La Liga Table 2016 Week 8: Standings and Final Scores After Sunday

Athletic Bilbao won the Basque derby, while Valencia earned three vital away points in La Liga on Sunday. The former are now sixth, just one point behind reigning champions Barcelona and a place in the top four.

Bilbao were fifth after beating Real Sociedad 3-2 at San Mames, but a goal rush from Villarreal moved the Yellow Submarine ahead. Villarreal put five past Celta Vigo at El Madrigal and are performing superbly after losing former manager Marcelino just prior to the season.

Meanwhile, Valencia are now two points above the drop zone, thanks to a Mario Suarez double to beat Sporting Gijon at El Molinon. It's a terrific boost for manager Cesare Prandelli, who only succeeded Pako Ayestaran at the start of October.

Here are the final scores after Sunday's matches:

Home	Score	Away
Alaves	1-1	Malaga
Athletic Bilbao	3-2	Real Sociedad
Valencia	1-2	Sporting Gijon
Villarreal	5-0	Celta Vigo

Here's what those results mean for the standings:

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Atletico Madrid	8	5	3	0	18	18
2	Real Madrid	8	5	3	0	14	18
3	Sevilla	8	5	2	1	4	17
4	Barcelona	8	5	1	2	16	16
5	Villarreal	8	4	4	0	10	16
6	Athletic Bilbao	8	5	0	3	3	15
7	Las Palmas	8	3	3	2	3	12
8	Eibar	7	3	2	2	2	11
9	Alaves	8	2	4	2	1	10
10	Real Sociedad	8	3	1	4	-1	10
11	Leganes	8	3	1	4	-4	10
12	Celta Vigo	8	3	1	4	-7	10
13	Malaga	8	2	3	3	-2	9
14	Valencia	8	3	0	5	-4	9
15	Deportivo La Coruna	8	2	2	4	-5	8
16	Real Betis	8	2	2	4	-9	8
17	Espanyol	8	1	4	3	-5	7
18	Sporting Gijon	8	2	1	5	-11	7
19	Osasuna	7	0	3	4	-8	3
20	Granada	8	0	2	6	-15	2

Preview

Three second-half goals put Bilbao ahead after Sociedad had led since the 16th minute. David Zurutuza had given the visitors the lead, but Iker Muniain equalised, before Aritz Aduriz made it 2-1 on the hour mark.

It was yet another milestone for the ageing but still effective target man, per Squawka:

Winger Inaki Williams scored Bilbao's third after providing the assist for Aduriz. The double salvo in the final third marked a career-first for the dynamic Williams, according to OptaJose:

Still, Inigo Martinez made sure of a nervy finish by getting Sociedad's second, but Bilbao hung on for a significant win.

In fact, it marked the first time in nearly four years Athletic have bested their local rivals:

Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde has put together a deep, talented and versatile squad. Aduriz is the fulcrum, but his experience is complemented wonderfully by precocious youngsters such as Muniain, Williams and centre-back Aymeric Laporte.

This is a squad good enough to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League.

The same is true of Villarreal, who are maturing nicely on the watch of Marcelino's replacement Fran Escriba. Roberto Soriano scored twice, while Cedric Bakambu and Manu Trigueros also found the net. An own goal from Celta's Daniel Wass also contributed to the demolition.

It proved to be an historic margin of victory for the winning manager:

Escriba has deftly made sure Villarreal haven't missed Marcelino, a manager who did splendid work with the Yellow Submarine in recent seasons. Yet even after Marcelino's sudden departure, Eric Bailly signing for Manchester United and crafty playmaker Denis Suarez returning to Barcelona, this is still a squad loaded with quality.

Trigueros and fellow midfielder Bruno ensure there's plenty of ingenuity in the middle, while Bakambu is a major threat up top.

Prandelli doesn't have the same level of talent to work with in Valencia, but he found an unlikely match-winner on his debut, in the form of Mario Suarez. The midfield man on loan from Premier League club Watford scored twice, with the second cancelling out Carlos Castro's equaliser for Gijon.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Prandelli and Suarez made an immediate impact, with the quality of Los Che's football standing out early on, according to ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

It will take better performances than this for Prandelli to really turn Valencia around, but the Italian is off to a great start.

The day began with Roberto Rosales snatching a point for Malaga after equalising in the final five minutes against Alaves at Mendizorroza. Acosta Deyverson had scored early for the hosts, but the game was marred by a pair of late red cards, with Theo Hernandez and Juanpi being dismissed in stoppage time.

The point has done little for either team, with Malaga 13th and Alaves ninth.

None of today's participants could realistically apply pressure on Barca, Real Madrid and leaders Atletico Madrid, all of whom enjoyed big wins this weekend. It looks like another three-way race for the title.