La Liga Table 2015: Updated Standings Following Matchday 34 Results

La Liga leaders Barcelona made a huge statement in the first match of Week 34 on Tuesday, smashing Getafe 6-0 to distance themselves from Real Madrid, who earned their own victory over Almeria on Wednesday.

Spain's top two titans continue their game of cat and mouse in an attempt to see who will be next to slip up, but with only a few weeks of the campaign remaining, Real are quickly running out of time to claw back a lead.

Week 34's top clash sees Atletico Madrid go up against Villarreal in a match that will have a huge impact on the race for the European spots. Here's the schedule for Matchday 34:

Date	Home	Score	Away
Tuesday, April 28	Barcelona	6-0	Getafe
Tuesday, April 28	Athletic	1-1	Real Sociedad
Tuesday, April 28	Levante	1-0	Cordoba
Wednesday, April 29	Eibar	1-3	Sevilla
Wednesday, April 29	Real Madrid	3-0	Almeria
Wednesday, April 29	Celta Vigo	1-0	Malaga
Wednesday, April 29	Elche	4-0	Deportivo
Wednesday, April 29	Villarreal	0-1	Atletico Madrid
Thursday, April 30	Rayo Vallecano	1-1	Valencia
Thursday, April 30	Granada	1-2	Espanyol

The current La Liga standings:

#	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	34	27	3	4	97	19	+78	84
2	Real Madrid	34	27	1	6	102	30	+72	82
3	Atletico Madrid	34	23	6	5	65	26	+39	75
4	Valencia	34	20	9	5	61	26	+35	69
5	Sevilla	34	21	6	7	63	38	+25	69
6	Villarreal	34	14	11	9	44	31	+13	53
7	Malaga	34	13	8	13	36	40	-4	47
8	Athletic Club	34	13	8	13	34	38	-4	47
9	Celta Vigo	34	12	9	13	40	38	+2	45
10	Espanyol	34	12	9	13	41	43	-2	45
11	Rayo Vallecano	34	13	3	18	39	62	-23	42
12	Real Sociedad	34	9	13	12	37	44	-7	40
13	Elche	34	10	7	17	31	57	-26	37
14	Getafe	34	10	6	18	28	52	-24	36
15	Levante	34	9	8	17	32	60	-28	35
16	Eibar	34	8	7	19	29	49	-20	31
17	Almeria	34	8	7	19	29	55	-26	31
18	Deportivo La Coruna	34	6	11	17	29	56	-27	29
19	Granada	34	4	13	17	22	63	-41	25
20	Cordoba	34	3	11	20	21	53	-32	20

Thursday Recap

Valencia suffered a big blow in the chase for the final Champions League ticket, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Rayo Vallecano in a match filled with incidents.

Adrian Embarba Blazquez gave the hosts a shock lead after just 19 minutes, thanks in large part to a massive error from Diego Alves. The goalkeeper let the ball slip by him, to the dismay of Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett:

Alves would later redeem himself with a series of key stops, but due to the eventual outcome of the match, fans will likely only remember the horrific mistake.

Rayo have a reputation for being an attacking club and didn't disappoint against Valencia, putting real pressure on the supposed favourites for this match. But when Jorge Garcia Morcillo saw a straight red card after 63 minutes, the tide seemed to turn.

As shared by BeIN SPORTS, the defender was dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity:

Daniel Parejo equalised just minutes later, and Alvaro Negredo should have given Valencia the lead, fluffing a series of chances in the attacking onslaught that followed.

Valencia's pressure continued until they too were forced to play with 10 men, and once again, the dismissal came as a result of a straight red. Rodrigo was the culprit, reacting with a kick to a harsh foul from Tono. For some reason, the Rayo stopper escaped the incident without any punishment.

The dismissal took the wind out of Valencia's sails, and the final score of 1-1 seems logical in hindsight.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

The result means Valencia are once again tied with Sevilla on points in the standings, with both clubs looking for that final Champions League ticket. With four matches left to play, Valencia hold a significant advantage in goal differential.

In Thursday's other match, Espanyol beat Granada 2-1.

Wednesday Recap

Real Madrid reduced Barca's lead at La Liga's summit back down to two points on Wednesday evening after sweeping Almeria aside, 3-0.

Sixteen-year-old Martin Odegaard was an unused substitute for Los Blancos. A lot of hype surrounded the fixture in which the Norwegian prodigy could have become the youngest player ever to appear for Real Madrid's first team, but it was to no avail.

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Carlo Ancelotti decided not to use Odegaard despite the fact his side were in firm control of the fixture throughout, preventing Almeria from registering even a single shot on target, according to WhoScored.com.

James Rodriguez opened the scoring just prior to half-time, but Real's burdens were eased as visiting centre-back Mauro dos Santos doubled their lead with an own goal four minutes after the restart. Alvaro Arbeloa added a third.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Despite the fact suspensions and injury diminished his ranks, Ancelotti will undoubtedly see the midweek outing as an encouraging one for his men, as he handed the likes of Jese and Nacho some valuable playing time.

Atletico Madrid weren't quite as glamorous en route to a tight 1-0 victory at Villarreal, where Fernando Torres came off the bench to get a superb winner 15 minutes from time. Bleacher Report's Samuel Marsden had a succinct summary of the striker:

In rounding goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo before calmly slotting home, Torres harked back to his form of old and gave Atleti no small boost in confidence in what turned out to be a stiff trip to El Madrigal—one where his team sat seven points behind rivals Real and six points above Sevilla below them. Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC detailed Diego Simeone's record as Los Rojiblancos' boss:

Elsewhere, a Carlos Bacca brace led Sevilla to a 3-1 victory at Eibar, with Jose Antonio Reyes also getting on the scoresheet for Unai Emery's men.

Bacca added to an already-prolific record this campaign with his two goals and one assist, breaking a minor record for the club this season in the process, according to OptaJose:

Federico Piovaccari thought he'd given Eibar some shred of hope after reducing the score to 2-1 not long after the break, but Reyes' contribution sealed the result for Sevilla and moved the club back to within two points of Valencia.

And if Bacca was Sevilla's hero, Celta Vigo had star man Nolito to thank for their 1-0 victory over Malaga. David Cartlidge of beIN Sports outlined just how crucial a cog the forward has been for their attack:

Nolito clinched the winner in the 89th minute for Celta, and the Anchovies had only themselves to blame for conceding so late on, thanks to a display of poor defending.

As a result, Celta are now just two points away from the Andalusians, moving up to ninth in La Liga's standings and seeking to move above Malaga before season's end.

There was a dramatic shift in power at the bottom of the table too after Elche scored four goals in a single match for the first time this season, trouncing Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 on home turf.

Jonathas, Lomban, Mario Pasalic and Rodrigues each netted to lift Elche five points away from Deportivo and the bottom three, with relegation almost an afterthought for the La Liga minnows.

Tuesday Recap

Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez once again backed up their reputation as the top attacking trio in the world right now, all scoring and assisting in the 6-0 demolition of Getafe.

Even more impressively, they managed to pull off the incredible feat inside the first 30 minutes, per ESPN's Dermot Corrigan:

Coming into the match, Barcelona had been heavily reliant on the trio in terms of scoring goals, as shared by Sport's Samuel Marsden, but Xavi Hernandez managed to find the net as well during the first half:

Barcelona were ruthless during the first half, obliterating an overmatched Getafe squad that never had any hope of pulling off the upset. Getafe have been in fine form of late and have escaped La Liga's relegation zone in the process, but there was simply no stopping this Blaugrana squad.

Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett had to catch his breath after a ridiculous first half that saw them score goal after goal:

As far as goal differential goes, the Catalans did a fantastic job on Tuesday. They still chase Real in terms of goals scored, but they have a far better defensive record and comfortably sit at the top of the goal-differential standings.

Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo gave the three attackers full credit for Barcelona's incredible season, per Barcastuff:

"

Bravo: "It's great to have Messi, Suarez and Neymar all three playing at this high level. And they work hard in defense, helps the team too"

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) April 28, 2015"

The pressure is now on Real Madrid to match Barcelona's result against Almeria on Thursday, and given Barcelona's current form, a single loss may just be the end of this year's title race.

Matt Le Tissier was an honoured guest of Athletic Bilbao ahead of their Basque derby against Real Sociedad, and as shared by Corrigan, the club handed him its first One Club Man Award:

The two sides then played to a 1-1 draw, with the hosts opening the score from the penalty spot after Mikel Gonzalez received a harsh red card. In-form Alberto de la Bella equalised almost immediately, however, giving David Moyes' side a well-deserved point and all but ending Bilbao's chances of qualifying for the Europa League.

Levante beat Cordoba 1-0 in the battle against relegation, putting six points between them and Deportivo La Coruna, who currently sit in 17th place.