La Liga Results 2018 Week 31: Final Scores and Updated Table After Saturday
Lionel Messi put together another brilliant performance to lead Barcelona to a 3-1 win over Leganes during Saturday's La Liga action, scoring a hat-trick.
The forward scored twice in the first half and added a late goal to secure a hard-fought win at the Camp Nou.
Earlier in the day, Celta Vigo shocked Sevilla, winning 4-0, and Real Betis passed their local rivals in the standings as a result.
Saturday's Results
Alaves 2-0 Getafe
Celta Vigo 4-0 Sevilla
Real Betis 2-0 Eibar
Barcelona 3-1 Leganes
La Liga Standings (Team, Played, Goal Difference, Points)
Barcelona, 31, 63, 79
Atletico Madrid, 30, 36, 67
Real Madrid, 30, 43, 63
Valencia, 30, 27, 62
Real Betis, 31, -1, 49
Villarreal, 30, 6, 47
Sevilla, 31, -11, 46
Girona, 30, 1, 44
Celta Vigo 31, 7, 43
Eibar, 31, -9, 40
Getafe, 31, 5, 39
Athletic, 30, -4, 36
Espanyol, 30, -11, 36
Leganes, 31, -13, 36
Alaves, 31, -17, 35
Real Sociedad, 30, -1, 34
Levante, 30, -18, 28
Deportivo La Coruna, 31, -34, 23
Las Palmas, 30, -40, 21
Malaga, 31, -29, 17
Recap
Leganes made Barcelona work for their win on Saturday but were undone by yet another brilliant showing from Messi.
The Argentinian scored twice in the span of five minutes, giving the Catalans the advantage before the half-time break.
Per OptaJose, he's been lights-out from range:
But Leganes had no intention of rolling over and submitting in the second half. While some home fans may have expected the Blaugrana to run up the score, Nabil El Zhar pulled a goal back for the visitors instead.
There were some nervy moments for the league-leaders, but Messi secured the win by completing his hat-trick in the final minutes.
The biggest shock of the day played out in Galicia at Estadio Balaidos, where Celta Vigo cruised to a 4-0 win over Sevilla.
Iago Aspas was the hero for the hosts, scoring a second-half hat-trick to take his season tally up to 19 goals―good for fourth place in the top scorers' race.
Per the Guardian's Sid Lowe, he remains crucial for Celta:
Sevilla's local rivals Real Betis took full advantage of that result to leapfrog them in the standings and the race for a ticket to the UEFA Europa League. Sergio Leon scored the opener for the hosts at Benito Villamarin, and an own-goal from Anaitz Arbilla put the final score on the board.
Barcelona loanee Munir El Haddadi was on point for Alaves, who moved further away from the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Getafe at Estadio Mendizorroza.
