La Liga Table 2015 Week 13: Updated Standings Following Friday's Results
Real Betis leaped into the top half of La Liga's standings on Friday evening after they defeated Levante 1-0 at Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, making the move from 12th up to ninth.
An excellently finished strike from just inside the Levante box saw Ruben Castro propel the visitors into an early lead, and Betis withstood an onslaught of pressure to emerge with three points in tow.
Meanwhile, Levante's relegation-threatened season continues and this latest defeat means Rubi's men remain just a point off La Liga's base prior to the rest of Week 13's fixture slate.
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Read on for a recap of Friday's sole La Liga result and how it influences the standings before Barcelona play host to Real Sociedad on Saturday and Valencia travel to Sevilla on Sunday evening.
| 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 | Celta Vigo | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 21 |
| 5 | Villarreal | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 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 | Real Betis | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 18 |
| 10 | Athletic Club | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 17 |
| 11 | Espanyol | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 23 | -9 | 16 |
| 12 | Sevilla | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 15 |
| 13 | Rayo Vallecano | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 14 |
| 14 | Real Sociedad | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 12 |
| 15 | Sporting Gijon | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 12 |
| 16 | Getafe | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 11 |
| 17 | Las Palmas | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | Levante | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 24 | -14 | 10 |
| 19 | Granada | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 20 | -7 | 10 |
| 20 | Malaga | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 9 |
| Friday, November 27 | 7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. ET | Levante 0-1 Real Betis |
| Saturday, November 28 | 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET | Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad |
| Saturday, November 28 | 5:15 p.m. GMT/12:15 p.m. ET | Atletico Madrid vs. Espanyol |
| Saturday, November 28 | 7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. ET | Malaga vs. Granada |
| Saturday, November 28 | 9 p.m. GMT/4 p.m. ET | Las Palmas vs. Deportivo La Coruna |
| Saturday, November 28 | 9:05 p.m. GMT/4:05 p.m. ET | Celta Vigo vs. Sporting Gijon |
| Sunday, November 29 | 11 a.m. GMT/6 a.m. ET | Getafe vs. Villarreal |
| Sunday, November 29 | 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET | Eibar vs. Real Madrid |
| Sunday, November 29 | 5:15 p.m. GMT/12:15 p.m. ET | Rayo Vallecano vs. Athletic Club |
| Sunday, November 29 | 7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. ET | Sevilla vs. Valencia |
Recap
Pepe Mel's travelling party got the dream start they were searching for on Friday when Joaquin cut in from the left corner flag to thread a pass through for Castro, who was lurking deep in enemy territory.
A touch was all the 34-year-old needed as he lashed home his eighth of the campaign, curling an unstoppable effort around Levante stopper Ruben Martinez. Infostrada Sports illustrated his talismanic status for the club:
Los Verdiblancos were unsurprisingly unable to maintain that pace, however, and the game gradually became a fight to retain the lead as Verza and Deyverson each hit Betis' woodwork in quick succession.
It was Deyverson who had the best chance to pull the home outfit level after Verza's attempted lob hit the post, with his striker team-mate only able to rock the crossbar with his follow-up despite the open goal.
Manager Rubi could have been frustrated that his side didn't manage to level the score before the break, but a 1-0 deficit heading into the second period was far from damning, and the hosts remained in with a chance at the spoils.
Betis winger Joaquin deserved credit following an incident near half-time, where he received a penalty-worthy shove in the back but refused to go down and saw the chance evade him as a result of his honesty. AS English felt that it deserved a spot-kick:
The lead was a precarious one for Mel's men, and Heiko Westermann put the result in serious danger after picking up his second yellow-card offence with 10 minutes remaining.
In a bizarre twist, Levante received a red card of their own just minutes later, but the hosts still had 11 men due to the fact that the offending Juanfran was on the bench at the time, sent marching for an outburst from the sidelines.
Levante couldn't make their one-man advantage tell, though, and Betis escaped with three extremely valuable points, while the Frogs can only muse on their missed opportunities and lacklustre finishing.
