La Liga Results 2016: Table, Scores and Reaction After Final Week 15 Match
Villarreal devastated Atletico Madrid 3-0 at El Madrigal on Monday evening to climb above Los Rojiblancos and up to fourth in La Liga after sealing their first league win in more than a month.
The Yellow Submarine ended their three-match winless league streak in style after first-half goals from Manu Trigueros and Jonathan Dos Santos paved the way to a spotless victory before Roberto Soriano added a late third.
Manager Diego Simeone's side drops down to sixth as a result of its latest setback and is now 12 points off bitter rivals and league leaders Real Madrid at the end of Week 15.
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Atleti's loss came with bad timing, too, considering both Barcelona and Real Madrid (placed first and second in the standings, respectively) clinched wins against Osasuna and Deportivo La Coruna over the weekend.
Read on for a breakdown of the updated La Liga standings, complete with a recap of Monday's sole top-flight fixture and a look at the Week 15 results in full.
| 1 | Real Madrid | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 14 | +26 | 37 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 31 |
| 3 | Sevilla | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 30 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 10 | +12 | 26 |
| 5 | Real Sociedad | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 26 |
| 6 | Atletico Madrid | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 14 | +14 | 25 |
| 7 | Athletic Club | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 18 | +2 | 23 |
| 8 | Eibar | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 22 |
| 9 | Espanyol | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 22 |
| 10 | Las Palmas | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 21 |
| 11 | Celta Vigo | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 29 | -5 | 21 |
| 12 | Malaga | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 21 |
| 13 | Alaves | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 17 | -3 | 18 |
| 14 | Real Betis | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 28 | -10 | 18 |
| 15 | Leganes | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 26 | -14 | 15 |
| 16 | Deportivo La Coruna | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 27 | -7 | 13 |
| 17 | Valencia | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 29 | -8 | 12 |
| 18 | Sporting Gijon | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 30 | -14 | 12 |
| 19 | Granada | 15 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 31 | -17 | 9 |
| 20 | Osasuna | 15 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 32 | -19 | 7 |
| Monday, December 12 | |
| Sunday, December 11 | Eibar 0-0 Alaves |
| Sunday, December 11 | Celta Vigo 0-3 Sevilla |
| Sunday, December 11 | Espanyol 2-1 Sporting Gijon |
| Sunday, December 11 | Real Betis 1-0 Athletic Bilbao |
| Saturday, December 10 | Osasuna 0-3 Barcelona |
| Saturday, December 10 | Real Sociedad 3-2 Valencia |
| Saturday, December 10 | Las Palmas 1-1 Leganes |
| Saturday, December 10 | Real Madrid 3-2 Deportivo La Coruna |
| Friday, December 9 | Malaga 1-1 Granada |
Recap
After failing to score against Espanyol and Bayern Munich in their two most recent outings, Atletico were once again muted at El Madrigal on Monday as Villarreal demonstrated their credentials to climb La Liga's hierarchy.
Manager Fran Escriba was looking to pick up where last season's performances against the Madrid giants left off, with Sky Sports Statto acknowledging Atleti's struggles in this fixture last season:
And Villarreal opened their assault with fine initiative as Stefan Savic was forced into an early clearance off the line, but the defensive work in front of goal wasn't always as proficient as that particular manoeuvre.
Tiago was to blame for the first of Atletico's major errors, giving up the ball and allowing Trigueros the space he needed to dart past two defenders and shoot low into Jan Oblak's bottom corner on a special day, per Sky Sports Statto:
Tiago was taken off just moments after the goal, but that didn't prevent Dos Santos from doubling his side's lead 10 minutes later, despite Oblak's best efforts to divert Alexandre Pato's cross away from the area.
Dos Santos hit the post with his first attempt before converting with his second bite of the cherry, and Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney asserted Villarreal's domination of the fixture with the hosts 2-0 up at the break:
Atletico came to tilt the shots counter in their favour, per WhoScored.com, but it was Villarreal who boasted more shots on goal. And some beautiful link-up play with Alfred N'Diaye on the edge of the box saw Soriano chip in Villarreal's third in injury time.
Now without a win in three, Simeone's side appears to be undergoing a miniature crisis by its usual standards, while Villarreal now sit fourth and became just the second team this season to put three past Los Rojiblancos.
