La Liga Table 2016 Week 11: Updated Standings Following Friday's Results

Malaga moved up to ninth in La Liga after coming from behind to beat Sporting Gijon 3-2 at La Rosaleda on Friday. Substitute Michael Santos' header proved to be the winner less than 15 minutes from time.

Malaga had to come from behind twice after Sporting went in front first through Borja Viguera. Then Duje Cop helped Gijon retake the lead after Pablo Fornals had equalised for the home side. But Malaga claimed another equaliser when Sandro Ramirez got his head to a teasing cross in the second half.

Sporting remain mired in the bottom three after once again being undone by a shaky defence.

Now attention will turn to the battle at the top—a fight likely to take a few turns over the weekend. Third-placed Atletico Madrid will be the first to try and seize control when they travel to meet Real Sociedad at Anoeta on Saturday.

Yet it's on Sunday when things will get interesting as top-of-the-table Real Madrid host Leganes, before Barcelona face a difficult trip to Sevilla. Reigning champions Barca are just two points behind Los Blancos, but will find in-form Sevilla the toughest of tests.

Here's what the standings look like:

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Real Madrid	10	7	3	0	18	24
2	Barcelona	10	7	1	2	18	22
3	Atletico Madrid	10	6	3	1	19	21
4	Sevilla	10	6	3	1	5	21
5	Villarreal	10	5	4	1	10	19
6	Real Sociedad	10	5	1	4	4	16
7	Athletic Bilbao	10	5	1	4	2	16
8	Eibar	10	4	3	3	2	15
9	Malaga	11	4	3	4	1	15
10	Celta Vigo	10	4	2	4	-4	14
11	Las Palmas	10	3	4	3	2	13
12	Espanyol	10	2	5	3	-4	11
13	Real Betis	10	3	2	5	-9	11
14	Valencia	10	3	1	6	-5	10
15	Alaves	10	2	4	4	-5	10
16	Leganes	10	3	1	6	-10	10
17	Deportivo La Coruna	10	2	3	5	-8	9
18	Sporting Gijon	11	2	3	6	-12	9
19	Osasuna	10	1	4	5	-8	7
20	Granada	10	0	3	7	-16	3

Recap

Sporting arrived at La Rosaleda facing some daunting history at the home of Malaga, according to OptaJose:

However, the history looked set to be reversed when Viguera struck inside the first 15 minutes. In the process, the 29-year-old striker became unique in Spain's top flight this season:

Undeterred by the setback, the home side established control of the ball and swarmed on the Sporting defence. Malaga recycled possession at pace, but the final ball too often lacked quality for the hosts to make their dominance count.

In fact, it wasn't until first-half stoppage time that Malaga finally levelled the scores. The goal came from Pablo Fornals, with the precocious 20-year-old schemer dragging a low shot accurately into the bottom corner.

Malaga were still on top after the break, but hadn't heeded Sporting's threat on the counter. They were punished for a second time when prolific Croatian forward Cop regained the lead for Gijon.

Cop is putting together an exceptional season:

Still, Sporting began and ended the night in the drop zone because of defensive frailties. Those familiar problems surfaced again when Ramirez guided in a header just after the hour mark.

Another header, this one from Santos, finally put Malaga in front. The Uruguayan had replaced injured winger Jony Rodriguez in the first half.

A second yellow card for full-back Lillo made Sporting's task too difficult, and Malaga held on for three vital points.

Attention will now shift to the top three this weekend. Atleti could find themselves undone by a Sociedad side enjoying a three-match winning run against Madrid.

Unfortunately for Atletico, any slip is likely to be punished by city rivals Los Blancos, who are a strong bet to beat Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, it's the game between Sevilla and Barca at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan that stands out. For once, the visitors are facing a team as adept as they are on the ball.

Sevilla spent wisely this summer, recruiting some terrific midfield talent. Chief among them are playmakers Ganso and Franco Vazquez.

Just as important as the new faces has been the philosophy of manager Jorge Sampaoli. Guillem Balague, Nick Wright and Adam Smith of Sky Sports summed up how the man who replaced Unai Emery in the summer has changed things: "Well, 11 new signings have certainly helped, and Sampaoli's high-intensity, attacking playing style has also proved a good fit for a side who already played aggressively under Emery. The big difference, however, is that Sampaoli wants them to dominate the ball, too."

Barca have struggled to dictate passing and create chances without Andres Iniesta in recent matches. If they can't rediscover their creative swagger in Sevilla, the champions will lose ground in the title race.