La Liga Table 2015: Updated Standings Following Matchday 21 Results
Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the La Liga table on Saturday as they beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Bernabeu.
Los Blancos now sit one point above Barcelona and play their game in hand against Sevilla on Wednesday.
Barca emerged victorious from Week 21's marquee fixture against Villarreal, winning 3-2 after a spectacular match.
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Here are the latest standings and the up-to-date results for Matchday 21:
| 1 | Real Madrid | 20 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 68 | 17 | +51 | 51 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 21 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 57 | 11 | +46 | 50 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 21 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 43 | 20 | +23 | 47 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 42 |
| 5 | Valencia | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 38 | 19 | +19 | 41 |
| 6 | Villarreal | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 38 |
| 7 | Malaga | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 35 |
| 8 | Eibar | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 29 | -4 | 27 |
| 9 | Espanyol | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 32 | -5 | 26 |
| 10 | Celta Vigo | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 23 | -3 | 24 |
| 11 | Rayo Vallecano | 21 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 22 | 38 | -16 | 23 |
| 12 | Athletic Bilbao | 21 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 26 | -8 | 23 |
| 13 | Real Sociedad | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 21 | 28 | -7 | 22 |
| 14 | Deportivo La Coruna | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 34 | -16 | 21 |
| 15 | Getafe | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 29 | -13 | 20 |
| 16 | Almeria | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 33 | -15 | 19 |
| 17 | Cordoba | 21 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 31 | -15 | 18 |
| 18 | Granada | 21 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 33 | -19 | 18 |
| 19 | Elche | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 42 | -24 | 17 |
| 20 | Levante | 21 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 37 | -24 | 16 |
| Friday, Jan. 30 | 7.45 p.m. | Rayo Vallecano | Deportivo La Coruna | 1-2 |
| Saturday, Jan. 31 | 3 p.m. | Real Madrid | Real Sociedad | 4-1 |
| Saturday, Jan. 31 | 5 p.m. | Eibar | Atletico Madrid | 1-3 |
| Saturday, Jan. 31 | 7 p.m. | Granada | Elche | 1-0 |
| Saturday, Jan. 31 | 9 p.m. | Celta Vigo | Cordoba | 1-0 |
| Sunday, Feb. 1 | 11 a.m. | Levante | Athletic Bilbao | 0-2 |
| Sunday, Feb. 1 | 4 p.m. | Almeria | Getafe | 1-0 |
| Sunday, Feb. 1 | 6 p.m. | Sevilla | Espanyol | 3-2 |
| Sunday, Feb. 1 | 8 p.m. | Barcelona | Villarreal | 3-2 |
| Monday, Feb. 2 | 7:45 p.m. | Malaga | Valencia | 1-0 |
| Wednesday, Feb. 4 | 7:45 p.m. | Real Madrid | Sevilla |
Monday Recap
Malaga recorded their first La Liga win of 2015 with a close-run 1-0 victory over Valencia, bringing an end to Los Che's seven-match unbeaten streak in the process.
It was Nuno Espirito Santo's men who started as the more threatening of the two teams, but it wasn't long before the Anchovies not only got as foothold in the fixture, but took the lead through 20-year-old Samu Castillejo.
It wasn't long after assuming the lead that Javi Guerra—on loan from Cardiff City—came agonisingly close to doubling the hosts' lead, per Spanish newspaper AS, but the striker fired straight at Valencia stopper Diego Alves:
In an end-to-end clash, both teams had chances at goal, as shown by WhoScored.com, but it was Malaga who trotted in at half time with a lead to their name:
Valencia were far from their most domineering, but given the slight margin by which the two teams were separated, the visitors couldn't be ruled out of the tie at any point.
However, Malaga were given a reprieve when in the 77th minute, Joao Cancelo showed rah judgement to earn his second caution with a boisterous shoulder charge:
From there, the Andalusian hosts were better-equipped to deal with any pressure, OptaJose drawing on Malaga's impressive record when taking leading positions this season:
Malaga and Valencia remain seventh and fifth, respectively, in spite of the result, but Javi Gracia's side are now just three points off a place in the top six, seven points off fourth-spot Sevilla.
Sunday Recap
Barcelona twice had to come from behind to beat Villarreal 3-2 on Sunday, closing the gap atop the La Liga standings to just one point, with Real Madrid facing Sevilla in midweek.
The Yellow Submarine gave Barcelona all they could handle, taking the lead twice through Denis Cheryshev and Luciano Dario Vietto. As shared by AS English, the second goal came courtesy of some horrific defending from Gerard Pique:
Neymar had tied things up in between those two goals, and Villarreal gifted Barcelona their second equaliser as well, with Rafinha converting within minutes of Vietto's goal, per AS' Nicholas Rigg:
Lionel Messi gave the hosts their first lead of the match with a fantastic curling shot from outside the box before the hour mark, and the Catalans locked things down afterwards, defending against a valiant but inexperienced Villarreal squad.
Luis Suarez once again impressed with another solid display up front for the Blaugrana. While some fans may point to his lack of goals for his new club, he remains an incredibly useful player who is showing his abilities as a passer at the Camp Nou. With Neymar and Messi finishing at such a high level, the system works to perfection.
ESPN FC's Miguel Delaney has been very impressed with the four-time Ballon d'Or winner of late:
Athletic Bilbao are slowly making up for their horrible start to the 2014-15 campaign and continued their upwards curve on Sunday, beating Levante 2-0. Aritz Aduriz scored both goals for the Basques.
Manager Ernesto Valverde told reporters how badly his team needed this win, via Inside Spanish Football's Tom Conn:
"I hope that with this victory, the winds have changed for this team because we’ve been looking for it for quite some time. With the win, it was difficult to play and on top of that, Levante tightened up a lot in the first half. We had a good chance with Muniain, but they also took advantage of their opportunities and created problems for us.
"
Sevilla needed a last-minute winner from Iago Aspas to get past Espanyol 3-2, after Victor Sanchez Mata had equalised for the Catalans midway through the second half.
The hosts needed to win to jump over Valencia in the standings ahead of their match on Monday night, locked in a fierce battle for the Champions League play-off spot. Francisco Casilla Cortes saw red for the visitors early, and Sevilla simply couldn't afford to miss out on the opportunity to grab the win.
It took a late effort from Aspas to do so, with the on-loan star evading the offside trap before slotting home. David Cartlidge of beIN Sports thought the Liverpool man was the top performer on the pitch:
Almeria beat Getafe 1-0 in the other match on Sunday. Valencia will visit Malaga on Monday to conclude Matchday 21.
Saturday Recap
Karim Benzema was the main man for Real in the absence of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday, the Frenchman bagging a brace against Real Sociedad.
David Moyes' men got off to a flying start as Aritz Elustondo headed home inside a minute, only for James Rodriguez to equalise minutes later, heading in Marcelo's terrific cross.
Sergio Ramos then gave Real the lead before half-time and Benzema added a double after the break, Real's fourth a magnificent curler from the 27-year-old, a strike even he branded as exceptional, per AS:
Atletico Madrid had a similarly successful day as they travelled to eighth-placed Eibar and came away with a comfortable 3-1 victory.
Antoine Griezmann scored the opener in the seventh minute ahead of a Mario Mandzukic first-half double, Diego Simeone's men showing remarkably clinical finishing, per Spanish football writer David Cartlidge:
While Federico Piovaccari netted a late consolation goal for the hosts, it was an easy three points for Atleti and sees them keep pace with Real as they sit four points back in third.
Granada not only clawed off the bottom of the table but out of the bottom three as they edged a closely-fought encounter with Elche 1-0 at home.
Having not won in 16 matches, per Opta, the hosts scored the only goal through Jhon Cordoba's second-half strike ahead of Damian Suarez's 70th minute sending off which hamstrung Elche hugely:
Celta de Vigo saw off Cordoba 1-0 in Saturday's final game, with Nolito's curling strike into the top corner in the 56th minute a worthy winner for the hosts.
Friday Recap
In the only match of Friday night, Deportivo La Coruna shot up the La Liga charts after a surprise win away to Rayo Vallecano.
Depor temporally jump up to 13th place after two goals from Celso Borges on his debut sealed the points.
The midfielder gave the away team the lead on 11 minutes when he scrambled the ball home to make it a dream first match for his new club, pouring misery on Los Franjirrojos from the onset.
But the home side was back in the game just 12 minutes later as Alberto Bueno volleyed the ball home to level the scores.
In the second half, Deportivo thought they had grabbed the lead once again after Gael Kakuta's free-kick hit the back of the net, only to be ruled out for offside.
But Costa Rican Borges then made it a night to remember as he completed his dream debut with the second goal and subsequent winning effort.
He converted a 72nd-minute penalty to give the visitors all three points and a vital lift up the table.
Journalist Alexandra Johnson called the action as it happened and congratulated the player on his exploits:
Vallecano had come into the game on the back of a poor run of form, but they will be disappointed not to beat a Depor side flirting with relegation.
The home team remains 10th in La Liga for now but is just eight points above the bottom of the table.
Depor break a three-game streak without a win, per Soccerstats, and will feel this victory is the boost their campaign needs.
The bottom half of the league is compact and congested, so the Brancoazuis will believe they can make an assault on the mid-table positions and finish strongly in 2015.
Borges already looks like a great signing who will offer not only quality in the midfield but also the additional firepower in front of goal.
His two goals on Friday were inspired, and Depor are desperate for a hero to pull them through into a good patch of form.
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