La Liga Table 2016 Week 28: Standings and Final Scores After Monday

A superb volley from Hernan Perez saw Espanyol clinch a 2-1 win over fellow relegation strugglers Rayo Vallecano on Monday evening to move five points clear of the relegation zone.

Abraham Gonzalez converted an early opener for the hosts before Rayo forward Bebe unleashed a wicked equaliser in the 67th minute, but Espanyol rose clear to pinch a pivotal three-point haul.

That result sealed an encapsulating weekend for the Spanish top flight, which saw leaders Barcelona maintain an eight-point lead over Atletico Madrid following their 4-0 victory at Eibar on Sunday.

Los Rojiblancos remain on the Blaugrana's heels, and their 3-1 win at Valencia means they're not out of the title race just yet, whereas Real Madrid, 12 points off the summit, hammered Celta Vigo, 7-1, on Saturday.

Read on for a recap of Monday's sole Primera Division clash, along with a full breakdown of the Week 28 results and a look at the updated standings.

Date	Home	Score	Away
Saturday, March 5	Real Madrid	7-1	Celta Vigo
Saturday, March 5	Villarreal	0-1	Las Palmas
Saturday, March 5	Getafe	1-1	Sevilla
Saturday, March 5	Deportivo La Coruna	3-3	Malaga
Sunday, March 6	Real Betis	2-0	Granada
Sunday, March 6	Eibar	0-4	Barcelona
Sunday, March 6	Real Sociedad	1-1	Levante
Sunday, March 6	Sporting Gijon	0-2	Athletic Bilbao
Sunday, March 6	Valencia	1-3	Atletico Madrid
Monday, March 7	Espanyol	2-1	Rayo Vallecano

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	28	23	3	2	78	22	+56	72
2	Atletico Madrid	28	20	4	4	42	12	+30	64
3	Real Madrid	28	18	6	4	81	27	+54	60
4	Villarreal	28	15	8	5	33	19	+14	53
5	Sevilla	28	12	9	7	39	29	+10	45
6	Athletic Club	28	13	5	10	44	36	+8	44
7	Celta Vigo	28	12	6	10	40	51	-11	42
8	Eibar	28	10	6	12	40	40	0	36
9	Real Sociedad	28	9	8	11	37	39	-2	35
10	Real Betis	28	8	10	10	26	36	-10	34
11	Valencia	28	8	10	10	33	33	0	34
12	Malaga	28	8	9	11	27	28	-1	33
13	Deportivo La Coruna	28	6	15	7	37	39	-2	33
14	Espanyol	28	9	4	15	28	54	-26	31
15	Las Palmas	28	8	6	14	30	40	-10	30
16	Getafe	28	7	6	15	27	45	-18	27
17	Rayo Vallecano	28	6	8	14	38	60	-22	26
18	Granada	28	7	5	16	29	53	-24	26
19	Sporting Gijon	28	6	6	16	30	50	-20	24
20	Levante	28	5	6	17	26	52	-26	21

Espanyol 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Rayo Vallecano made the trip to Estadi Cornella-El Prat on Monday two points below Espanyol, knowing that a win would see them move above their opponents and a great deal closer to top-flight safety.

The visiting team would go on to take a controlling share of possession in the first period, but it was Espanyol's Abraham who had the most telling impact after 12 minutes by netting his first goal of the season.

The forward managed to get on the end of a Marco Asensio cross and slide a low effort past Rayo No. 1 Yoel, but it was the provider who caught the eye of Bleacher Report's Rik Sharma and Richard Martin of the Press Association:

Espanyol held on to their lead until the break, but their guests' upper hand in the possession stakes meant the result was far from sealed, something that became all the more apparent midway through the second half.

That was when Rayo's Bebe shimmied the ball onto his right before sending a thunderbolt equaliser home, an example of the skill that once earned him comparisons to fellow Manchester United alumnus Cristiano Ronaldo, per Andrew Gaffney of Yahoo:

Rayo's joy didn't last long, though, and it took Perez just 10 minutes to put the home outfit back ahead with a volley that the Liverpool Echo's Neil Jones classed as even more impressive than Bebe's:

Espanyol were ultimately the superior outfit, despite their minority in possession, per WhoScored.com, accounting for just over a third of the ball in total.

Los Periquitos travel to 18th-placed Granada next Monday and will have their chance to edge away from the drop zone once again, while Rayo Vallecano prepare for the tough visit of Eibar.