La Liga Results 2015 Week 18: Tracking Final Scores, Top Scorers for Matchday 18
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will collide in Catalan country on Sunday in what should be La Liga's highlight fixture of Week 18, with both teams hoping to assume Real Madrid's place atop the summit.
Los Merengues recently ended their 22-match winning streak with defeat at Valencia last Sunday, following up with a second successive loss on Wednesday against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey.
Barca and Atleti, currently level on points, will sense now may be their best opportunity to make a surge on the throne, but only one will be able to take top spot.
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We provide an up-to-date look at Week 18's fixtures, along with a breakdown of the top scorers as we edge toward the second half of the 2014-15 campaign.
| Friday, Jan. 9 | 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET | Levante | 0 - 0 | Deportivo La Coruna |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET | Real Madrid | 3 - 0 | Espanyol |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | 5 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET | Malaga | 1 - 1 | Villarreal |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | 7 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET | Celta Vigo | 1 - 1 | Valencia |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | 9 p.m. GMT/4 p.m. ET | Eibar | 2 - 1 | Getafe |
| Sunday, Jan. 11 | 4 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET | Athletic Bilbao | 1 - 2 | Elche |
| Sunday, Jan. 11 | 4 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET | Almeria | 2 - 0 | Sevilla |
| Sunday, Jan. 11 | 6 p.m. GMT/1 p.m. ET | Granada | 1 - 1 | Real Sociedad |
| Sunday, Jan. 11 | 8 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. ET | Barcelona | 3 - 1 | Atletico Madrid |
| Monday, Jan. 12 | 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET | Rayo Vallecano | 0-1 | Cordoba |
| 1 | Real Madrid | 17 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 59 | 15 | 44 | 42 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 44 | 9 | 35 | 41 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 35 | 18 | 17 | 38 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 17 | 11 | 36 |
| 5 | Valencia | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 15 | 17 | 35 |
| 6 | Villarreal | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 32 |
| 7 | Malaga | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 31 |
| 8 | Eibar | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 26 |
| 9 | Celta Vigo | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 21 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 29 | -8 | 20 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 33 | -14 | 20 |
| 12 | Real Sociedad | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 23 | -4 | 19 |
| 13 | Athletic Bilbao | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 19 |
| 14 | Getafe | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 17 |
| 15 | Cordoba | 18 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 17 |
| 16 | Deportivo La Coruna | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 17 |
| 17 | Almeria | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 16 |
| 18 | Levante | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 33 | -20 | 16 |
| 19 | Elche | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 35 | -18 | 14 |
| 20 | Granada | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 29 | -18 | 14 |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 26 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 16 |
| 3 | Neymar | Barcelona | 12 |
| 4 | Carlos Bacca | Sevilla | 10 |
| 5 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 8 |
| 5 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 8 |
| 5 | Luciano Vietto | Villarreal | 8 |
| 5 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | 8 |
| 9 | Joaquin Larrivey | Celta Vigo | 7 |
| 9 | Leo Baptistao | Rayo Vallecano | 7 |
Sunday Recap
Barcelona beat defending champion Atletico Madrid in a highly entertaining clash at the Camp Nou on Sunday, temporarily silencing any concerns regarding a crisis at the club.
The match was marred by a series of poor decisions from the official. Jose Gimenez inexplicably didn't see a red card for a horrendous challenge on Neymar that left the Brazil international bloodied, while Luis Suarez's goal was preceded by a clear handball from Lionel Messi.
Sport Witness agreed the official was having a nightmare evening:
Neymar had given the lead to the hosts and created the team's second as well, thanks to a beautiful run which freed up Suarez just before half-time. ESPN FC's Lee Roden was impressed:
"Neymar's movement for Suarez goal brilliant. Gets better every time you see it.
— Lee Roden (@LeeRoden89) January 11, 2015"
Atletico pulled one back early in the second half after another howler from the official, giving the defending champions a penalty after a clear dive from Jesus Gamez. Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez had to admit the dive was very convincing, though:
The match became chippy and saw multiple incidents—as well as Fernando Torres' return to the Camp Nou—exactly the kind of atmosphere one would expect from a major clash between title favourites.
Messi scored with less than five minutes left on the clock to salvage the final result for the Blaugrana, who move within one point of league-leaders Real Madrid following the result.
Sevilla scored twice in five minutes to beat Almeria, moving back into fourth position and keeping track with the favourites for the La Liga title, via Sport English:
David Moyes and Real Sociedad played out a 1-1 draw against Granada, and unsurprisingly, Mexico international Carlos Vela was the one doing the scoring for the Basques.
As shared by OptaJose, Vela has been lights out since Moyes was appointed manager:
The result means Sociedad have still lost only a single match since appointing the former Manchester United man, although more will have been expected from a head-to-head against Granada.
Defensively, the Basques look solid, but they still rely on Vela too much in front of goal. AS English agree:
Athletic Bilbao's nightmare 2014-15 campaign continued with another disappointing loss, this time at home against Elche. The Basques sit just five points above the relegation zone one year after finishing in the Champions League spots, and one has to wonder how much longer the club board will be willing to put up with these bad results.
Saturday Recap
Real Madrid bounced back from consecutive losses to record a 3-0 win over Espanyol, ensuring they will end Week 18 of the 2014-15 La Liga season at the top of the standings.
James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale and Nacho Fernandez all scored for the hosts, who were in complete control for 90 minutes against their Catalan opponents. Los Blancos spent the majority of the second half with 10 men on the pitch, after Fabio Coentrao was given a harsh red card.
Rodriguez had opened the scoring after 12 minutes before Bale scored a fantastic free kick from long range, angling it in off the post. As shared by OptaJose, he's been La Liga's most accurate free-kick specialist since making the move to the Spanish capital:
Coentrao was then dismissed for what appeared to be a 50-50 challenge in midfield, and while he certainly took a big risk, most pundits agreed the offense was never worthy of a red card. Goal's Ben Hayward was among them:
Real refused to let the dismissal affect them, however, continuing their fine play and adding a third goal through Nacho.
After a Liga loss against Valencia and the 2-0 defeat against city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, Los Blancos were in dire need of a positive result on Saturday.
The team answered the call in a big way, but manager Carlo Ancelotti wasn't smiling after the match. As shared by the club's official Twitter feed, he was very displeased with Coentrao's sending-off:
Valencia couldn't build on their big win in Week 17, managing just a draw at Celta Vigo. Rodrigo gave the visitors a lead just before half-time but the Galicians battled back and deservedly grabbed a point, courtesy of Fabian Orellana.
The goal ended an incredible scoring drought for the hosts, per OptaJose:
Malaga and Villarreal have been sitting right next to each other in the standings all season, and they predictably played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Jonathan dos Santos and Nordin Amrabat provided the goals in an entertaining match, and following Valencia's draw, the race for the final Champions League ticket and the rest of the European spots is shaping up to be a great one.
Eibar continued their fine season with a 2-1 win over Getafe, separating themselves from the rest of the pack behind the teams fighting for the European slots.
Friday Recap
Deportivo La Coruna walked away from the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia with a point on Friday after holding Levante to a 0-0 stalemate in a clash of relegation candidates.
As a result, the two teams remain separated by just a single point, but are each now that much further away from La Liga's drop zone as Almeria slip below them into 17th.
Coming into Friday's fixture, Depor may well have taken a goalless draw if it were offered to them, but in truth, the travelling outfit could be considered unfortunate not to have taken a win.
Per WhoScored.com, Levante had nine of the total 22 shots at goal but couldn't find the target with any, while Depor managed to do so on six occasions.
As OptaJose confirmed, it's the fourth match in succession in which the Frogs have failed to register a shot on goal, giving some idea as to where any January recruitment pledge should be aimed:
Having said that, however, the back line needs work, too, with bottom side Elche the only outfit to have conceded more goals than them this season.
There was a penalty call in the first half as an Isaac Cuenca cross appeared to thud the arm of David Navarro, but the winger had no sympathy from referee Perez Montero.
The first half ended with just the two shots on target and the second period didn't bring about a boost in goalmouth action, either.
Levante will take subtle joy in now having gone three unbeaten at home, drawing each time, but even more positively managing to keep their first home clean sheet of the campaign.
