La Liga Results 2016: Scores, Odds, Updated Table After Saturday Week 36 Matches

Antoine Griezmann kept Atletico Madrid's La Liga title bid alive by scoring the only goal in the win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

The France international started on the bench, but with his team struggling, he entered the pitch in the second half and scored after less than a minute on the pitch.

Gareth Bale saved Real Madrid’s title chances with a timely header to beat Real Sociedad, and Barcelona beat Real Betis 2-0 to maintain the top spot in the standings. Here's a look at Saturday's results:

Real Sociedad	0-1	Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid	1-0	Rayo Vallecano
Real Betis	0-2	Barcelona
Granada	3-2	Las Palmas

The latest La Liga standings:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	36	27	4	5	104	29	+75	85
2	Atletico Madrid	36	27	4	5	60	16	+44	85
3	Real Madrid	36	26	6	4	105	32	+73	84
4	Villarreal	35	17	10	8	42	31	+11	61
5	Celta Vigo	35	16	9	10	49	55	-6	57
6	Athletic Club	35	16	7	12	53	43	+10	55
7	Sevilla	35	14	10	11	49	42	+7	52
8	Valencia	35	11	11	13	44	42	+2	44
9	Las Palmas	36	12	7	17	44	49	-5	43
10	Malaga	35	10	12	13	31	32	-1	42
11	Eibar	36	11	9	16	46	56	-10	42
12	Real Sociedad	36	11	9	16	42	47	-5	42
13	Real Betis	36	10	11	15	31	50	-19	41
14	Deportivo La Coruna	35	7	18	10	43	57	-14	39
15	Espanyol	35	10	7	18	35	67	-32	37
18	Granada	36	9	9	18	42	65	-23	36
16	Rayo Vallecano	36	8	11	17	48	70	-22	35
17	Sporting Gijon	36	9	8	19	37	61	-24	35
19	Getafe	35	8	8	19	33	64	-31	32
20	Levante	35	7	8	20	33	63	-30	29

The current title odds, courtesy of Oddschecker.com:

Team	Odds
Barcelona	1-4
Atletico Madrid	11-2
Real Madrid	8-1

Recap

Atletico manager Diego Simeone fielded a number of backups and rested a host of regular starters, including Griezmann, with an eye on the upcoming UEFA Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

Sid Lowe shared the teamsheet at half-time, noting the revised Atletico was in dire need of some changes:

The hosts did little to trouble their neighbours during the first half, as a lack of creativity plagued the Rojiblancos. The usual work-rate was there, but it didn’t result in any major chances, and Rayo easily defended their goal.

Koke was Simeone’s first substitute, and he brought Griezmann on a few minutes later. As shared by Lowe, the France international didn’t need long to score his 30th goal of the season in all competitions:

A dreadful attempted clearance fell right to the foot of Griezmann, who pulled the trigger from just inside the box, leaving goalkeeper Juan Carlos no chance.

Fellow substitute Fernando Torres should have doubled Atletico’s lead minutes later after a gorgeous pass from Griezmann, but the former Chelsea star failed to beat Carlos from close range.

Rayo pressed for an equaliser late, but the Rojiblancos kept their defensive form and held on for the win, temporarily moving into first place in the standings in the process. 

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

Earlier in the day, Bale saved Real Madrid from another disastrous result at the Anoeta, beating Geronimo Rulli with a powerful header 10 minutes before the final whistle.

La Real beat Los Blancos at home last season and have developed quite the reputation for beating top teams at home, as evidenced by their win over Barcelona just a few weeks ago. The Basques were far from their best on Saturday, but they still came close to yet another upset.

Per Andrew Gaffney of Yahoo Sport UK, Real stopper Keylor Navas deserves as much credit for Real’s strong run as Bale does, and he made a handful of key saves to deny the hosts on Saturday:

Manager Zinedine Zidane told reporters he’s happy to see Bale doing well, per ESPN FC’s Dermot Corrigan:

Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez took care of business for the Catalans later on Saturday, as Barcelona overcame a heroic effort from Real Betis. The Andalusians lost Heiko Westermann  to a red card in the first half but gave Barcelona all they could handle, while the Catalans struggled to find a rhythm in a match filled with poor officiating and constant stoppages.

Rakitic took advantage of a defensive blunder to open the score, however, and Suarez added a second goal late. The result leaves Barcelona in pole-position for the title with two matches left to play for the top three teams.

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