La Liga Table 2015: Updated Standings Following Matchday 19 Results
All of the top clubs vying for the title played and won on Sunday in Week 19 of the 2014-15 La Liga season with defending champions Atletico Madrid beating Granada, league-leaders Real Madrid seeing off Getafe and Barcelona thrashing Deportivo la Coruna.
Los Blancos thus stay top of the La Liga table with a game in hand on their closest rivals, but they will face huge pressure from below as the weeks go on.
Here's the full results schedule for Matchday 19:
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
| Friday, Jan. 16 | Cordoba | 1 - 1 | Eibar |
| Saturday, Jan. 17 | Real Sociedad | 0-1 | Rayo Vallecano |
| Saturday, Jan. 17 | Valencia | 3-2 | Almeria |
| Saturday, Jan. 17 | Villarreal | 2-0 | Athletic Bilbao |
| Saturday, Jan. 17 | Espanyol | 1-0 | Celta Vigo |
| Sunday, Jan. 18 | Getafe | 0-3 | Real Madrid |
| Sunday, Jan. 18 | Atletico Madrid | 2-0 | Granada |
| Sunday, Jan. 18 | Deportivo La Coruna | 0-4 | Barcelona |
| Sunday, Jan. 18 | Elche | 1-0 | Levante |
| Sunday, Jan. 18 | Sevilla | 2-0 | Malaga |
The current La Liga standings:
| 1 | Real Madrid | 18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 15 | 47 | 45 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 19 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 48 | 9 | 39 | 44 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 18 | 19 | 41 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 39 |
| 5 | Valencia | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 35 | 17 | 18 | 38 |
| 6 | Villarreal | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 35 |
| 7 | Malaga | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 31 |
| 8 | Eibar | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 25 | -1 | 27 |
| 9 | Espanyol | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 23 |
| 10 | Rayo Vallecano | 19 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 20 | 33 | -13 | 23 |
| 11 | Celta Vigo | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 21 |
| 12 | Real Sociedad | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 19 |
| 13 | Athletic Bilbao | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 25 | -10 | 19 |
| 14 | Cordoba | 19 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 28 | -13 | 18 |
| 15 | Getafe | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 17 |
| 16 | Elche | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 35 | -17 | 17 |
| 17 | Deportivo La Coruna | 19 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 31 | -17 | 17 |
| 18 | Almeria | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 30 | -13 | 16 |
| 19 | Levante | 19 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 34 | -21 | 16 |
| 20 | Granada | 19 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 31 | -20 | 14 |
Sunday Recap
Lionel Messi bagged a hat-trick for Barcelona as the Camp Nou giants beat Deportivo 4-0 away from home, the Argentinian superstar running the show.
His first was a looping header, his second a deft dink over the keeper and his third a terrifically finished strike from the right-hand side of the box.
Sidnei scored an unfortunate own-goal to complete the rout but it was a fine performance from Barcelona, who look on the up after recent reports of problems.
Indeed, Messi is looking back to his very best despite his supposed recent row with boss Luis Enrique, per La Liga writer Andy West, and the Catalan giants are keeping up the pressure on Real:
Los Blancos themselves were similarly clinical as a Cristiano Ronaldo double and Gareth Bale goal in the second half proved enough to see off Getafe 3-0 away from home.
James Rodriguez provided the assists for goals two and three while Karim Benzema's superb work was largely instrumental in Ronaldo's opener in the 63rd minute.
It has not been the best of starts to 2015 for Real with the loss to Valencia in the league and being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Atleti, but manager Carlo Ancelotti believes his side are moving towards their best, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:
They still sit top of the league—with a game in hand to play against Sevilla—and they can certainly take confidence from a job well done on Sunday.
Atletico moved back up into third with a 2-0 win at home to bottom club Granada, Mario Mandzukic scoring from the penalty spot and Raul Garcia making sure of the points late on for Diego Simeone's side.
It was a decent if unspectacular response to last weekend's loss to Barcelona, and early February presents a key clash for the defending champions against Real Madrid as they pursue back to back titles.
Sevilla were convincing in beating Malaga 2-0 at home with Carlos Bacca opening the scoring for his 11th league strike of the season, per WhoScored.com, and Denis Suarez adding the second in the 68th minute with a wonderful solo effort, per Spanish football expert Sid Lowe:
Sevilla moved back into fourth—just two points back from Atleti—and could play a key role in the La Liga title race when they play against Real for their game in hand in early February at the Bernabeu.
The final La Liga game of the weekend saw two relegation-threatened sides go head to head with Elche edging 10-man Levante—David Navarro saw red after six minutes—courtesy of a 12th-minute Jonathas goal.
Saturday Recap
Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to score the winner for Valencia on Saturday as Los Che beat Almeria 3-2 in an entertaining encounter at the Mestalla.
The hosts took the lead twice in the first half through goals from Dani Parejo and Rodrigo Moreno, but Tomer Hemed’s double meant Almeria went in level at half time.
Valencia had a whole string of chances after the break but could not take the lead once more and looked to be heading for a frustrating draw.
However, Negredo—playing against his former club—came up with the goods in the 83rd minute, towering above two defenders to head home Jose Luis Gaya’s lofted cross from the left.
Almeria wasted a late opportunity to potentially claim an equaliser, per Spanish football expert Sid Lowe, but Valencia were deserving of their win and move above Atletico into third ahead of the champions’ Sunday game:
Atheltic Bilbao’s miserable form continued as they lost a fourth consecutive league game, going down 2-0 to sixth-placed Villarreal at El Madrigal.
Denis Cheryshev bagged the opener just before half time—finishing well on an angle having beaten the keeper with fine movement and pace—and Bruno Soriano netted the second from the penalty spot with seven minutes remaining.
Athletic showed little to suggest they may turn their rotten season around and they currently sit on 19 points in 13th position, an historically pitiful haul at this stage of the season for the Bilbao outfit, per Opta:
David Moyes’ Real Sociedad failed to win for the fourth consecutive game in all competitions as they were downed 1-0 at home by Rayo Vallecano.
Striker Manucho bagged the only goal of the game with nine minutes remaining, the Angolan’s powerful downward header from a corner evading a stretching Geronimo Rulli and nestling in the back of the net.
The victory sees Rayo move up into 10th while La Real stay in 12th, only three points above the relegation zone.
Saturday’s final La Liga game saw a mid-table clash between Espanyol and Celta de Vigo in Barcelona with the hosts claiming a 1-0 win courtesy of a 90th minute Felipe Caicedo winner.
The loss for Celta means they are now without a win in the league in nine matches and they need to pick up a victory soon to avoid slipping further down the standings.
Friday Recap
Cordoba and Eibar played out a 1-1 draw on Friday in a match filled with strange moments, including the fastest La Liga goal of the season and two red cards within 60 seconds of each other.
The visitors couldn't have started the match any worse, giving up the fastest goal of the 2014-15 La Liga campaign due to a massive defensive lapse.
Florin Andone was given a clear path through on goal and took full advantage, scoring after just 9.8 seconds. According to MisterChip (English), it's the fourth-fastest goal in the history of the Spanish top division:
It was also the second-fastest goal across all top leagues on the continent, via OptaJose:
Eibar were understandably shell-shocked by the early deficit and needed some time to get into a rhythm, allowing Cordoba to sit back and defend their lead.
The hosts came into the match having won two straight and put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone. Eibar, arguably the most surprising team of the season, couldn't afford to drop any points against Cordoba in their quest to secure Europa League football.
A handful of chances yielded no results, however, and Cordoba held onto their lead until the end of the first half, via AS English:
Eibar tried to force the action in the second half and appeared to be drawing close to an equaliser, but an odd sequence of events one again disrupted their rhythm. Eduard Campabadal was given his marching orders for his second bookable offence, but Federico Piovaccari saw the red card as well within 60 seconds.
La Liga Time questioned the referee's decision:
"Two red cards in 1 minute. One for Córdoba, one for Eibar. That’s Mr Teixeira Vitienes with the whistle.
— La Liga Time (@laligatime) January 16, 2015"
Spaces soon started opening up, and the visitors deservedly grabbed an equaliser in the 73rd minute through Mikel Arruabarrena.
Eibar pushed for a second goal but couldn't grab a late winner, as the match ended 1-1.
Cordoba manager Miroslav Djukic knew it would be difficult for his side to take their winning streak to three matches coming into the fixture, as reported by Inside Spanish Football's Heath Chesters:
"We’re facing a team who always know what they have to do, know their strongest points and make the best use of them. They do everything well and to compete against them, you have to play with patience, waiting for the right moment. We need to have a perfect game, with a lot of patience and when the chances materialise, make the most of them.
"
The result sees Cordoba increase their lead over the teams in the relegation zone to two points, while Eibar now trail Sevilla by five, with the former hosting Malaga on Sunday.
