La Liga Table 2015: Updated Standings Following Matchday 32 Results

All eyes will be on La Liga leaders Barcelona when they defend their top spot against Valencia in Week 32, with Real Madrid lurking to take advantage of any slip in form.

The Catalans drew their last La Liga contest against Sevilla and lead Los Blancos by just two points, while Valencia are firmly entrenched in the fourth spot and haven't lost a domestic match in ages.

Real host a dangerous Malaga side on Saturday, right after defending champions Atletico Madrid travel to Galicia to take on Deportivo La Coruna.

Here's the full schedule for Week 32:

Date	Home	Score	Away
Friday, April 17	Levante	2-2	Espanyol
Saturday, April 18	Barcelona	2-0	Valencia
Saturday, April 18	Deportivo	1-2	Atletico Madrid
Saturday, April 18	Real Madrid	3-1	Malaga
Saturday, April 18	Athletic	4-0	Getafe
Sunday, April 19	Rayo Vallecano	2-0	Almeria
Sunday, April 19	Granada	1-1	Sevilla
Sunday, April 19	Villarreal	0-0	Cordoba
Sunday, April 19	Eibar	0-1	Celta Vigo
Monday, April 20	Elche	1-0	Real Sociedad

The current La Liga standings:

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	32	25	3	4	89	19	+70	78
2	Real Madrid	32	25	1	6	95	28	+67	76
3	Atletico Madrid	32	21	6	5	61	26	+35	69
4	Valencia	32	19	8	5	56	25	+31	65
5	Sevilla	32	19	6	7	58	37	+21	63
6	Villarreal	32	14	10	8	44	30	+14	52
7	Malaga	32	13	7	12	35	38	-3	46
8	Athletic Club	32	12	7	13	32	37	-5	43
9	Celta Vigo	32	11	9	12	37	34	+3	42
10	Espanyol	32	11	9	12	39	40	-1	42
11	Rayo Vallecano	32	13	2	17	38	59	-21	41
12	Real Sociedad	32	9	11	12	36	43	-7	38
13	Getafe	32	10	6	16	28	45	-17	36
14	Elche	32	9	7	16	27	54	-27	34
15	Eibar	32	8	8	16	28	44	-16	31
16	Levante	32	7	8	17	30	60	-30	29
17	Deportivo La Coruna	32	6	10	16	28	51	-23	28
18	Almeria	32	7	8	17	27	52	-25	28
19	Granada	32	4	13	15	21	57	-36	25
20	Cordoba	32	3	11	18	21	51	-30	20

Monday Recap

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Elche earned a pivotal 1-0 win over Real Sociedad on Monday to end Week 32 of the 2014-15 La Liga season. As shared by AS English, the result could be pivotal in the battle against relegation:

Jonathas scored the only goal of the match early in the first half, taking advantage of a defensive miscue before slotting home expertly into the near corner.

David Moyes' troops put in an uninspired effort and never looked like tying things up, leaving a number of punters disappointed, via Footy Accumulators:

The Basques entered the contest as favourites but never lived up to that billing, and with a European challenge now a distant dream, the season is all but over for Sociedad.

Elche have a six-point lead over the bottom four teams in La Liga with six matches left to be played, and while it's far too early to start celebrating, safety is well within reach for the club.

Sunday Recap

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Sevilla struggled to a shock 1-1 draw against neighbours and relegation-threatened Granada, a big blow to the club's chances of qualifying for next year's Champions League. SuperSport Blitz shared the final score:

Diego Mainz scored both goals in the match, first giving the hosts the lead before an unfortunate own goal in the second half pulled Sevilla level. 

The favourites dominated after half-time, launching cross after cross into the Granada box, but some sloppy finishing saw the score remain 1-1. This stat from OptaJose really says it all:

Sevilla now chase Valencia by two points in the race for fourth, and Los Che sport a far superior goal difference. It will take a massive effort to pass them in the standings, particularly given Valencia's strong form of late and their excellent showing against Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

Manager Unai Emery knew how vital this contest would be, as reported by Football Espana:

Rayo Vallecano continued their fine form with a 2-0 win over Almeria, while Villarreal only managed a goalless draw against Cordoba. In the final match of the night, a Nolito penalty gave Celta Vigo a 1-0 win over Eibar.

Saturday Recap

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Barcelona survived a fantastic performance from Valencia to win 1-0 at the Camp Nou on Saturday, ensuring they'll still be in La Liga's top spot by the end of the week.

Luis Suarez needed exactly one minute to give the Blaugrana the lead, tapping home with the outside of the boot after some lovely work from the Barcelona attack. Sport's Sam Marsden noted the Uruguay international has been in phenomenal form for his new club:

Barcelona's start was as good as it gets, but the engine soon started to falter. The defence looked leaky at best and gave Valencia far too much space to threaten, leading to a number of close calls.

The visitors were gifted a penalty after 10 minutes―a debatable decision at best―but as reported by Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett, Daniel Parejo produced a horrendous effort:

Claudio Bravo's save was a good one, but it didn't halt Valencia's pressure. Bleacher Report's Rik Sharma was not convinced with the Catalans' effort:

Valencia's dominance continued throughout the first half, and their aggression in midfield was on full display. Several visitors went into the official's book, but for all of their effort, it didn't result in any goals.

Barcelona introduced Ivan Rakitic at the start of the second half to change the demeanor of the match, and Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe liked the idea:

The Catalans certainly looked much improved in the second half, and Lionel Messi came close to doubling his team's lead with a free-kick that smashed into the cross bar.

Valencia tried to grab a draw with a late push but always looked unlikely to score against the league-leaders, and Messi eventually secured the win with a goal in injury time.

Real Madrid kept pace with Barcelona by virtue of a 3-1 win over Malaga. Sergio Ramos gave the hosts an early lead in a tightly contested first half, before James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo put the match to rest after half-time. Juanmi scored the visitors' lone goal.

Ronaldo missed a penalty earlier in the match before scoring late, and as shared by Squawka, the strike marked his fifth consecutive campaign with at least 50 goals:

With the result, Los Blancos close the gap with Barcelona to just two points with six matches left to be played on the season.

Defending champions Atletico Madrid came away with a 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna, and once again, the club had summer arrival Antoine Griezmann to thank.

The France international struck twice, including an acrobatic finish that will likely be nominated for the Goal of the Season.

The youngster's form has been impeccable of late, via OptaJose:

Athletic Bilbao easily beat Levante 4-0 to move within eight points of Villarreal and the final Europa League spot.  While it seems unlikely the Basques will overtake the Yellow Submarine in the standings, the fact tgey've been able to finish the season so strongly is cause for optimism heading into next season.

Friday Recap

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Levante battled Espanyol to a 2-2 draw on Friday, earning a vital point in the race to avoid the drop in the process. 

Espanyol were the strong favourites entering Friday's contest and predictably opened the score early, with Lucas Vazquez finding the net inside the first 20 minutes.

Levante are fighting a battle against relegation and needed to find a way to keep the points at home, but the hosts struggled with Espanyol's compact midfield, which limited spaces. Simao shocked the visitors, however, directing a fine header past Francisco Casilla, as shared by AS English:

That wasn't part of the plan for Espanyol, who currently sit well outside the European spots but could still surprise a few with a late push.

Felipe Caicedo restored his team's lead on the stroke of half-time, and per OptaJose, he clearly enjoys going up against Levante:

There's also nothing wrong with his form, per Hispanospherical:

The pace dropped tremendously in the second half, as Espanyol easily controlled the match and Levante showed exactly why they're battling relegation. 

It looked as if the match would die a slow death, but Victor Casadesus scored with a superb volley in the final minutes of regulation to pull the hosts back level. AS English were hoping for more:

That never happened, however, as the match ended 2-2.

Levante's Ivan Lopez was adamant before kick-off his team's fate would be decided by Levante and no one else, as reported by Inside Spanish Football's Jamie Kemp.

“It’s all in our hands and I think many times would like to be able to say that," he said. "We’re going to try, both home and away, to take the maximum amount of points possible. The two home games can be key for us though.”

Saturday's slate of matches should have fans salivating, with both Madrid-based top clubs in action hours after Barcelona put the top spot in La Liga on the line against Valencia.

The visitors have a three-point lead over Sevilla and can't afford to slip up, with an eye on the final Champions League ticket, so they'll be bringing their A-game to the Camp Nou. And with no losses since early February, Valencia won't be an easy prey for the Blaugrana.