La Liga Results 2018 Week 35: Final Scores and Updated Table After Saturday

Real Madrid closed to within a point of Atletico Madrid in second place of La Liga after a 2-1 win over Leganes on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Elsewhere in La Liga, there were wins for Real Sociedad and Villarreal, while Espanyol were held to a 1-1 draw by Las Palmas.

Here's a look at all Saturday's results, the updated table and a recap of the best of the action.

Saturday's Scores

Espanyol 1-1 Las Palmas

Real Sociedad 3-1 Athletic Bilbao

Real Madrid 2-1 Leganes

Villarreal 4-1 Celta Vigo

La Liga Table (games players, goal difference, points)

1. Barcelona: 33, +64, 83 points

2. Atletico Madrid: 34, +36, 72

3. Real Madrid: 34, +45, 71

4. Valencia: 34, +26, 66

5. Real Betis: 34, +1, 56

6. Villarreal: 34, +8, 54

7. Sevilla: 34, -12, 48

8. Getafe: 34, +8, 48

9. Girona: 34, -6, 47

10. Real Sociedad: 35, +8, 46

11. Celta Vigo: 35, +3, 45

12. Eibar: 34, -10, 43

13. Alaves: 34, -13, 41

14. Athletic Bilbao: 35, -7, 40

15. Leganes: 35, -14, 40

16. Espanyol: 35, -12, 40

17. Levante: 35, -16, 40

18. Deportivo La Coruna: 34, -33, 28

19. Las Palmas: 35, -47, 22

20. Malaga: 34, -29, 20 

Saturday's Recap

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane made 10 changes to his side, no doubt with one eye on Tuesday's UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich at home.

The two teams shared their lineups via Twitter:

Gareth Bale made the most of his return to the starting lineup by scoring the opener after just six minutes. The Welshman hooked the ball home from close range, although there was a suspicion of offside, as noted by Marca:

The hosts did not have it all their own way as Nordin Amrabat almost equalised, with his effort hitting the bar. 

Borja Mayoral extended Real's lead from close range just before half-time. There was confusion initially over whether the goal had been given, but it was allowed to stand.

Goal's Ben Hayward said it was the right decision:

Leganes rallied after the break and pulled one back through Darko Brasanac. They might have had a second through Unai Bustinza, but he was denied by a good save from goalkeeper Kiko Casilla.

The visitors' afternoon then went from bad to worse as they saw midfielder Gabriel sent off after the full-time whistle for dissent.

It was a good afternoon for Bale, who offered a reminder of his qualities and was handed the captain's armband for the first time after Karim Benzema was substituted.

Real Madrid will now turn their attention back to the Champions League as they bid to secure a place in the final for the third year in a row.

Saturday also saw glory for Real Sociedad as they beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in the Basque derby. The hosts were gifted the lead by Mikel San Jose's own goal and then went 2-0 up after Mikel Oyarzabal slotted home Adnan Januzaj's pass.

San Jose's second own goal of the game made it 3-0 for Real Sociedad and handed the midfielder an unwanted record, per Opta:

Athletic finally came to life and grabbed one back through Raul Garcia's penalty. However, it was a tough afternoon for the visitors and particularly for former Sociedad defender Inigo Martinez, who was whistled throughout.

Saturday's final fixture saw Villarreal beat Celta Vigo 4-1, with striker Carlos Bacca scoring a hat-trick.

The Colombian scored three goals in 25 first-half minutes to help secure the win. Pione Sisto pulled one back for Celta but it proved to be just a consolation.

Bacca is on loan at Villarreal from AC Milan, and his record compared to the Milan attackers is shown by football writer Nemanja Grbic:

Samu Castillejo added a fourth in stoppage time as Villarreal closed to within two points of Real Betis in fifth place, while Celta dropped into the bottom half of the table.