La Liga Table 2016 Week 34: Standings, Title Odds, Final Scores After Thursday

Getafe and Granada booked crucial wins in Week 34 of La Liga, beating Real Sociedad and Levante, respectively, to keep the race to avoid the drop close.

Granada’s 5-1 win over Levante sees the team leap over Sporting Gijon and out of the bottom three of the standings, but the difference between the Andalusians and Levante is just five points in the standings. Youssef El Arabi scored a hat-trick, including two penalties.

Barcelona maintain the top title odds, ahead of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Here’s a look at the results from Thursday’s action:

Real Sociedad	1-2	Getafe
Granada	5-1	Levante

The latest La Liga standings:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	34	25	4	5	96	29	+67	79
2	Atletico Madrid	34	25	4	5	58	16	+42	79
3	Real Madrid	34	24	6	4	101	30	+71	78
4	Villarreal	34	17	9	8	42	31	+11	60
5	Athletic Club	34	16	6	12	51	41	+10	54
6	Celta Vigo	34	15	9	10	47	54	-7	54
7	Sevilla	34	13	10	11	47	42	+5	49
8	Valencia	34	11	10	13	42	40	+2	43
9	Malaga	34	10	12	12	31	31	0	42
10	Eibar	34	11	8	15	45	53	-8	41
11	Real Sociedad	34	11	8	15	42	46	-4	41
12	Real Betis	34	10	11	13	31	46	-15	41
13	Las Palmas	34	11	7	16	38	46	-8	40
14	Deportivo La Coruna	34	7	17	10	42	56	-14	38
15	Espanyol	34	10	7	17	35	63	-28	37
16	Rayo Vallecano	34	8	11	15	46	66	-20	35
17	Granada	34	8	9	17	38	61	-23	33
18	Sporting Gijon	34	8	8	18	35	55	-20	32
19	Getafe	34	8	7	19	31	62	-31	31
20	Levante	34	7	7	20	31	61	-30	28

The updated title odds, courtesy of Oddschecker.com:

Team	Odds
Barcelona	4-11
Atletico Madrid	7-2
Real Madrid	11-2

Thursday Recap

Getafe shocked Real Sociedad at the Anoeta, winning 2-1 to move out of last place in the standings and within two points of La Liga safety.

Carlos Vela gave the hosts the lead after just 19 minutes, tapping home from close range after great work from star youngster Mikel Oyarzabal. La Liga writer Sid Lowe thought Getafe didn’t look good at all:

The Azulones have endured a dreadful season and entered the contest on a three-match losing streak, but to their credit, they bounced back well after going down at the Anoeta.

ANDER GILLENEA/Getty Images

With their La Liga future on the line, Getafe pushed forward at times and took advantage of the Basques’ sloppy defending, finding an equaliser through Pablo Sarabia before half-time.

The former Real Madrid man was left wide-open at the back post and easily scored with a volley. Per OptaJose, his form this season indicates he won’t have to look long for a new club if Getafe do go down:

Things got even better for the visitors after the break. Oier Olazabal gave away a silly penalty with a rash tackle inside his own box, and Alvaro Vazquez easily converted from the spot, handing Getafe a shock lead.

Sociedad pushed for an equaliser and dominated much of the second half, but chances were rare, and the visitors held on for their first win in 14 tries.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Granada knew a win over fellow relegation-threatened Levante would see them pass Sporting Gijon in the standings, and as shared by Bleacher Report UK’s Sam Tighe, they dominated their opponents from the start:

Isaac Success continued his fine form by scoring the opening goal, keeping his cool when faced with goalkeeper Diego Marino, and El Arabi doubled Granada’s advantage from the penalty spot after 35 minutes.

Ruben Rochina added a third goal before half-time, and per Tighe, the scoreline actively reflected what he saw on the pitch:

Granada dug in to defend their lead in the second half and ran into a remarkable four bookings in just 19 minutes, but it took until the 82nd minute for Levante to get on the scoresheet.

Ruben Garcia gave the visitors a glimmer of hope, but El Arabi immediately restored the three-goal gap, converting his second penalty of the night. The decision to award the spot-kick for a perceived hand-ball was controversial, to say the least, as Lucas Orban did everything possible to avoid contact.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Simao was sent off for a second bookable offence in the final minutes, and El Arabi completed his hat-trick in injury time.

Granada are the big winners near the bottom of the standings following Week 34, but with Levante also grabbing an unexpected win, anything is still possible with four matches left to play.

Barcelona, Atletico and Real all booked wins in Week 34, ensuring the title race remains as close as ever. The Catalans finally halted their slide with an 8-0 demolition of Deportivo La Coruna, and manager Luis Enrique was happy with what his troops showed, per Barcelona’s official Twitter account:

Fernando Torres scored the only goal in Atletico’s win over Athletic Bilbao, while Real Madrid looked convincing in a 3-0 win over in-form Villarreal.

Barcelona still sit in pole position thanks to the head-to-head record with Atletico, while Real need to make up a single point in the standings.

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