La Liga Table 2016 Week 18: Standings and Final Scores After Monday

Two goals in two second-half minutes helped Getafe secure a critical 2-1 win over relegation rivals Sporting Gijon in La Liga’s Monday fixture.

A 16th-minute goal from Antonio Sanabria gave the hosts a one-goal lead at the interval, but their good work was undone inside a crazy spell, with Juan Cala and Pablo Sarabia netting in the 69th and 71st minutes respectively.

Over the weekend, Atletico Madrid extended their lead at the summit of La Liga to two points with a 1-0 win over Levante. Their triumph was sandwiched between disappointing draws for both Barcelona, who have a game in hand in second spot, at Espanyol and Real Madrid, who were held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia.

Here’s a round-up of the results from Week 16 and a look at the league table after the first set of fixtures in 2016 were completed.

Date	Home	Result	Away
Saturday, Jan. 2	Espanyol	0-0	Barcelona
Saturday, Jan. 2	Atletico Madrid	1-0	Levante
Saturday, Jan. 2	Malaga	2-0	Celta Vigo
Sunday, Jan. 3	Rayo Vallecano	2-2	Real Sociedad
Sunday, Jan. 3	Granada	2-1	Sevilla
Sunday, Jan. 3	Betis	0-4	Eibar
Sunday, Jan. 3	Deportivo La Coruna	1-2	Villarreal
Sunday, Jan. 3	Athletic Club	2-2	Las Palmas
Sunday, Jan. 3	Valencia	2-2	Real Madrid
Monday, Jan. 4	Sporting Gijon	1-2	Getafe

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Atletico Madrid	18	13	2	3	25	8	+17	41
2	Barcelona	17	12	3	2	40	15	+25	39
3	Real Madrid	18	11	4	3	47	18	+29	37
4	Villarreal	18	11	3	4	24	16	+8	36
5	Celta Vigo	18	9	4	5	28	25	+3	31
6	Athletic Club	18	8	4	6	27	20	+7	28
7	Deportivo La Coruna	18	6	9	3	26	18	+8	27
8	Eibar	18	7	6	5	25	19	+6	27
9	Sevilla	18	7	5	6	24	21	+3	26
10	Valencia	18	5	8	5	23	17	+6	23
11	Malaga	18	6	5	7	13	14	-1	23
12	Espanyol	18	6	3	9	16	28	-12	21
15	Getafe	18	5	5	8	20	27	-7	20
14	Real Betis	18	5	5	8	13	27	-14	20
15	Las Palmas	18	4	5	9	18	26	-8	17
16	Real Sociedad	18	4	5	9	20	27	-7	17
17	Granada	18	4	5	9	20	32	-12	17
18	Rayo Vallecano	18	4	3	11	20	41	-21	15
19	Sporting Gijon	17	4	3	10	16	27	-11	15
20	Levante	18	2	5	11	12	31	-19	11

Monday Recap

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Getafe’s second-half turnaround saw them move up into 13th spot in the table, five points clear of Sporting Gijon, who remain in 19th.

Sporting needed to get out of the traps fast and get their fans onside after some ropey form as of late. And while the visitors seemed more comfortable in possession in the early stages, the intensity and incision of the home side’s attacking play saw them carve out the best chances.

Sanabria was on hand to head home the first of them after a Jony cross, his sixth La Liga goal of the season. But as Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez noted, it was Barcelona’s on-loan midfielder Alen Halilovic who was pulling the strings for Sporting:

Getafe failed to conjure any major openings of note before the break, and in the second period, the pattern of the match remained much the same. That was up until a frantic two minutes that saw the game turned on its head.

Gijon showed exactly why they are languishing in the lower reaches of the table, as they failed to deal with a rudimentary free-kick into the box. Cala had the easy task of side-footing the chance home, and suddenly with just over 20 minutes left on the clock, the Madrid outfit fancied their chances.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

It didn’t take them long to complete a full turnaround either, with the defending once again far from desirable from the hosts. This time it was Sarabia, who delivered the free-kick for the opener, who finished the move off, prodding home neatly after some brilliant work from Stefan Scepovic.

As OptaJose noted, Sarabia has been a critical attacking player for Getafe this season:

The stunned hosts were unable to secure what would have been a priceless equalising goal, meaning they’ve now lost six of their last seven league matches. Gijon do have a game in hand and can move out of the drop zone if they were to win it as things stand. But it’s tough to see how they can remain in this league if they continue to defend with such recklessness.

Weekend Recap

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Atletico Madrid did exactly what they do best on Saturday, grinding out a 1-0 win with a late goal and moving up to the summit of the table.

Thomas Partey netted the winner nine minutes from time against Levante, as Diego Simeone’s men were matched by the determined visitors. In the end, Atleti could have won by more, but another rock-solid defensive display will please the manager. Traits are beginning to resurface that were so prevalent during their title-winning term in 2013-14, too.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

As Cristian Nyari of FCB Media noted in the aftermath of this one, Simeone’s side are remarkably good at the back:

"

Atletico Madrid have already kept 16 clean sheets in 26 games this season, conceded only 11 goals. Crazy!

— Cristian Nyari (@crisnyari) January 2, 2016"

The win would have been all the more satisfying due to what came before and after, as the chasing pair both dropped points.

Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by their local rivals Espanyol, who were dogged and determined in their defensive efforts. Real also lost ground to the leaders, as goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were cancelled out by a Dani Parejo penalty and a late Paco Alcacer header at Valencia.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

It was a result that was the final straw for the Real Madrid board, who sacked manager Rafael Benitez a day later; he’s since been replaced by Zinedine Zidane, per their official website. As we can see courtesy of ESPN FC, the former manager really struggled against the top sides:

Elsewhere, Villarreal left it late to secure their fifth win in a row, with Bruno slotting home a 94th-minute penalty in a 2-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna. A disappointing 2-0 loss for Celta Vigo at Malaga means the Submarino Amarillo are now five points clear in fourth spot, with Athletic Club, who drew at home to Las Palmas, eight points back in sixth.

Sevilla are in eighth behind high-flying Eibar, who secured a remarkable 4-0 win away at Real Betis, after they were beaten 2-1 by struggling Granada. Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad played out a 2-2 draw in the weekend’s other contest.