La Liga Winners and Losers After Final 2019 Week 15 Table

Barcelona and Real Madrid traded holding top spot during Week 15 of the 2019/20 La Liga season, with Barca eventually owning the summit thanks to Lionel Messi's late winner to beat Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Messi made the difference, but the Blaugrana's true debt of gratitude belonged to Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The goalkeeper was in imperious form and kept his team in the game long enough for Messi to win it at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Defeat for Atletico puts Diego Simeone's side in a negative light, with the Argentinian still struggling to replicate the formula that led to the title in 2014.

Atletico's city rivals have this season's prize in their sights after winning 2-1 in Alaves on Saturday. Real only trail Barca on goal difference despite Gareth Bale continuing to struggle.

At least Zinedine Zidane is proving his detractors wrong with another excellent performance at the helm of a squad not as talented as the one he took over in 2016 and proceeded to win multiple major honours with during his first spell in charge.

Winner: Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Barca are far from their vintage best this season. In fact, Ernesto Valverde's mostly industrious team can best be defined in simple terms, like those outlined by Ben Hayward of the London Evening Standard:

It's a fair assessment after Messi and Ter Stegen combined to take down Atletico with little support. The latter formed a one-man last line of defence during the first half, denying Mario Hermoso and then Alvaro Morata with key saves.

Atletico were actually on top for most of the first half, but Ter Stegen was in no mood to be beaten. His performance caused frustration to grow among the hosts and also helped Barca survive a fairly lacklustre outing until the midpoint of the second half.

The German has grown in stature at both club and international level to become arguably the best player at his position on the planet. He's also approaching Messi-levels of importance for Barca's title hopes.

Loser: Diego Simeone

Simeone's record against Barca makes for grim reading and offers the strongest reason why he's been unable to add another Spanish top-flight title to his trophy haul at the club:

It's a troubling pattern considering the investment Atletico have made in recent seasons. Most of the signings have been made to improve the attacking options at the disposal of a manager generally known more for a defensive style of play.

Yet big-money imports like Joao Felix, who cost €126 million when he arrived from Benfica during the summer, have struggled to adapt fully to Simeone's methods. Felix was causing Barca problems until the 49-year-old drew the wrath of Atletico supporters by withdrawing the 19-year-old on 65 minutes:

It was a curious decision, and one not helped by substitutes Vitolo and Thomas Lemar failing to make an impact. Morata, the man Simeone has chosen to be the focal point up top, has also been erratic.

This felt like a golden moment for Simeone to end his Barca woes given the visitors' own inconsistencies. Ultimately, though, familiar failings to click in the final third cost Atleti and may have already signalled the premature end of their title challenge:

Loser: Gareth Bale

Zidane has tried to make Bale feel like part of the group again, despite appearing to tell the forward to leave during the summer. Reintegrating Bale has become more difficult since the controversy involving the Welshman celebrating with a flag labelled "Wales. Golf. Madrid" when the Dragons qualified for UEFA Euro 2020.

The celebration put Bale at odds with Real supporters:

In this context, it said a lot Zidane was willing to start the 30-year-old for the tricky trip to Alaves. Unfortunately for Zidane, his risk bore little reward when Bale laboured through a generally uninspiring 67 minutes before being hooked for substitute Rodrygo Goes.

Bale needed to offer fans of Real a reminder of his talents. Yet luck isn't exactly on the former Tottenham Hotspur star's side after he also drew a blank during Los Merengues' 2-2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

A charm offensive is needed for Bale to not only win back the fans but also the trust of his manager. It has to start with more tangible contributions on the pitch.

Without them, Bale will remain on the fringes for Real, who are regularly proving they can win without him.

Winner: Zidane's Job Status

Zidane often finds himself tipped to be replaced, with Dan King of The Sun reporting Real would have offered Jose Mourinho £12 million to turn down the Tottenham Hotspur job and "wait for Zidane to leave."

Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino, the man Mourinho replaced in north London, has also been touted as a potential replacement for Zidane.

Those links don't do him justice, because Zidane is still delivering the goods during his second stint in the dugout. Sure, this team isn't as impressive as the group the Frenchman guided to three straight Champions League trophies before stepping down in 2018, but that squad had Cristiano Ronaldo scoring for fun.

Zidane's Real is now more workmanlike but continues to produce results. This team isn't level on points with Barca by accident.

Instead, Karim Benzema has hit career-best form on Zidane's watch to become the attacking talisman Ronaldo once was. Meanwhile, the defence and midfield is still functional enough to keep Real in most games.

The result has been Los Blancos regularly finding ways to win in difficult circumstances and defying the critics:

It's time for the doubters to accept Zidane is slowly but surely doing excellent work and remains more comfortable than most in the Real hot seat.