La Liga Table 2015: Updated Standings Following Matchday 23 Results

Just four points separate the top three clubs in the La Liga standings heading into Week 23, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid all very much alive in the Spanish title race.

All three clubs face relatively simple challenges this week, taking on Deportivo la Coruna, Levante and Celta Vigo, respectively, but with the title race as tight as ever, nobody can afford to slip up on Matchday 23.

David Moyes and Real Sociedad travel to Almeria on Friday, while fellow Basques Athletic Bilbao play Granada a day later. The full schedule for Week 23:

Date	Time (GMT)	Home	Score	Away
Friday, Feb. 13	7.45 p.m.	Almeria	2-2	Real Sociedad
Saturday, Feb. 14	3 p.m.	Sevilla	3-0	Cordoba
Saturday, Feb. 14	5 p.m.	Real Madrid	2-0	Deportivo
Saturday, Feb. 14	7 p.m.	Granada	0-0	Athletic Club
Saturday, Feb. 14	9 p.m.	Malaga	0-2	Espanyol
Sunday, Feb. 15	11 a.m.	Valencia	1-0	Getafe
Sunday, Feb. 15	4 p.m.	Barcelona	5-0	Levante
Sunday, Feb. 15	6 p.m.	Rayo Vallecano	2-0	Villarreal
Sunday, Feb. 15	8 p.m.	Celta Vigo	2-0	Atletico
Monday, Feb. 16	7.45 p.m.	Eibar	TBD	Elche

The current La Liga standings:

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Real Madrid	23	19	0	4	72	22	+50	57
2	Barcelona	23	18	2	3	67	13	+54	56
3	Atletico Madrid	23	16	2	5	47	22	+25	50
4	Valencia	23	14	5	4	41	20	+21	47
5	Sevilla	23	14	3	6	39	26	+13	45
6	Villarreal	23	12	5	6	37	22	+15	41
7	Malaga	23	10	5	8	25	27	-2	35
8	Espanyol	23	8	5	10	30	34	-4	29
9	Celta Vigo	23	7	7	9	23	24	-1	28
10	Eibar	23	7	6	10	25	32	-7	27
11	Rayo Vallecano	23	8	2	13	24	40	-16	26
12	Deportivo La Coruna	23	6	6	11	20	36	-16	24
13	Real Sociedad	23	5	9	9	24	31	-7	24
14	Athletic Club	23	6	6	11	20	31	-11	24
15	Getafe	23	6	5	12	18	31	-13	23
16	Almeria	23	6	5	12	22	36	-14	23
17	Elche	23	6	5	12	21	42	-21	23
18	Levante	23	4	7	12	17	43	-26	19
19	Granada	23	3	10	10	14	35	-21	19
20	Cordoba	23	3	9	11	17	36	-19	18

Monday Recap

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Elche scored a massive 1-0 win over Eibar on Monday, putting some distance between themselves and the rest of the teams in the relegation zone by beating one of this year's surprise teams in La Liga.

As shared by AS English, the gap between the teams in the lower regions of the standings is incredibly small:

Eibar were the better team for most of the match but were unlucky with their finishing, while Jonathas scored with one of the few chances the visitors got. Federico Piovaccari saw red for the hosts deep in the second half.

Per AS' Nicholas Rigg, some of the shine is starting to wear off Eibar's season after a blistering start:

Elche needed this win in the worst way and have now given themselves a bit of a buffer heading into the latter stages of the campaign. Four points is hardly a gaping chasm, but they could mean the difference when all is said and done.

Barring a complete meltdown ending in relegation, Eibar's season will be considered a success no matter what. That said, the club's current slide is concerning, and they'll have to turn things around fast.

Sunday Recap

David Ramos/Getty Images

Barcelona continued their irresistible run of form, as a Lionel Messi masterclass inspired them to an emphatic 5-0 win over Levante.

The Argentinean sensation bagged three goals and an assist during the rout, as the Blaugrana moved back to within a point of league-leaders Real Madrid. Messi’s hat-trick was sandwiched by an opener from Neymar and a stunning overhead kick from substitute Luis Suarez.

Squawka Football ran the rule over another mesmeric display from the Barcelona no. 10:

Messi has dazzled since the turn of the year, and at this juncture the Catalonian club look like the finest team in the division. The variety in their attacking play is a joy to watch at the moment, as is the midfield artistry of Xavi and Ivan Rakitic.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

But it’s tough to take the spotlight off Messi, who will have surely been delighted to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo in goals for the season, per MisterChip:

The assist for Neymar’s goal was superb and got Barcelona on their way to another convincing display. Messi’s first was an clinical right-footed finish, his second a tap-in after fine work from Pedro and his third came from the penalty spot. Remarkably, he wasn’t involved in the Goal of the Day, though.

That accolade belonged to Suarez, who did this after coming off the substitutes bench, per German football expert Cristian Nyari:

The race for the title is most definitely on at the top of the table, and all the controversy that engulfed Barcelona after their loss to Real Sociedad seems to have fizzled out. Luis Enrique deserves great credit for getting the best out of this team and facilitating a platform for Messi to find his devastating sparkle once again.

Barca’s day was made even sweeter, as Atletico Madrid fell to a shock loss against Celta Vigo in the final game of the day. Second-half goals from Nolito and Fabian Orellana gave the hosts a deserved 2-0 victory.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

It was a tough day for Diego Simeone’s side, and as noted by Dermot Corrigan of ESPN, the champions conceded a penalty just when they were beginning to get on top in the match:

After trouncing Real Madrid 4-0 in their last outing much was expected of Atleti here, but they failed to accrue the same kin. After going a goal down they poured forward in search of an equaliser, but the hosts were resolute and incisive when their opportunities materialised.

Indeed, the hosts took a two-goal lead thanks to Orellana; as noted by MOLOCH THE LOVELESS, that looked to be game over for Simeone’s men:

Celta held on for a deserved victory, and Atletico's title chances look to be up in smoke. They're now seven points back on the league leaders, and it's difficult to see them defending their crown this season.

Earlier in the day Valencia kept in touch with the top three after overcoming a determined defensive display from Getafe. Los Che toiled for long spells at the Mestalla, but eventually an Alvaro Negredo penalty gave them all three points in a vital 1-0 win.

Alberto Saiz/Associated Press

As noted by Sport, that goal pushed Valencia back above Sevilla into fourth place:

While they may not have the requisite quality to challenge for the title this season, Valencia should have enough to pick up that fourth spot and subsequently welcome back Champions League football next season. Their hopes of securing that coveted fourth place were given an added incentive as Villarreal suffered a surprise defeat to Rayo Vallecano.

From the off it was apparent this clash was going to be an entertaining affair, and after a spell of sustained pressure from the hosts, Bueno gave them the lead midway through the second half.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

The expectation from that point was that the Yellow Submarine would rally, but they were caught out again not long after as Gael Kakuta doubled the hosts’ advantage.

The match eventually finished 2-0 to the Madrid outfit, and as noted by Corrigan, the defeat broke a stunning run of goalscoring for Villarreal:

Marcelino’s side now trail fourth-place Valencia by six points and will feel as though their Champions League dream is beginning to slip away. But a clash with Eibar at the Madrigal next up represents the perfect opportunity for them to get back on track.

Saturday Recap

Real Madrid responded to last weekend's demolition at the hands of Atletico with a 2-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, where Isco and Karim Benzema netted either side of half-time to seal Los Blancos' bounce-back win.

January acquisition Lucas Silva made his Real debut as Carlo Ancelotti's men were made to work harder for the win against a team they beat 8-2 back in September. The result also means Cristiano Ronaldo has now failed to score in three successive games, per Spanish newspaper SPORT:

The victory means Real once again lead La Liga by four points, with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both in action on Sunday and hoping to claw Ancelotti's men back within reach.

Earlier on Saturday, Sevilla and Cordoba ended their matchup with 10 players apiece, but Unai Emery's hosts still managed to walk away with a 3-0 win that lifts them back into fourth.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Grzegorz Krychowiak and Carlos Bacca scored in the 38th and 44th minutes, respectively, and Cordoba's day went from bad to worse when Patrick Ekeng was handed his marching orders just nine minutes after the restart.

Goalscorer Krychowiak evened the odds after committing a poorly judged studs-up tackle on Rene Krihn, but the midfielder took to his personal Twitter account (in Spanish) to apologise, which victim Krihn accepted:

Vicente Iborra notched the third for Sevilla to seal their move, which keeps them a point above Valencia at least until Los Che host Getafe on Sunday.

Later on, Athletic Bilbao could only take a 0-0 draw from their trip to Granada, where Emanuel Insua's sending off in the second half was one of the more exciting highlights.

Piti had a chance to seal an against-the-odds win for Granada late on, but the home team will be somewhat satisfied with a draw after being reduced to 10 men.

In the late fixture, Diego Colotto also saw red in a card-happy day for the Spanish top flight, but Espanyol rode the storm to beat Malaga 2-0 in Andalusia. 

Colotto came on as a substitute and handled the ball inside the area, intentionally looking to deflect it wide of goal, but goalkeeper Kiko Casilla ensured his sacrifice went to good use.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

He stretched out to save the ensuing penalty from Nordin Amrabat and clinch the three point for the 10 men of Espanyol, who move into seventh and within six points of the Anchovies as a result.

Sergio Garcia even extended the visitors' lead to 2-0 in the 93rd minute, building on Alvaro Gonzalez's first-half finish to give Los Periquitos an extremely valuable victory.

Friday Recap

Paul White/Associated Press

Almeria and Real Sociedad played out a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Friday, a result that doesn't really do either team any good. Both clubs sit just a handful of points above the relegation zone, and a win over a direct rival would have given either side a massive boost heading into Week 24.

The Basques were desperate for a good result against an Almeria squad looking much-improved in recent weeks, and to the dismay of David Moyes, the hosts were by far the better team early.

Almeria controlled the ball well and displayed far more attacking intent, and after just five minutes, they were given a penalty for a light foul on Thievy Bifouma. Verza lined up behind the ball and easily converted, giving the hosts an early lead.

Sociedad mustered very little in terms of chances but were given a lifeline when goalkeeper Julian made a massive error on a routine cross, allowing Imanol Agirretxe to equalise after 27 minutes. Per La Liga Time, the stopper won't be asking journalists what went wrong after the match:

"

GOAL! Agirretxe heads into the net a Granero’s cross. Goalkeeper could have done more. Almería 1-1 Real Sociedad, 26’.

— La Liga Time (@laligatime) February 13, 2015"

Almeria were deserving of a lead and restored the one-goal gap through Tommer Hemed, after some fantastic work from Thievy, via La Liga Time:

"

GOAL! Tomer Hemed! It was all about Thievy’s amazing play. Almería 2-1 Real Sociedad

— La Liga Time (@laligatime) February 13, 2015"

A late push from the Basques didn't result in a second equaliser, as the score was 2-1 to Almeria heading into half-time.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan thought the result was fair but very bad news for Moyes:

Fortunately for the Scot, Sergio Canales quickly pulled his team back on level terms with an exquisite run-and-finish. As shared by OptaJose, the trickster is starting find his shooting boots:

Moyes introduced several attackers to try and win the match, but the second half soon turned into an ugly battle in midfield, with plenty of cynical fouls and yellow cards on both sides of the pitch. Almeria came closest to grabbing the win with a late rally, but Sociedad held on for the draw and a single point.

As reported by Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp, Moyes spoke about the mental issues his squad faces ahead of Friday's match, and problems with concentration certainly came back to haunt the Basques against Almeria:

"

I think the team have got better physically but mentally is now a problem. They have to believe that they can go on and win games by more than a goal. We have to play at the speed we do when we’re trying to react from having the opponent level the score up.

The players have to change their mindset in that regard. Because we’ve let points slip, we have to be careful when it comes to the relegation spots at the moment. If we had held on to the points in these games, we’d be looking to the top. It can change very quickly.

"

The Scot is in dire need of a series of strong results to put some distance between the club and the relegation zone, or his stint in Spain could be over before the end of the season.

Almeria continue to collect points which could pay off big at the end of the campaign, but at home against a direct rival, dominance in possession has to result in wins, not draws. In that regard, Friday's match has to be considered a missed opportunity.