La Liga Results 2015: Scores and Updated Table After Sunday's Week 12 Matches
Atletico Madrid struggled to a 1-0 win in a war of attrition against Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin in Seville on Sunday.
An early strike by Spain international Koke was enough for the Rojiblancos to climb above Real Madrid into the second spot.
The Galacticos were thrashed, 4-0, against Barcelona in El Clasico, opening the door for coach Diego Simeone's team.
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Villarreal maintained their place in the top four of the division, as a late goal claimed a desperate point against a tough Eibar outfit.
In Sunday's other games, there was joy for relegation candidates Levante and Granada, as the two bottom sides climbed above Malaga after rare wins.
Granada defeated Athletic Bilbao, 2-0, at the Estadio Los Carmenes, while Levante dismantled Sporting Gijon, 3-0, away from home.
Here are Sunday's results, including the latest La Liga standings:
| Sporting Gijon | 0-3 | Levante |
| Villarreal | 1-1 | Eibar |
| Granada | 2-0 | Athletic Bilbao |
| Real Betis | 0-1 | Atletico Madrid |
| 1 | Barcelona | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 12 | +17 | 30 |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 26 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 11 | +15 | 24 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 21 |
| 5 | Celta Vigo | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 21 |
| 6 | Eibar | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 20 |
| 7 | Valencia | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 19 |
| 8 | Deportivo La Coruna | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 18 |
| 9 | Athletic Club | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 17 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 23 | -9 | 16 |
| 11 | Sevilla | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 15 |
| 12 | Real Betis | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 17 | -6 | 15 |
| 13 | Rayo Vallecano | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 13 |
| 14 | Real Sociedad | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 12 |
| 15 | Sporting Gijon | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 12 |
| 16 | Granada | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 20 | -7 | 10 |
| 17 | Getafe | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | Las Palmas | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 10 |
| 19 | Levante | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 23 | -13 | 10 |
| 20 | Malaga | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 9 |
Sunday Recap
Atletico sneaked past a tough Real Betis side, 1-0, on Sunday night but were wasteful, as they missed a multitude of chances to kill the game.
Koke got Simeone's side off to the perfect start as he saw his right-footed shot find the hosts' net in just the seventh minute.
Betis pushed hard to grab a quick equaliser as Alfred N'Diaye and Alvaro Cejudo went close, but Atletico could have run away with the result if it weren't for Antoine Griezmann and Koke missing good chances.
WhoScored.com highlighted the ineffectiveness of Atletico's Fernando Torres during half-time interval:
Atletico thought they should have had a penalty in the second half as Griezmann had his legs taken away from him in the box, but the official waved away the stonewall claim.
Griezmann once again had a gilt-edged chance late in the day, but the Frenchman was not at his most prolific best and couldn't finish.
The win takes Atleti up to second place, two points clear of their Los Blancos local city rivals.
Yahoo Sports' La Liga writer Andrew Gaffney commented on Simeone's men's slim victory:
Villarreal were hoping to narrow the gap to a point behind third-placed Madrid but had to settle for a draw against Eibar at El Madrigal.
The visitors took the lead midway through the first half as Sergi Enrich found the bottom corner of the net.
Eibar should have made it 2-0 shortly before the half-time whistle after Borja Baston was fouled in the box. However, Dani Garcia saw his penalty saved by Villarreal goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to deny the Basque side.
The Gunners continued to upset their hosts in the second half as they hunted for the goal to end the contest, but a second yellow card for Eibar winger Keko gave the home team the impetus.
Villarreal were themselves down to 10-men after losing Daniele Bonera to injury, having already made three substitutions, but rescued the match with five minutes to play as Jaume Costa struck to claim a point.
Granada recorded only their second win of the season to jump out of the relegation zone after a comfortable 2-0 against Athletic Club.
A fifth-minute own goal by Aymeric Laporte hamstrung the visitors from the earliest moments, and they could not recover to fight back.
Isaac Success put distance between the two teams shortly before the hour mark, as the striker claimed the win for the Andalusia club.
Levante put on one of their best shows of the season, scoring three first-half goals against a poor Sporting Gijon, who offered no resistance in defeat.
Attacker Acosta Deyverson opened the scoring after 18 minutes, and Moroccan Zouhair Feddal made it 2-0 nine minutes later.
Deyverson wrapped up the win on the stroke of half-time, as Levante climb off the bottom of the league.
