La Liga Table 2019 Week 26: Standings and Final Scores After Sunday
March 3, 2019
Atletico Madrid cut the gap to La Liga leaders Barcelona to seven points on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad.
Alvaro Morata scored twice for Diego Simeone's side, who were forced to play the final half hour with 10 men after Koke was sent off.
Elsewhere, Celta Vigo's troubles continued with a 1-0 defeat at Eibar that spelt the end for manager Miguel Cardoso:
Meanwhile, Getafe moved back into fourth with victory over Real Betis, while Valencia beat Athletic Bilbao at Mestalla thanks to a sweet volley from Rodrigo Moreno and a late strike by Kevin Gameiro.
Sunday's Results
Eibar 1-0 Celta Vigo
Real Betis 1-2 Getafe
Real Sociedad 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Valencia 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
La Liga Standings (Games Played, Points, Goal Difference)
1. Barcelona: 26, 60, +41
2. Atletico Madrid: 26, 53, +21
3. Real Madrid: 26, 48, +12
4. Getafe: 26, 42, +11
5. Alaves: 26, 40, -2
6. Sevilla: 26, 37, +7
7. Valencia: 26, 36, +6
8. Real Betis: 26, 36, -2
9. Real Sociedad: 26, 35, +3
10. Eibar: 26, 34, -1
11. Athletic Bilbao: 26, 33, -5
12. Espanyol: 26, 33, -8
13. Girona: 26, 31, -7
14. Leganes: 25, 30, -5
15. Levante: 25, 30, -8
16. Valladolid: 26, 26, -14
17. Celta Vigo: 26, 25, -8
18. Villarreal: 26, 23, -8
19. Rayo Vallecano: 26, 23, -17
20. Huesca: 26, 22, -16
Sunday Recap
Atletico took charge against Real Sociedad with two goals in three first-half minutes at Anoeta.
Morata stooped to head in the opener on 30 minutes after Diego Godin had flicked on Thomas Lemar's corner.
The striker then grabbed his second minutes later with another header. This time the ball was whipped in by Koke, and Morata leapt to nod past goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli:
Atletico looked set to cruise to victory but lost Koke to a second yellow after he caught Joseba Zaldua late.
However, despite the man advantage, Real Sociedad rarely looked like scoring.
Mikel Merino tested Jan Oblak with a header on 75 minutes, but otherwise Atletico Madrid were not tested.
Getafe remain in contention to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after making it five games without defeat against Real Betis.
Leandro Cabrera headed the visitors in front after 20 minutes from a short corner routine, before Jaime Mata doubled their lead just before half-time with a low finish:
Joaquin pulled one back for Betis with 15 minutes of normal time remaining, but they could not find an equaliser much to the frustration of the home supporters:
Sunday's final fixture saw Valencia move into seventh with a deserved victory over Athletic.
The hosts had to wait until early in the second half to break the deadlock. Santi Mina flicked the ball on to Rodrigo to volley past goalkeeper Iago Herrerin:
Manager Marcelino made attacking changes in the second half, sending on Gameiro, Carlos Soler and Goncalo Guedes, and was rewarded late on as two of his substitutes combined to double Valencia's lead.
Soler sent a ball in for Gameiro to tap home from close range and complete a fine week for Los Che, who booked their place in the final of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.