La Liga Table 2015: Sunday's Week 11 Results and Updated Standings
Barcelona claimed a three-point cushion at La Liga's summit after Neymar's brace helped the Blaugrana clinch a 3-0 win over Villarreal before Real Madrid dropped to a 3-2 defeat at Sevilla.
Rafa Benitez's side missed the opportunity to climb back level at the summit despite scoring first in Seville, while a shock victory gave Sunday's hosts a much-needed boost in resurrecting their La Liga campaign.
Neymar's second strike on Sunday is already being considered a goal-of-the-season contender, but Inaki Williams produced a similar strike against Espanyol to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 victory on Sunday.
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Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid left it late to seal a 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon as Antoine Griezmann scored the game's only goal in the second minute of stoppage time to end their two-match winless run.
Read on for a recap of Sunday's Week 11 results, complete with an updated look at La Liga's standings.
| Las Palmas | 2-0 | Real Sociedad |
| Celta Vigo | 1-5 | Valencia |
| Levante | 1-1 | Deportivo La Coruna |
| Eibar | 3-1 | Getafe |
| Rayo Vallecano | 2-3 | Granada |
| Malaga | 0-1 | Real Betis |
| Athletic Bilbao | 2-1 | Espanyol |
| Barcelona | 3-0 | Villarreal |
| Atletico Madrid | 1-0 | Sporting Gijon |
| Sevilla | 3-2 | Real Madrid |
| 1 | Barcelona | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 12 | +13 | 27 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 7 | +19 | 24 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 23 |
| 4 | Celta Vigo | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 21 |
| 5 | Villarreal | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 20 |
| 6 | Eibar | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 19 |
| 7 | Valencia | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 18 |
| 8 | Athletic Club | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 17 |
| 9 | Deportivo La Coruna | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 15 |
| 10 | Real Betis | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 15 |
| 11 | Sevilla | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 15 |
| 12 | Rayo Vallecano | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 13 |
| 13 | Espanyol | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 23 | -11 | 13 |
| 14 | Sporting Gijon | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 12 |
| 15 | Getafe | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 10 |
| 16 | Malaga | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 9 |
| 17 | Las Palmas | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 16 | -7 | 9 |
| 18 | Real Sociedad | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 9 |
| 19 | Granada | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 20 | -9 | 7 |
| 20 | Levante | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 23 | -16 | 7 |
Recap
Real Madrid came into Sunday's match having conceded just four goals in the first 10 games of their 2015-16 league season, but their defence crumbled uncharacteristically under the weight of Sevilla's assault.
Sergio Ramos fired Los Blancos into the lead with an incredible bicycle kick on the 22-minute mark, but it proved costly after he suffered a shoulder injury mid-spin and was forced to come off after 30 minutes. Per the BBC's Andy West, his absence had an immediate impact on Real's solidity at the back:
Raphael Varane came on for the captain, but it wasn't long before Ciro Immobile netted Sevilla's first to bring the two teams level going in at the break.
Yevhen Konoplyanka set up Immobile for that opener and also had a hand in laying the ball on a plate for Ever Banega to tap in the hosts' second. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan hailed the Ukrainian's influence on the result:
Real's defensive shambles was put into context after substitute Fernando Llorente came on to nod in a free header before Gareth Bale combined with James Rodriguez to add a late second for the visiting party.
Nevertheless, Rodriguez's late consolation couldn't salvage a result and Barca head into a two-week break with the lead as Real Madrid TV presenter Rhiannon Jones confirmed the club's unbeaten streak came to its end:
Earlier on Sunday, Barcelona once again proved their success is attributable to more than just Lionel Messi's talents after the scoring form of Neymar and Luis Suarez guided them to another three-point haul against Villarreal.
Neymar netted either side of a Suarez penalty to lead the Blaugrana in their triumph, but it was a world-class second that stole the headlines. The Brazilian gathered the ball with his back to goal and flicked it over defender Jaume Costa before volleying home.
Per Squawka, the 23-year-old proclaimed he even premeditated the manoeuvre to make it that much more impressive:
Villarreal's defeat was somewhat disappointing, as they stood firm for 60 minutes prior to Neymar's opener, but even the Yellow Submarine's stubborn defence fell against mighty opposition.
Earlier on Sunday, however, Williams emerged with a flick-and-turn volley that was arguably superior even to Neymar's, and Kieran Canning of Agence France-Presse elected the Basque native as a future superstar:
The 21-year-old thundered that effort home to open the scoring after just eight minutes, and Raul Garcia converted a second to lead Athletic Bilbao past Espanyol with a 2-1 win.
Athletic's victory lifted them to eighth in the table, as David Cartlidge of beIN Sports detailed their successful run of late:
Los Leones might have climbed within four points of Atletico were it not for Griezmann's late heroics at the Vicente Calderon, defeating Sporting Gijon 1-0 to lift Diego Simeone's side above Celta Vigo up to third in La Liga.
Griezmann bamboozled the Sporting defence to head home the latest of winners on Sunday, but despite the fans' support for Simeone, ESPN FC's Corrigan couldn't help but notice cracks in the team at present:
Nevertheless, Los Rojiblancos persevered to take their three-point haul after dominating possession in front of a home audience, per WhoScored.com, and their rise takes them back to within four points of Barcelona.
They will savour the victory, that much is certain. However, Simeone will know his side can ill afford many close shaves of that nature, with Atleti just about clinging onto any hope of a title challenge.
