La Liga Table 2015: Updated Standings Following Matchday 27 Results

Barcelona cemented their place at La Liga's summit on Saturday, with a 2-0 away win over struggling Eibar. As he often is, Lionel Messi was in inspired form.

Having lost to Schalke in midweek, Real Madrid are more motivated to see that their fall into second place is short-lived, however, and play host to Levante on Sunday looking to regain their perch.

Valencia took some early initiative in Week 27 and climbed to third after their 2-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Friday evening. That's where Los Che after reigning champions Atletico Madrid stuttered to a goalless draw in Espanyol.

Read on for an updated look at the La Liga standings, along with recap and discussion of Week 27's results.

Date	Time	Home	Score	Away
Friday, March 13	7:45 p.m. GMT/3:45 p.m. ET	Valencia	2-0	Deportivo La Coruna
Saturday, March 14	3 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET	Espanyol	0-0	Atletico Madrid
Saturday, March 14	5 p.m. GMT/1 p.m. ET	Eibar	0-2	Barcelona
Saturday, March 14	7 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. ET	Rayo Vallecano	3-1	Granada
Saturday, March 14	9 p.m. GMT/5 p.m. ET	Celta Vigo	1-2	Athletic Bilbao
Sunday, March 15	11 a.m. GMT/7 a.m. ET	Almeria	0-0	Villarreal
Sunday, March 15	4 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET	Malaga	2-0	Cordoba
Sunday, March 15	6 p.m. GMT/2 p.m. ET	Sevilla	3-0	Elche
Sunday, March 15	8 p.m. GMT/4 p.m. ET	Real Madrid	2-0	Levante
Monday, March 16	7:45 p.m. GMT/3:45 p.m. ET	Getafe	0-2	Real Sociedad

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	27	21	2	4	78	16	+62	65
2	Real Madrid	27	21	1	5	77	24	+53	64
3	Valencia	27	17	6	4	48	22	+26	57
4	Atletico Madrid	27	17	5	5	51	23	+28	56
5	Sevilla	27	16	4	7	49	33	+16	52
6	Villarreal	27	14	7	6	43	24	+19	49
7	Malaga	27	13	5	9	31	30	+1	44
8	Athletic Club	27	10	6	11	25	32	-7	36
9	Espanyol	27	9	6	12	32	37	-5	33
10	Real Sociedad	27	8	9	10	30	36	-6	33
11	Rayo Vallecano	27	10	2	15	32	50	-18	32
12	Celta Vigo	27	8	8	11	28	31	-3	32
13	Getafe	27	8	5	14	24	37	-13	29
14	Eibar	27	7	6	14	26	38	-12	27
15	Elche	27	7	6	14	23	48	-25	27
16	Levante	27	6	7	14	23	51	-28	25
17	Almeria	27	6	7	14	22	40	-18	25
18	Deportivo La Coruna	27	6	7	14	23	44	-21	25
19	Granada	27	4	10	13	18	43	-25	22
20	Cordoba	27	3	9	15	19	43	-24	18

Monday Recap

Real Sociedad claimed a 1-0 win at Getafe on Monday evening to move back into La Liga's top half , recording back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.

As pointed out by Squawka, it was also the first time La Real have won away from home under David Moyes' managerial reign:

It started out as a predictably tense fixture in Madrid, where the hosts were eager to assert themselves in front of goal and actually ended with the greater share of shots, per WhoScored.com.

Per Spanish newspaper AS, visiting goalkeeper Gero Rulli was a large factor in keeping Sociedad level at the break, having recently earned the attention of the Argentine national team:

But it was in the 66th minute that Inigo Martinez rose to head the travelling outfit in front off the upright, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

With these three points in hand, Real Sociedad move back into 10th and will be hopeful that this is the start of things to come away from home, having struggled on their travels this term.

Getafe are still waiting to claim two league wins in succession this season and continue to struggle for consistency, remaining in 13th and just four points away from the bottom three.

Sunday Recap

Real Madrid moved to within a point of table-topping Barcelona after a comfortable home victory over relegation-threatened Levante. Much-maligned winger Gareth Bale was the star of a display that reached its peak in the first half.

Bale twice etched his name on the scoresheet in an emphatic rebuttal of his critics. Squawka football detailed how impressive the Cheetah-fast Welshman was: 

As significant as Bale's comeback to scoring form, was the return of another ex-Tottenham Hotspur star, Luka Modric. The Croatian playmaker's skill and assurance in possession is essential to how Los Blancos build their attacks.

His return is welcome relief for a squad that's looked laboured in recent weeks, per Guardian writer Sid Lowe:

With Modric back pulling the strings and Bale finding the net again, Los Merengues are still a major threat to Barca's title bid.

Sevilla remained in contention for a top-four berth after dismantling Elche. To no great surprise, tenacious striker Carlos Bacca was the star.

The prolific Colombian netted twice to continue his improvement in front of goal, per Opta Jose:

The Andalusian club is now well-placed to challenge both Atletico Madrid and Valencia for a top-four berth.

Earlier, Malaga had cemented their push for a place in next season's UEFA Europa League by seeing off Cordoba. Forward Juanmi continued his tremendous recent scoring run in Spain's top flight:

Almeria began Sunday's fixtures by climbing the table after earning a valuable point at home to a typically miserly Villarreal.

But it's the tussle for the title that's really heated up. Next week's El Clasico could be decisive in the race for top spot.

Saturday Recap

As if it even needed confirming, Messi underlined his importance to Barca's title push with a classy brace. In the process, the pocket-edition trickster became the most prolific attacking outlet in the league, per Squawka:

His overall display was sensational, featuring several moments of trademark breathtaking skill. Thomas Kelly of the Irish Sunday Times provided this superb highlight:

Messi's class proved decisive for a less-than fluent Barcelona. But the Catalan side has still opened a four-point gap at the top ahead of Los Blancos' game with Levante.

Atletico were solid and efficient when they won last season's title. They expertly married defensive resolve with ruthless efficiency in front of goal.

But the latter quality is deserting Diego Simeone's team this season. Atleti have bagged just 51 top-flight goals during this campaign, some way short of neighbours Real and free-scoring Barcelona.

Simeone's men continued to experience problems in front of the net in Espanyol. Admittedly, the entire team's chances were done few favours by the red card received by centre-back Miranda.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Still, a forward line containing Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann failed to fire. Espanyol stopper Kiko Casilla consistently denied them.

The in-form goalkeeper also received solid support from Arsenal-linked centre-back Hector Moreno. Espanyol often raise their game to frustrate La Liga's best and produced another stubborn rearguard here to influence both the the title picture and the top-four race.

Rayo Vallecano moved to 11th after seeing off Granada 3-1 at home. Crafty winger Alberto Bueno bagged two of the goals.

The 26-year-old operated just behind lone frontman Leo Baptistao. His movement caused Granada constant problems.

Bueno's current prolific run has set him apart among his countrymen, per Opta Jose:

Finally, Athletic Bilbao closed out Saturday's fixtures with an impressive win away to Celta Vigo. Ageing but still effective striker Artiz Aduriz continued his late-career renaissance by netting Athletic's opener.

The 34-year-old has never been so prolific, according to Opta Jose:

Aggressive centre-back Mikel San Jose powered a header to stake Bilbao to a two-goal lead. But he also put his team under intense pressure after picking up a late red card.

Joaquin Larrivey had already netted for Vigo, but Bilbao held on to record a vital win. 

Friday Recap

A second-half call to arms saw Valencia to a 2-0 win over Deportivo on Friday, a result that moves Los Che within four points of second-place Real and two points ahead of Atletico.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side started slow against Friday's foes, with Spanish newspaper AS confirming the two teams as level pegging at the half-time interval, with clear-cut chances sparse:

However, it picked up in the second half and it wasn't long before Dani Parejo stepped up to assert Valencia's lead, scoring from the spot after 61 minutes.

However, the Mestalla will have been even happier to see Paco Alcacer come off the bench just 10 minutes later and double Valencia's lead within seconds of his introduction, per La Liga Time:

"

He has been injured for more than a month, but he has just needed two minutes on the field to score. Paco Alcácer.

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

However temporary their cushion might be, Nuno's side will savour their time in third place and hope that Espanyol are capable of stunting Los Rojiblancos' progress on Saturday.

As pointed out by Samuel Marsden of Sport, it's not out of the question that Diego Simeone's side will struggle on their trip this weekend:

The misery goes on for Depor, though, who have now lost four of their last five league outings and last won a domestic fixture at the beginning of February.

Pending the rest of this weekend's results, Victor Fernandez could see his side enter the bottom three, currently sitting just one point off the drop zone having played a game more than their peers.