, where Leo Baptistao continued his fine season with another strike. 

Friday Recap

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

New Almeria manager Juan Ignacio Martinez finished the year with a win in his La Liga debut, beating slumping Celta Vigo 1-0 in Galicia.

As shared by AS English, Martinez tripled the amount of points Almeria had grabbed in their last eight matches in one night:

Celta Vigo haven't won a single match since their shock upset over Barcelona at the Camp Nou at the start of November, and they have now gone scoreless in six consecutive matches after a hot start to the season.

Friday's performance was more of the same from the Galicians—dominance on the ball, plenty of looks on goal and a handful of individual blunders that ultimately resulted in a loss.

This is how defender Andreu Fontas gifted Israel international Tomer Hemed the only goal of the match after 19 minutes, via Hispanospherical:

"

GOAL! No idea what the Celta defender is doing here. Tommer Hemed gives Almería the lead: https://t.co/225PrC6yAG (Via:@ElEcoFutbolero)

— Hispanospherical (@DarrenSpherical) December 19, 2014"

The hosts finished the match with an incredible 72 percent possession, registering double-digit shots and corner kicks. Even when the official put the ball on the penalty spot, Celta couldn't catch a break, with Duran Nolito missing, per Matchbook Exchange:

Almeria parked the bus for the final 45 minutes and were carded for time-wasting on several occasions, and no matter what Celta tried, they couldn't penetrate the visitors' double wall.

The match nearly spiraled out of control in the final minutes, with two separate incidents leading to a flurry of yellow cards, but after five minutes of extra time, Almeria were able to celebrate their first win in La Liga since September.

As for Celta, Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp perhaps put it best:

Almeria had been conceding goals at an alarming rate before the appointment of Martinez, and the new manager emphasised the fact the club had to look at themselves ahead of Friday's match, not their opponents, per Inside Spanish Football's Kemp:

"

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.

Defensive solidity is one of the keys for us but that doesn’t mean we’re going to shut up shop completely. We have to be effective at both ends because I know we’re capable of it.

"

If Martinez didn't want to "shut up shop completely," he failed miserably on Friday. Almeria parked the bus and got very lucky a slumping Celta squad couldn't take advantage of the acres of space they were given.

Almeria couldn't care less, however, as the win sees them exit the relegation zone and gives them plenty to celebrate heading into the holiday period.