La Liga Table 2015: Updated Standings Following Matchday 29 Results

Real Madrid rebounded from their El Clasico defeat against Barcelona in spectacular fashion by destroying Granada 9-1. But even that wasn't enough to change the picture at the top of the table.

Barca answered the challenge by grinding out a priceless three points away to Celta Vigo, thanks to a rugged 1-0 victory.

Defending champions Atletico Madrid had already done their bit after moving back into third with a 2-0 win over Cordoba on Saturday.

Here's what the full schedule looked like for Week 29:

Date	Home	v	Away
Friday, April 3	Eibar	1-2	Rayo Vallecano
Saturday, April 4	Sevilla	2-0	Athletic Bilbao
Saturday, April 4	Cordoba	0-2	Atletico
Saturday, April 4	Almeria	1-4	Levante
Saturday, April 4	Malaga	1-1	Real Sociedad
Sunday, April 5	Real Madrid	9-1	Granada
Sunday, April 5	Valencia	0-0	Villarreal
Sunday, April 5	Getafe	2-1	Deportivo
Sunday, April 5	Celta Vigo	0-1	Barcelona
Monday, April 6	Espanyol	1-1	Elche

The current La Liga standings:

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	29	23	2	4	81	17	+64	71
2	Real Madrid	29	21	1	6	87	27	+60	67
3	Atletico Madrid	29	19	5	5	55	23	+32	62
4	Valencia	29	18	7	4	52	22	+30	61
5	Sevilla	29	18	4	7	53	33	+20	58
6	Villarreal	29	14	8	7	43	26	+17	50
7	Malaga	29	13	6	10	32	32	0	45
8	Athletic Club	29	11	6	12	27	35	-8	39
9	Rayo Vallecano	29	12	2	15	35	51	-16	38
10	Real Sociedad	29	9	10	10	34	38	-4	37
11	Celta Vigo	29	9	8	12	29	32	-3	35
12	Espanyol	28	9	8	12	33	38	-5	35
13	Getafe	29	9	5	15	26	40	-14	32
14	Levante	29	7	7	15	27	53	-26	28
15	Eibar	29	7	7	15	27	40	-13	28
16	Elche	28	7	7	15	24	53	-29	28
17	Deportivo La Coruna	29	6	8	15	24	46	-22	26
18	Almeria	29	6	7	16	24	46	-22	25
19	Granada	29	4	11	13	19	52	-33	23
20	Cordoba	29	3	9	17	20	48	-28	18

Monday Recap

Cristian Herrera scored a goal in the 77th minute to earn Elche a 1-1 draw with Espanyol and get a critical point in the La Liga table.

Herrera, who entered the match in the 63rd minute as a substitute, knocked the ball through the net after a Jonathas shot was blocked and ricocheted in his direction. It was one of only two shots on goal for Elche and one of five overall in what was otherwise a highly defensive contest. Each side drew more than 15 fouls and three yellow cards, which is the way Elche appeared to want to play. They held possession for 59 percent of the match in an effort to dictate pace.

Espanyol were satisfied with that for most of the contest, given that Sergio Garcia's goal in the 17th minute kept them ahead. Garcia hit a beautiful shot off of an Abraham Gonzalez assist, which gave Espanyol a lead until the final moments.

The draw will nonetheless satisfy both sides, who each will want to compile as many points as possible as the season winds down. Elche are now two points ahead of Deportivo for the final spot above relegation, though their goal differential (-29) puts them in danger with any more slip-ups. Espanyol are well out of relegation territory in 12th place; they could wind up with a top-10 finish with a strong stretch run.

Sunday Recap

Under pressure after Madrid's spectacular result, Barcelona needed all of their defensive resolve to come away from Vigo winners. While Gerard Pique kept things tight in front of goal, fellow centre-back Jeremy Mathieu made the telling contribution further forward.

Guardian writer Sid Lowe highlighted the growing importance of Barcelona's beefy central defensive duo:

The clean sheet they inspired is further evidence of Barca's growing miserly streak in the league, detailed by OptaJose:

This tough win will have taken the steam out of any momentum Real built earlier in the  day.

Los Blancos had bounced back from losing El Clasico in the best possible way. Carlo Ancelotti's team helped themselves to nine goals against relegation-threatened Granada.

The visiting team rested several key players, clearly believing this was a game they shouldn't risk as they target more winnable fixtures. But boss Abel Resino could still hardly have expected to receive such a thumping.

The downtrodden gaffer was blunt in his appraisal of the massacre, per AS' official Twitter account:

Cristiano Ronaldo, who's feasted off lesser teams during his career, was unsurprisingly at his flat-track, bullying best. The Portuguese powerhouse netted five goals and spurned presentable chances for nearly twice that number.

This impressive haul will do wonders for the temperament of a player who's looked increasingly frustrated during recent weeks. AS detailed how Ronaldo has now moved into exalted company in the La Liga record books:

Ronaldo's overshadowed forward partners, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, accounted for three more goals, with the latter scoring twice.

Elsewhere, Valencia missed the chance to go third after being held to a goalless draw at home by Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine were typically compact and resolute at the back.

Valencia's batch of creative playmakers failed to shine. Without fluidity and flair, Los Che missed the chance to leapfrog Atletico.

The bland stalemate did at least earn historical distinction, per OptaJose:

Meanwhile, Deportivo La Coruna remain barely out of the bottom three after falling to a 2-1 defeat in Getafe. The hosts relied on a pair of goals from defenders.

Versatile veteran Alexis Ruano Delgado got the opener. Then left-back Sergio Escudero netted what proved to be the winner.

Depor offered little going forward. They played without imagination and verve, looking like a team consigned to the drop.

But the weekend ultimately belonged to Barca. Their backs were to the wall at a difficult venue and following Madrid's goal rush.

But Luis Enrique's team answered the call and showed plenty of true grit.

Saturday Recap

Atletico Madrid and Sevilla took the initiative on Saturday to claim victories over Cordoba and Athletic Bilbao, respectively, each netting all their goals in the opening 45 minutes.

Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez struck to give Diego Simeone's side a 2-0 victory over a poor Athletic outfit, with Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC confirming the swift nature of their assault:

Mario Mandzukic looked out of sorts throughout and was withdrawn early in the second period, although Griezmann's ongoing rise to prominence will be a welcome sight for Simeone.

That being said, the Frenchman has been off target of late, with Corrigan pointing out Los Rojiblancos' penchant for starting games off strong:

Sevilla banked a 2-0 win of their own against Athletic, where Aleix Vidal and Carlos Bacca played the roles of finishers, netting both goals inside 21 minutes:

Real Madrid TV's Phil Kitromilides signals just what a behemoth Sevilla are to play at home, although Unai Emery's men have a hint of fate regarding their next duel in front of their own fans:

The Seville crowd bore witness to a dampening incident, however, after the once-highly tipped starlet Iker Muniain was stretchered off with what appeared to be a knee injury.

David Cartlidge of beIN Sports echoed the general sentiment in hoping the playmaker hadn't done any serious damage, although the injury looked a serious one:

Saturday's closing encounter saw Malaga and Real Sociedad run to a 1-1 draw that sees the race to finish among La Liga's upper crust remain firmly open.

Ruben Prado scored in the 83rd minute to cancel out Recio's opener and bag a point for La Real, Spanish newspaper AS pointing out just how tight things are below the top six:

Sociedad boss David Moyes has seen his side, 10th, go four games without defeat for the first time since the Christmas period, but the eight points distancing them from Malaga, seventh, looks daunting.

The Anchovies, meanwhile, will regret not being able to hang on for all three points and close the gap on Villarreal in sixth.

Lower down the standings, Levante won their six-pointer against Almeria on Saturday, hammering their close table opponents 4-1 to move three points away from the bottom three.

An incredibly valuable result for Lucas Alcaraz's side came largely thanks to David Barral's hat-trick, per Inside La Liga:

"

Almería 1-4 Levante: Barral hat-trick downs lowly Almería - http://t.co/dVRU2AN3JV pic.twitter.com/LSmbu2puL1

— Inside La Liga (@InsideLaLiga) April 4, 2015"

Almeria remain lodged in 18th place, meanwhile, and have claimed just three points from their last seven games, seemingly destined for the drop.

Friday Recap

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Rayo Vallecano beat Eibar 2-1 on Friday to kick off the La Liga weekend, taking advantage of two goals in quick succession in the first half and holding on for the rest of the match.

Struggling Eibar failed to put any real chances together, resorting to more physical tactics in the second half.

Eibar came into this match in desperate need of a win after a series of disappointing results had seen the hosts drop way down the standings. By contrast, Rayo Vallecano have enjoyed an excellent season, and manager Paco Jemez told reporters he believed one more win would secure safety for his club.

As reported by Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp, he said:

"

Their run of results is surprising and I’m not sure what happened. These streaks are tough to explain, they’re physical, strong side, and very committed to winning second balls. I’m not going to rely on their form, because they continue to be dangerous. It’s up to us to make the most of their bad luck.

...

I think that with 38 points we will be saved. With another win under our belt, I don’t think there will be any more problems for us. But we’re not thinking about that. The idea is to achieve the first objective and then go as high as you can.

"

The start of the match was very slow, with neither team really able to press their advantage, but the final 15 minutes of the first half more than made up for it.

Eibar took the lead after 32 minutes, as Mikel Arruabarrena scored from the penalty spot. The visitors had been the more dangerous team up until that point, and with the Basques opening up a lead, they suddenly blew the match wide open.

Rayo's aerial superiority was on full display in back-to-back attacks, with Alberto Bueno pulling his team level in the 40th minute.

As shared by OptaJose, the former Real Madrid man has been vital for the club this year:

Two minutes later, the visitors struck again via the air. Manucho's powerful header disappeared into the back of the net, giving Rayo a 2-1 lead heading into half-time:

The match started to spiral out of control in the second half, as the attacking intentions of the first made way for a lot of dangerous tackles.

Ze Castro fell victim to one of those duels, leaving the pitch while clutching his shoulder after landing awkwardly. The 32-year-old appeared to be in a lot of pain, with his status for the rest of the season now up in the air.

In between the tackles and rough play, the better chances belonged to Rayo, but neither team was able to score in the second half.

The win sees Rayo Vallecano climb over Real Sociedad and into ninth place, an incredible achievement for such a small club. With 38 points, relegation seems all but impossible for the team from the capital.

Eibar are in desperate need of a run, sitting just three points above the relegation zone with nine matches left to play.