The Spanish Primera Liga gets underway this weekend with Barcelona defending the title they won for the 23rd time last season. Real Madrid, under new leadership, will again provide the Catalans with their sternest challenge, but expect Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla to be leading those determined not to let the top two have it all their own way.

Barcelona, who also won the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, banged in 110 La Liga goals in 2014/15 with Lionel Messi hitting 43 of them. Cristiano Ronaldo outscored the little Argentine, grabbing 48 of Los Blancos’ 118 goals but, as always, La Liga is about so much more than arguably the world’s two greatest club sides and its top two stars.

Messi’s goals were crucial in landing Barcelona coach Luis Enrique the Spanish championship at the first time of asking. A fans’ favorite in his playing days at Camp Nou, the Barca boss will again have an enviable array of talent at his disposal, ready for their next assault on the Primera crown.

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With Luis Suarez and Neymar alongside Messi, Barca have a frontline comprising three of the planet’s finest attacking players. The Brazilian will miss the start of the campaign with injury but Barca have the depth to cope without him. The talismanic Xavi Hernandez has gone, but Ivan Rakitic had a fine debut season for the Catalans and is gradually beginning to fill the master’s shoes.

Real Madrid wasted no time in installing Rafa Benitez as their new coach as the curtain came down on an ultimately disastrous campaign for the capital city giants and the former Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea and Napoli supremo is already moulding a side with greater strength and resilience to mount a serious challenge to Enrique’s men.

Not that Benitez has rung major changes. He has, however, looked to build a team with sufficient back-up for key players like Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale. The long-running saga linking Sergio Ramos with a move to Manchester United was eventually extinguished and, with David de Gea remaining at Old Trafford, Keylor Navas and new signing Kiko Casilla will battle it out to replace Iker Casillas between the posts.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the capital, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has engineered significant signings over the summer that should ensure that a refreshed Atleti can be serious challengers to the big two. Colombian striker Jackson Martinez and the highly-rated young Argentine Luciano Vietto have joined from Porto and Villarreal respectively and could between them provide goals aplenty for Los Colchoneros.

Valencia will be looking to build on a fine 2014/15, but may feel the loss of defender Nicolas Otamendi who has joined Manchester City. Coach Nuno Espirito Santo has added Club Brugge goalkeeper Matthew Ryan to Los Che’s ranks after Diego Alves suffered a serious knee injury at the end of last season, while former Manchester United and Everton defender Phil Neville has joined the coaching staff at Mestalla.

SEE MORE: View the 2015/16 La Liga TV schedule for US.

Europa League winners Sevilla were one of the most watchable teams in La Liga last season. As always, sporting director Monchi, the man with the most valuable contacts book in soccer, has been wheeling and dealing to create a new line-up at the Sanchez Pizjuan to build on last term’s success. Ukrainian winger Yevhen Konoplyanka impressed for Dnipro in the Europa League final and Sevilla wasted no time in adding him to Unai Emery’s squad alongside Dortmund loanee Ciro Immobile, Danish midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli and French defender Adil Rami.

Of the rest, Athletic Club and Villarreal will once again be challenging the bigger boys, while among the newly-promoted sides Real Betis are perhaps best equipped to go the distance and even finish in the top half of the table. Fellow promotees Las Palmas and Sporting Gijon may struggle and time could finally be called on Granada’s Primera Liga tenancy. Eibar escaped the drop last season only thanks to Elche’s financial difficulties, but the tiny Basque outfit may not be so lucky this time.

Atletico Madrid won their first La Liga title since 1996 after drawing 1-1 with Barcelona in the championship decider at Camp Nou. Diego Simeone was dealt two major blows early on when top scorer Diego Costa limped off and winger Arda Turan soon joined him on the sidelines. Barcelona had the better of the first-half and Alexis Sanchez fired them ahead from a seemingly impossible angle after Lionel Messi’s knock-down. Atleti bounced back when Diego Godin rose to head Koke’s corner beyond Jose Manuel Pinto and the draw was enough to hand Atleti the title.

Real Madrid finished third and ended an anti-climactic season with a 3-1 victory over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu. After a goalless first half, Gareth Bale put Los Blancos ahead on 64 minutes and Alvaro Morata made the points safe four minutes from time. Pizzi pulled one back for the Catalans before Morata hit his second in stoppage time. Victory was tempered by doubts over Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness ahead of the Champions League final. The Portuguese pulled out of the game moments before kick-off and was replaced by Isco.

Sevilla toasted their Europa League triumph with an emphatic 3-1 win over Elche, rounding off the campaign in style at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Midfielder Vicente Iborra tripled his goal tally for the season by opening the scoring for Sevilla and then adding a brilliant third, with Jairo Samperio also getting on the scoresheet on a comfortable night for Unai Emery’s side. Richmond Boakye grabbed a consolation for the visitors in injury time. 

Villarreal claimed a 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad at Anoeta to finish above the Basques in sixth place. Giovani dos Santos gave the visitors a deserved lead with a fine curling finish after 26 minutes and later provided Ikechukwu Uche with the pass for the second goal on 69 minutes to kill off the game. Carlos Vela pulled a goal back for the hosts in the final minute of stoppage time, but there was no time to find an equaliser.

Valencia marked the beginning of a new era at Mestalla with a 2-1 comeback win over Celta Vigo after Singapore billionaire Peter Lim completed his takeover of the club. Debt-laden Los Che welcomed the tycoon’s decision with a battling victory at the end of a disappointing season. The northerners looked set to spoil Valencia’s party when Inigo Lopez gave them a fifth-minute lead but Los Che fought back for the win with goals either side of half-time from Sofiane Feghouli and Pablo Piatti. Valencia finish eighth, level on points with ninth-placed Celta. 

Malaga completed a disappointing campaign on a winning note with a 1-0 victory over Levante in Bernd Schuster’s final game in charge. The German’s single season year in charge at La Rosaleda has been punctuated by stories of conflicts with some of the players and the recent reports have linked departing Barcelona coach Tata Martino with a move to Malaga. Francisco Portillo’s 60th-minute strike secured Malaga the win and an 11th place finish.

Real Valladolid knew that their fate was not in their own hands and a 1-0 loss to Granada, who were also in danger of the drop, confirmed that they would be in the second tier next season. A Stefan Mitrovic own goal just before half-time was enough to condemn Juan Ignacio Martinez’s men to La Segunda. 

Valladolid’s defeat was also bad news for Osasuna, as it meant they were relegated despite defeating Real Betis 2-1 in Pamplona a game that was suspended for more than 35 minutes after a section of fencing collapsed, injuring a number of spectators. Oriol Riera put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute and Javier Acuna doubled their advantage two minutes later. Betis defender Chica reduced the arrears in the 70th minute, but the result was academic.

Almeria were also in danger of being relegated, but a goalless home draw against below-strength Athetic Bilbao was enough to see the Andalusians safe. The outcome was a massive relief for the club, who survived on one of the smallest budgets in La Liga after promotion last season.

Getafe sealed a 13th place finish with a 2-1 win away at Rayo Vallecano, who finished one place above them. Ciprian Marica opened the scoring for Getafe two minutes before the break, but Roberto Trashorras equalised after 66 minutes. The game was heading for a draw until Rayo goalkeeper Ruben Martinez pulled down substitute Jorge Sammir in the penalty area and Marica slotted home the resulting penalty in stoppage time.

Atletico Madrid were unable to overcome Malaga and Barcelona were similarly frustrated at Elche as the race to win La Liga remained unsettled after the weekend’s action. Real Madrid’s faint title hopes evaporated as they were beaten 2-0 at Celta Vigo. Atleti’s failure to win means the title will be decided next Sunday when they face Barcelona in a showdown at Camp Nou.

Atletico Madrid were held to a draw at the Vicente Calderon by Malaga, leaving Diego Simeone’s side in limbo for another week. Malaga frustrated their opponents in a goalless first half that was scrappy and nervy. The visitors eventually took a surprise lead on 65 minutes, Samuel Garcia sliding the ball home after a mix up between goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and fellow Belgian Toby Alderweireld. The defender made amends nine minutes later, however, heading the equaliser for his first goal for Atletico. Malaga defender Marcos Angeleri was sent off three minutes from time as tempers frayed and Atleti were denied victory as Jose Sosa sent the resulting free kick wide.

A goalless draw at Elche left Barcelona three points behind Atletico and needing a win over the leaders next Sunday to give them their 23rd Primera crown with a superior head-to-head record, having drawn with Atleti earlier in the season. The result guaranteed Elche’s top-flight survival but the game saw yet another below-par display from the Catalans, whose best chance came early on when Andres Iniesta hit the bar with a 20-yard volley. Lionel Messi also squandered a second-half chance, the Argentine hitting his effort straight at goalkeeper Manu Herrera.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, you can watch the La Liga season finale between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Celta Vigo ended any lingering hopes Real Madrid had of winning La Liga with a 2-0 victory over Carlo Ancelotti’s men at Estadio Balaidos that left Los Blancos five points behind leaders Atletico with just one game left. Ancelotti was without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale was on the bench as Celta took a 41st-minute lead. Sergio Ramos slipped, allowing Charles to run clear on goal before rounding Diego Lopez to slot home. Celta’s second in the 63rd minute also came from an error as Charles seized on Xabi Alonso’s awful backpass to nip in and score.

Real Sociedad were indebted to striker Imanol Agirretxe who grabbed a late equaliser to earn his side a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao in the Basque Country. Iker Muniain’s goal from 25 yards gave the hosts the lead to create a party atmosphere at San Mames Barria following Athletic’s qualification for the Champions League. Agirretxe denied their rivals what would have been their first derby win for two years when he struck on 75 minutes.

Villarreal returned to winning ways, thrashing Rayo Vallecano 4-0 at El Madrigal to earn their first win in La Liga for almost a month. Ikechukwu Uche opened the scoring on 22 minutes and Bruno Soriano extended the hosts’ advantage just before half-time. Jonathan Pereira made it three early in the second half before Rayo defender Anaitz Arbilla received a straight red card for bringing down Moi Gomez and Jaume Costa completed the rout.

Levante maintained their fine recent form and are ninth after a 2-0 derby victory against Valencia. Los Granotes continued where they had left off after beating title contenders Atletico by the same score last weekend to go one place above their city rivals. The game looked to be heading for a stalemate until late goals from substitutes Angel Rodriguez and Andreas Ivanschitz earned three points for Levante. Joan Caparros’ men had Pedro Lopez dismissed late on but held on.

Osasuna drew 1-1 at Espanyol, leaving the men from Pamplona needing a miracle if they are to avoid relegation to La Segunda. The Navarrans went behind to a Diego Colotto goal midway through the first half but drew level just before the interval when Javier Acuna scored. Other results mean Espanyol are assured of safety as a disappointing season ended without a victory for the Catalans in any of their final five home games.

Getafe took full advantage of a weakened Sevilla side to earn a vital 1-0 victory in their fight against relegation. With Wednesday’s Europa League final against Benfica on his mind, and a place in the same competition next season guaranteed, Sevilla coach Unai Emery rested many of his first-choice players. Sergio Escudero’s 70th-minute goal was enough to give Getafe a 1-0 victory which meant they climbed to three points clear of the relegation zone with one game remaining.

Almeria boosted their chances of avoiding relegation with a 2-0 victory over fellow Andalusian strugglers Granada at Los Carmenes. The win lifted Francisco Rodriguez’s side three points above the drop zone with their opponents a point behind them ahead of next weekend’s final games. The visitors took the lead with Jose Verza’s penalty after the Almeria man had been fouled by Fran Rico. Granada fought back, but their hopes of taking anything from the game were ended in the 84th minute when Aleix Vidal put Almeria two up with another penalty after Jeison Murillo fouled Ramon Azeez and then saw red for foul and abusive language.

Relegated Real Betis came out on top in a seven-goal thriller against Real Valladolid at the Benito Villamarin to plunge their opponents back into the danger zone after their midweek draw with Real Madrid. Javi Guerra gave the visitors a lead in the first minute, only for Braian Rodriguez to level for Betis five minutes later. Carlos Pena restored Valladolid’s lead soon after the break, but Jorge Molina equalised for Betis within three minutes. Guerra gave Valladolid the lead for the third time from the spot. Ruben Castro made it 3-3 with 13 minutes remaining and it looked as if the points would be shared until Juanfran Moreno gave Betis a stoppage-time winner.

The Spanish championship race took another twist as Atletico Madrid slipped to a surprise defeat at Levante. Neither of their title challengers were able to take full advantage, Barcelona drawing 2-2 with Getafe and Real Madrid held to the same scoreline by Valencia.

Atletico Madrid remain three points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga, despite being beaten 2-0 at mid-table Levante, a result that has given renewed hope to the Catalans and third placed Real Madrid. A seventh minute own goal from Filipe Luis saw Atleti fall behind at the Ciutat de Valencia and then David Barral added a decisive second for Levante midway through the second half.

Barcelona were pegged back twice by lowly Getafe and had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou. Lionel Messi put Barca ahead in the 23rd minute, but the lead was cancelled out by Angel Lafita on 37 minutes. A victory for Tata Martino’s side looked likely when Alexis Sanchez fired home in the 67th minute, but the struggling Madrid side snatched an unlikely point as Lafita equalised for a second time 90 seconds into stoppage time.

Real Madrid salvaged a 2-2 draw against Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu after trailing twice against Juan Antonio Pizzi’s side. Jeremy Mathieu put Valencia ahead moments before half-time, but Sergio Ramos levelled for Los Blancos just before the hour mark. Dani Parejo put Valencia back in front five minutes later and Los Che were looking good for three points until Cristiano Ronaldo met Angel di Maria’s cross in stoppage time to grab a point for Carlo Ancelotti’s side and keep the title race wide open. 

Athletic Bilbao confirmed their place in next season’s Champions League with a comprehensive 3-0 win at Rayo Vallecano. First-half goals from Mikel San Jose and Oscar De Marcos and a third from Ander Herrera 15 minutes from time sealed victory as Ernesto Valverde’s fourth-placed Basque side moved eight points clear of Sevilla. Defeat for Rayo brought to a halt their recent fine run, but they nevertheless remain 11th in the table and assured of top-flight football once again next season.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Europa League finalists Sevilla returned to action only four days after their semi-final heroics against Valencia to earn a goalless draw at home against Villarreal, with both sides in contention for a Europa League slot next season. Both sides had chances to win the game and, with Sevilla tiring, Villarreal took control after the break, but neither side were able to fashion a winner.

Real Sociedad missed out on the chance to go level with Sevilla as they were held to a 1-1 at Anoeta courtesy of a last-gasp equaliser from Granada. The visitors were reduced to 10 men after 54 minutes when Recio received a second yellow card, but La Real’s numerical advantage lasted only three minutes as Mikel Gonzalez was shown a straight red for a bad foul on Manuel Iturra. Carlos Vela put the home side ahead with 12 minutes remaining, but Odion Ighalo rescued a valuable point for El Grana, levelling three minutes into stoppage time.

Celta Vigo overcame Osasuna 2-0 at El Sadar to leave the Navarrans deep in relegation trouble. Celta striker Nolito scored twice in the first half to take his recent tally to seven goals in four games and leave Javi Garcia’s men inside the drop zone with just two games to play.

Real Valladolid boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 home win over Espanyol. Antonio Rukavina gave Valladolid a first-half lead and the result was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests, especially after Espanyol had Luis Pizzi sent off with almost 20 minutes remaining. The win takes Valladolid level on points with Osasuna in the bottom three.

An 11th minute strike from Garry Rodrigues was enough for Elche to claim a 1-0 victory over Malaga at La Rosaleda. Rodrigues’ strike clinched a much-needed three points for Fran Escriba’s side as they battle against an immediate return to La Segunda. Malaga created little but made Elche fight all the way as Alberto Botia’s late red card saw the visitors play out the final minutes with 10 men.

A stoppage-time header from Ramon Azeez claimed three vital points for 10-man Almeria, who moved out of the relegation zone following a thrilling 3-2 victory over already relegated Real Betis. After a goalless first half at Juegos Mediterraneos, Oscar Diaz gave the Andalusians the lead on 52 minutes, only for Braian Rodriguez to equalise seven minutes later. Within a minute, Betis were ahead through Salva Sevilla, but the lead lasted just seven minutes as the home side levelled with an Aleix Vidal strike. Almeria had Suso sent off 10 minutes after the break, but Francisco Rodriguez’s side continued to fight for their lives and moved up to 16th with Azeez’s winner.

Just two days after the death of Tito Vilanova, Barcelona staged a remarkable comeback to beat Villarreal but Atletico Madrid remain on course to become Spanish champions after a narrow win over Valencia. Atleti are four points ahead of Barca and six in front of Real Madrid, who thumped Osasuna to keep up the pressure in third spot. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have a game in hand on their two title rivals.

Atletico Madrid edged closer to winning La Liga as midfielder Raul Garcia headed home just before half-time to see off Valencia 1-0. Atleti had to play the final minutes of injury time with 10 men after Juanfran was sent off for a reckless tackle, but they held on to register their first win at Mestalla in 11 years. Diego Simeone’s now require just two wins from their remaining three games to lift their first Spanish title in 18 years.

Barcelona came from two goals down to beat Villarreal 3-2 and remain in the title race on an emotional night at El Madrigal. In their first game since the death of former coach Tito Vilanova last Thursday at the age of 45, Barca gave muted display in the first half and trailed to a goal from Ruben Cani on the stroke of half-time. Manuel Trigueros then doubled the lead for the home side 10 minutes after the break, but Barca fought back as own goals from Gabriel Paulista and Mateo Musacchio brought the scores level before Lionel Messi struck the winner seven minutes from the end.

A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo set Real Madrid up for a comprehensive 4-0 win over Osasuna. The Portuguese struck after just six minutes and added another early in the second half. Further goals from Sergio Ramos and Daniel Carvajal secured a fourth win in a row for Los Blancos. Osasuna, meanwhile, have now won only one of their last 10 league games and are just two points above the bottom three.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Athletic Bilbao strengthened their grip on a shot at the Champions League next season as they defeated Sevilla, their closest rivals for fourth place, 3-1 at San Mames. Markel Susaeta put the hosts one up direct from a corner-kick in the fourth minute and Iker Muniain tightened the Basques’ hold on the game with an acrobatic finish early in the second half. It got worse for Sevilla when Diogo Figueiras was sent off with 18 minutes remaining and Ander Herrera headed a third. Kevin Gameiro reduced the deficit with a consolation, but Athletic deserved the win and now have an almost unassailable six-point lead over the Andalusians.

Getafe survived Ciprian Marica’s first-half sending off to beat Malaga1-0 and record their first home win in five months. The Romanian striker provided the assist for Adrian Colunga’s decider but then picked up a second yellow card before the break. Malaga were unable to make the most of their numerical advantage, which was wiped out when defender Marcos Angeleri was sent off with a quarter of an hour remaining. Getafe remain only two points clear of the drop zone, despite their win.

Real Sociedad cemented their Europa League place next season, overcoming Real Betis 1-0 at the Benito Villamarin. The defeat was the 23rd of a miserable season for the Andalusians and Getafe’s win over Malaga confirmed Betis’ relegation to La Segunda, just two years after returning to the top flight. La Real did just enough to take the points and did so thanks to Carlos Vela’s penalty early in the second half.

Rayo Vallecano continued their remarkable rise up the table as a second-half salvo earned them a 3-0 win at 10-man Granada. The hosts had Yacine Brahimi sent off soon after the break for a second yellow card and moments later Atletico Madrid loanee Saul Niguez broke the deadlock for Rayo with a 30-yard strike. Top scorer Joaquin Larrivey doubled the lead five minutes later to set Rayo on their way to a seventh win in 10 games and substitute Seba Fernandez added a third late on, netting for the first time in more than two years. Rayo look set for a mid-table finish but El Grana, who are far from safe, left the pitch to boos from their supporters.

Almeria gave their survival hopes a boost as they ended a run of four straight defeats, coming from behind against nine-man Espanyol to win 2-1 at Cornella-El Prat. Christian Stuani put the hosts ahead just before half time, but he was sent off shortly after the break, following which the game turned. Fran Velez equalised for Almeria and substitute Suso’s stunning left-footed free-kick won it for Francisco Rodriguez’s side, moving them up one place to 18th and within two points of safety with three games remaining. Javi Lopez was sent off in stoppage time to compound Espanyol’s misery.

Celta Vigo hammered Real Valladolid 4-1 at Los Balaidos to climb into the top half of the table and keep their opponents in relegation trouble. Nolito put the Galicians ahead on 38 minutes and Charles double their lead just a minute later. Nolito added his second immediately after the break and Valladolid defender Stefan Mitrovic put through his own goal to make it four for Celta. Manucho grabbed a consolation 15 minutes from time, but the defeat leaves Valladolid three points from safety.

Elche moved three points clear of the drop zone after drawing 1-1 against mid-table Levante at the Martinez Valero. Richmond Boakye’s strike just after the hour mark put Elche on course for a deserved win, but the men from Valencia equalised through Angel Rodriguez’s 74th-minute strike.

Atletico Madrid defeated Elche to take a four-point lead over Barcelona, who ended their losing streak with a win over Athletic Bilbao. Real Madrid trail their city neighbours by six points, but have a game in hand as their match with Valladolid was postponed ahead of their Champions League semi-final with Bayern Munich this Wednesday.

Atletico Madrid defeated Elche 2-0 as tempers flared at Vicente Calderon. Joao Miranda headed Atleti in front ahead after David Villa had missed a 50th-minute penalty. Elche’s Cristian Sapunaru, whose foul on Villa led to the penalty being awarded, was shown a red card in the 90th minute for bringing down Diego Costa, who made sure of the result from the spot, leaving Diego Simeone’s side in pole position for the title.

Barcelona struck with two goals in three minutes to come from behind to beat Athletic Bilbao, ending a run of three straight defeats, but their 2-1 win was less than convincing. With Camp Nou less than half-full, Barca struggled against a well-organized and at times threatening Athletic side. Aritz Aduriz missed two good chances to put the Basques ahead before he finally did so in the 50th minute. Pedro Rodriguez equalized 20 minutes later and needed only two minutes more for Lionel Messi to give them the lead with a low free-kick.

Sevilla are the in-form side in La Liga and they warmed up for their Europa League semi-final against Valencia by brushing aside Andalusian rivals Granada to win 4-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. A Diego Mainz own goal gave the home side the lead on 15 minutes, but Lucas Alcaraz’s side survived the rest of the first half without further damage. They were undone after the break, however, as Kevin Gameiro, Stephane M’Bia and Vitolo all scored in the space of 17 minutes. The win sees Sevilla just three points behind fourth-placed Athletic, with the two meeting next weekend at San Mames.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Real Sociedad gained their first win in four games as they defeated Espanyol 2-1 at Anoeta. The hosts fell behind to Jhon Cordoba’s thumping effort after 23 minutes, but Sergio Canales equalized with a deflected goal as the Basques turned up the heat on their opponents before Carlos Vela struck in stoppage-time to complete an amazing comeback for La Real. The result took Jagoba Arrasate’s side a step closer to ensuring a Europa League slot for next season while Espanyol remain in 10th place.

Malaga took a further step towards preserving their Primera status with a 2-0 win over Villarreal at La Rosaleda. Roque Santa Cruz beat goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo from a narrow angle to give Malaga the lead as early as the sixth minute and Sergi Darder doubled the advantage with a fine finish on 53 minutes. Villarreal offered little despite Los Blanquiazules being reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining when Nordin Amrabat was red carded for dissent. Malaga’s win takes them to 10th while Villarreal are seventh, two points behind Real Sociedad.

Valencia were indebted to an 82nd-minute equalizer from substitute Jonas as they to salvaged a 1-1 draw at Osasuna. The home side appeared on course to end their four-game winless streak after Oriol Riera had put them ahead in the 19th minute. However, Jonas’ late strike secured a point for Los Che, whose priority now is their Europa League semi-final against Sevilla.

Relegation-threatened Getafe remain in deep trouble after a goalless draw at Levante. Cosmin Contra’s men wasted two opportunities to take the lead and had to survive the final 10 minutes of the game with 10 men after Alexis Ruano was dismissed for picking up a second yellow card. The Madrid minnows stay in the drop zone, while Levante missed out on the opportunity to mathematically secure their top-flight status for another year, though they should have little to worry about with 41 points.

Almeria are also still in the bottom three after losing 4-2 at home against Celta Vigo. Barcelona loanee Rodri cancelled out Nolito’s 20th-minute opener to send the Andalusians in level at half-time, but they were overwhelmed after the break as the visitors struck three times through Charles, Nolito, with his second of the match, and Fabian Orellana to make the game safe for the northerners. Almeria grabbed a late consolation when Oscar Diaz fired into the top corner, but Francisco Rodriguez’s men remain three points adrift of safety.

Rayo Vallecano continued their astounding improvement with a 3-1 win over Real Betis, who remain 10 points from safety and look all but certain to be relegated. Betis defender Paulao mis-hit a back-pass to gift Ruben Rochina the opening goal on 14 minutes, and things got even worse for the Brazilian when he diverted a cross into his own net shortly before the half-hour mark. Joaquin Larrivey made sure of the points for Rayo with a third early in the second half, although Javi Chica pulled one back for Betis with 12 minutes left. Rayo’s fifth consecutive home win sees Paco Jemez’s side move on to 40 points, half of which have come from their last nine games.

Barcelona slumped to defeat at Granada and both Madrid sides took full advantage to pile more pressure on Barca and their coach Tata Martino. Real Madrid’s emphatic victory over Almeria and Atletico’s win at Getafe mean Los Colchoneros are three points ahead of Los Blancos and four clear of La Blaugrana.

A below par Atletico Madrid won 2-0 against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez to remain in first place, but victory came at a price after top-scorer Diego Costa sustained a gash to his leg after colliding with a post in scoring his side’s second goal. The Brazilian was stretchered off, but Atletico quickly played down concerns that the injury might be anything more serious. Diego Simeone’s struggled to break down their relegation-threatened local rivals, with Diego Godin’s goal the only highlight of a poor first half. Getafe had Angel Lafita and Alexis dismissed in the second half and Costa missed a penalty before making amends with his late goal.

Real Madrid strolled to a 4-0 win over relegation-haunted Almeria at the Santiago Bernabeu. It was Los Blancos’ third successive win in La Liga, a run that has seen them score 13 times without reply. Angel di Maria opened the scoring after 28 minutes, set up by Nacho before cutting across the box to curl an exquisite left-footed effort past Esteban. Gareth Bale fired in the second after 53 and Isco added a third just three minutes later, chesting down a pass from Karim Benzema before smashing home at the near post. Almeria continued to offer little attacking threat in a one-sided encounter and Alvaro Morata rounded off the win five minutes from time, lifting Asier Illarramendi’s pass over Esteban.

Barcelona completed a nightmare week after their Champions League elimination, going down 1-0 to Granada at Los Carmenes. The game was settled by Yacine Brahimi’s 15th-minute strike, the Algerian racing through Barca’s makeshift defence before slotting past Jose Manuel Pinto. Tata Martino opted to start without Xavi Hernandez and first-choice full-backs Dani Alves and Jordi Alba and fielded Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano in central defence. Barca were unable to respond, despite monopolising possession, and when they did get through they found Granada goalkeeper Orestis Karnesis, making only his second start of the season, in imperious form.

Athletic Bilbao remain on course for Champions League football next season after a convincing 3-0 win over Malaga at San Mames. Aritz Aduriz fired the Basques ahead after just four minutes and added a second straight after the break as Ernesto Valverde’s side took control of the game. Ander Herrera hit a third with half an hour remaining, with the help of an uncharacteristic error by Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero. The win sees Athletic maintain their six-point lead ahead of Sevilla, while Malaga are a comfortable seven points above the bottom three despite suffering their 15th defeat of the season.

Real Betis sunk deeper into the relegation mire with a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of city rivals Sevilla. Betis started brightly against their neighbours, who have now beaten them three times this season, having knocked them out of the Europa League on penalties last month. The game turned, however, when Betis had Juan Carlos sent off after 28 minutes for a foul on Carlos Bacca. Kevin Gameiro buried the resulting penalty and the Frenchman sealed the win eight minutes from time with a close-range finish. Sevilla have now won eight of their last nine games in La Liga, while Betis are 10 points from safety with just five games remaining.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Celta Vigo fought back twice to salvage a 2-2 draw from a dramatic game with Real Sociedad, despite playing the second half with 10 men. Sergio Canales put the Basques in front early on, but their lead was cancelled out by Nolito from the penalty spot after 38 minutes. Antoine Griezmann restored the visitors’ lead with an emphatic finish just before the interval it got worse for Celta when Jon Aurtenetxe’s wreckless tackle on Carlos Vela was punished by a red card in the 46th minute. Substitute Santi Mina levelled with eight minutes to rescue a point for Celta and deny Real Sociedad victory.

Jeremy Perbet headed a winner for Villarreal deep into stoppage-time as the Yellow Submarine beat Levante 1-0 to keep alive their hopes of securing automatic qualification for the Europa League. The game looked to be heading for a goalless draw well into the 95th minute, when Perbet nodded Manuel Trigueros’ right-wing cross into the bottom corner beyond Keylor Navas.

Valencia extended their unbeaten run to three games with a 2-1 victory over struggling Elche. Goals from Pablo Piatti and Dani Parejo won the game for the home side either side of Ferran Corominas’ equaliser, while Damian Suarez missed a second-half penalty for the visitors. Valencia’s season is effectively over, with little prospect of them securing a Europa League spot, while Elche are just four points clear of the relegation zone.

Espanyol were held to a 2-2 draw by Rayo Vallecano at Cornella El-Prat. Christian Stuani gave the Catalans an early lead but goals from Iago Falque and Joaquin Larrivey either side of half-time turned the tide Rayo’s way, before Diego Colotto grabbed a late equaliser with two minutes remaining. The result moves Rayo a step closer to safety, six points clear of the drop zone in 14th place, while Espanyol are safe in ninth position.

Relegation strugglers Osasuna and Real Valladolid had to settle for a point each in a dour goalless encounter in Pamplona. Alvaro Cejudo’s long-range effort which hit the crossbar early on for Osasuna was as close as either side went to breaking the deadlock, but the draw did little to help either side’s battle to avoid the drop. Valladolid moved one point clear of the bottom three, with the Navarrans just one place and two points better off.

It’s “as you were” at the summit of La Liga as the top three all won once again. Athletic Madrid overcame Villarreal, Barcelona beat rock-bottom Betis and Real Madrid won well at Real Sociedad. Atleti are a point ahead of Barca, who in turn lead Real Madrid by two points with just six matches to go.

Atletico Madrid cemented pole position for another week with a 1-0 win over Villarreal at Vicente Calderon, but Diego Simeone’s men were made to work hard for the three points. Raul Garcia headed in the only goal of the game after 14 minutes, but the hosts created few further opportunities and spent the latter stages holding on under pressure from Villarreal.

Barcelona produced an unconvincing display against Real Betis but still beat the bottom side 3-1 to maintain the pressure on Atleti. Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 15 minutes and the unfortunate Jordi Figueras, who had conceded the spot-kick, doubled Barca’s lead with an own goal midway through the second half. Ruben Castro quickly pulled one back for Betis but Messi struck again in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to having a penalty saved to score from the rebound and seal the three points.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Real Madrid’s 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad at Anoeta was a lot more difficult than the scoreline suggests as Los Blancos maintained the pressure Atletico and Barcelona. Goals from Asier Illarramendi, Gareth Bale, Pepe and Alvaro Morata ensured Madrid left San Sebastian with three points. Illarramendi opened the scoring against the run of play on the stroke of half-time, his first goal for Madrid coming against his former club. Bale doubled the lead on 66 minutes after a fluffed clearance by home goalkeeper Claudio Bravo presented him the ball on a plate. Late strikes from Pepe and Morata gave the score a flattering look but Madrid deserved their win.

Athletic Bilbao won 2-1 at Levante to maintain their stranglehold on Champions League qualification.  A first-half double strike from Artitz Aduriz was enough to seal the points for the Basques as the striker took his goals tally for the season to 11. Levante gained a second-half lifeline when Athletic defender Mikel San Jose deflected Ruben Garcia’s crosses past Gorka Iraizoz and into his own net, but Athletic were comfortable winners.

Sevilla cemented their grip on fifth place in La Liga as they swept aside Espanyol 4-1 at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Stephane M’bia netted his first goal in over four months to open the scoring, and Kevin Gameiro doubled Sevilla’s advantage on the stroke of half-time. Sergio Garcia’s penalty reduced the arrears for Espanyol after Christian Stuani had been fouled in the area by Federico Fazio at the start of the second half, but Gameiro struck again with five minutes remaining and Ivan Rakitic added his 12th of the season in the final minute. Their win sees Sevilla remain fifth, three points clear of Real Sociedad.

Real Valladolid climbed out of the relegation zone after holding Valencia to a goalless draw at Jose Zorilla. The hosts had goalkeeper Jaime to thank for keeping the game goalless, despite Valencia’s superiority. The veteran No. 1 repaid coach Juan Ignacio Martino’s faith in him by pulling off a string of saves and denying Los Che’s Paco Alcacer several times. The result means Valladolid move a point clear of 19th placed Almeria and are level on points with Getafe.

Malaga notched their first home win in two months with an emphatic 4-1 victory against Granada, a first-half brace from Nacho Camacho setting Bernd Schuster’s men on their way. Youssef El Arabi saw his penalty saved by Willy Caballero just before the break to deny Granada a way back into the game and the home side capitalised with a third from Nordin Amrabat’s spot-kick after Jeison Murillo fouled Camacho. Substitute Juanmi completed the rout, before El Arabi made amends for his earlier miss by netting 12 minutes from the end, but it was scant consolation. The win takes Malaga up to 11th while Granada are 15th, three points clear of the relegation zone.

Elche gained a vital victory over fellow strugglers Getafe as Richmond Boakye struck with the final kick of the game. The two sides looked destined to share the points as the game drifted into stoppage time with the score remaining goalless, but on-loan Juventus striker Boakye made it 1-0 by heading in Carles Gil’s cross. The victory eases Elche’s relegation fears but Getafe, who had the better of the chances during the game, drop into the danger zone. 

Rayo Vallecano cruised to an important 3-0 win over Celta Vigo to maintain their revival and ease their relegation fears. Rayo went into the game just three points above the drop zone but are now ensconced firmly in mid-table, level with Celta. Ruben Rochina scored the opener in the 26th minute and a second-half double from Alberto Bueno meant Razvan Rat’s 64th minute straight red card for violent did not influence the outcome.

Osasuna did their hopes of survival a power of good with a 2-1 victory at fellow strugglers Almeria. Both teams started the game in the bottom three, but it was the Pamplona side who clinched the points. They are 16th, but only two points clear of safety. Oriol Riera set the visitors on their way in the 19th minute and Alejandro Arribas doubled their advantage 13 minutes later. Fernando Soriano pulled one back against his former club 17 minutes from the end, but there was no way back for Almeria, who had Rafita dismissed for two stoppage-time yellow cards.

Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid all registered wins at the weekend as the Primera Liga title race in Spain looks set to go right to the wire. Atletico were victorious in Bilbao, Barca won the Catalan derby and Los Blancos hammered Rayo Vallecano.

Atletico Madrid remain on top of La Liga after coming from a goal behind to inflict only a second home league defeat on Athletic Bilbao at the new San Mames. Iker Muniain put the Basques ahead with just five minutes on the clock, but Diego Costa levelled for Diego Simeone’s side midway through the first half with his 25th goal of the season. Koke headed the winner in the second half as Atleti preserved their one-point lead over Barcelona.

It was far from plain sailing for Los Colchoneros, who survived two penalty appeals in the second half and were again grateful to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for several fine saves. Athletic, who retain fourth place, finished the game with 10 men after Aymeric Laporte was sent off late on for a second bookable offence.

Lionel Messi scored his third penalty in six days to give Barcelona a narrow 1-0 win over Catalan rivals Espanyol at the Cornella-El Prat. It was another less than straightforward afternoon for Tata Martino’s men, but Barca were given a helping hand 14 minutes from time when the Argentine struck his 23rd goal of the season from the spot past Kiko Casilla.

The Espanyol goalkeeper was then sent off for handling another shot from Messi outside his area and defender Javi Lopez, who had given away the penalty, went between the posts for the remaining eight minutes. Barca were unable to test the stand-in keeper, but the win keeps them just a point behind Atleti.

Gareth Bale scored twice as Real Madrid put a bad week behind them with a comprehensive 5-0 derby victory over Rayo Vallecano at a rain-swept Santiago Bernabeu. Carlo Ancelotti’s men had seen successive defeats to Barcelona and Sevilla severely dent their title hopes, but they got their campaign back on track in style against a battling Rayo side.

The minnows restricted Los Blancos to a single goal – Cristiano Ronaldo’s 28th from Bale’s pass after just 15 minutes – but the floodgates opened after the break as Bale netting his first goals in seven games and defender Daniel Carvajal and substitute Alvaro Morata completed the rout. Madrid could and should have scored more, but the win leaves them three points adrift of Atletico and two behind Barca.

A late penalty from Nolito earned Celta Vigo a surprise 1-0 victory over fifth-placed Sevilla which ended the visitors’ six-match winning run in La Liga. Unai Emery’s side were on a high following their midweek success over Real Madrid, but Celta brought them down to earth the successful spot-kick three minutes from time. Celta’s win see them occupying 11th place in the table.

Osasuna ended a run of five straight defeats with a 1-1 home draw against Real Sociedad, but the result suited neither side as La Real saw their hopes of Champions League football next season recede further despite going ahead in the seventh minute when Gonzalo Castro scored. Jagoba Arrasate saw his men punished for failing to add to their advantage when Oriol Riera headed the equaliser for the hosts just before the hour mark. The draw leaves Osasuna in the relegation zone while La Real are six points and two places behind fourth-placed Athletic.

Struggling Getafe came from behind to beat Valencia 3-1 at Mestalla and record their first league win since November, a result that sees the Madrid side climb out of the relegation zone. Eduardo Vargas gave Valencia the perfect start when he headed in the opener after seven minutes, but Getafe responded by scoring twice in three minutes through Angel Lafita and Ciprian Marica, before Pedro Leon made sure of the points with a late finish. Valencia defender Jeremy Mathieu received a late red card after appearing to hit Leon in the face following the Getafe man’s goal celebration.

Elche remain perilously close to the Primera trap door despite picking up a point against Villarreal at El Madrigal. Damian Suarez gave Fran Escriba’s side the lead from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark but Jonathan Pereira levelled on the stroke of half-time. The Yellow Submarine were the better side throughout, but were unable to make their superiority count. The result means Elche sit just two points above the drop zone, while Villarreal remain in seventh, missing out on a chance to go fifth.

Levante ended their four-game winless streak with a 2-0 win at Granada. The Valencia club owed their victory to a fine second-half performance after a goalless first period. David Navarro cracked in a loose ball to put his side in front and Pedro Lopez added a second to propel Levante to 10th and give them an outside chance of securing a Europa League qualifying spot.

Rock-bottom Real Betis sunk deeper into relegation trouble as Malaga came from behind to register their third successive away win and heap more misery on the Sevilla outfit. Lolo Reyes gave Betis the lead on the half-hour, but goals in the last 10 minutes from Juanmi and Sergi Darder sent Malaga up to 12th, five points above the danger zone. Ruben Castro could have stolen a point for Betis, but his last-minute penalty hit the crossbar, summing up Betis’ night and their season.

Real Valladolid boosted their Primera survival hopes with a 1-0 home victory over fellow strugglers Almeria. Angolan striker Manucho grabbed the game’s only goal after just five minutes.  Valladolid could have won more convincingly but for a string of good saves from Almeria goalkeeper Esteban, but the Andalusians offered little as an attacking threat and their hopes of getting a foothold back into the game were scotched by the second-half sending-off of Marco Torsiglieri after the Argentine defender received a second yellow card. The win lifted Juan Ignacio Martinez’s side out of the bottom three, level on points with Almeria who drop into the danger zone.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Real Madrid suffered a second successive defeat, losing at Sevilla as Atletico Madrid and Barcelona both gained victories to pull clear of Los Blancos in the Spanish title race, but Barca’s success was marred by a serious injury to goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Barcelona followed their 4-3 Clasico victory on Sunday by beating Celta Vigo 3-0 at Camp Nou. Barca went ahead through Neymar’s sixth minute goal and Lionel Messi doubled the Catalans’ advantage on the half-hour before Neymar struck again midway through the second period to deal the points. The night was tarnished for Tata Martino’s men, however, after Fabian Orellana’s free-kick appeared to catch Victor Valdes wrong-footed. Although the goalkeeper was able to make the save, he had to dive forward to gather the rebound, and suffered what turned out to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the process.

The injury to Valdes looks certain to have ended his career at Camp Nou, the goalkeeper already having announced that this season would be his last with the Catalans. To make matters worse, Valdes will also miss out on a place in Spain’s World Cup squad in Brazil in the summer.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid top La Liga on 73 points, just a point ahead of Barcelona, after Diego Costa’s 63rd minute header was enough to give them all three points against Granada at the Vicente Calderon.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Real Madrid in front at Sevilla with a 15th minute deflected free-kick after he had been fouled by Andujar Coke, but the home side Sevilla responded almost immediately through Carlos Bacca, and in the 72nd minute some superb skill from Ivan Rakitic set up Bacca for his and Sevilla’s second. It was a record sixth straight win for Unai Emery’s side, elevating them to fifth, six points behind Athletic Bilbao in fourth, while the defeat leaves Los Blancos third, two points behind Barcelona.

Athletic Bilbao were held to 0-0 draw at struggling Elche, who remain just three points clear of the drop zone. Athletic’s ability to break down Elche, who had not conceded any goals in their previous five home games, was made harder by the strong wind blowing over the Martinez Valera, but Fran Escriba’s men also worked hard to deny the Basques any clear-cut scoring opportunities.

A Carlos Vela goal allowed Real Sociedad to take the spoils against Real Valladolid at Anoeta and return to winning ways after their agonising defeat at Almeria on Monday, but the result leaves Juan Ignacio Martinez’s side languishing in the relegation zone, two points from safety. Vela struck midway through the first half, punishing the visitors who failing to convert possession into chances.

Jeremy Perbet’s early strike proved enough for Villarreal to leave the Coliseum Alfonso Perez with three points after beating relegation-threatened Getafe. The Frenchman fired home in the fifth minute as the Yellow Submarine ended a run of four matches without a win to reignite their stuttering push for a Europa League spot. The 1-0 defeat leaves Getafe coach Cosmin Contra still searching for his first win since taking charge a fortnight ago.

Espanyol took three points from their visit to La Rosaleda as they beat Malaga 2-1 in controversial circumstances. Pizzi hit the winning goal for the Catalans with just a quarter of an hour remaining, but Malaga could have been awarded a penalty just seconds before when Hector Moreno appeared to acrobatically kick Roque Santa Cruz in the penalty area.

The goal restored Espanyol’s lead, with Sergio Garcia having put the visitors in front in the 32nd minute, only for Pablo Perez to equalise two minutes later for the hosts. The Argentinian midfielder turned villain, however, when he was sent off just after Pizzi’s goal for a second bookable offence. The result means Espanyol move up to eighth, while Malaga are 14th, just four points clear of the danger zone.

Almeria fought back from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia to further aid their bid to avoid a hasty return to La Segunda. Seydou Keita gave Los Che the lead in the first minute and Eduardo Vargas extended the advantage after half an hour as the Andalusians looked to be heading for defeat. Two goals in as many second-half minutes, however, the first from Oscar Diaz followed immediately by Miguel Corona’s effort, rescued a point for Francisco Rodriguez’s men that keeps them two points clear of the danger zone.

A late penalty from Joaquin Larrivey condemned Osasuna to a fifth straight defeat at the hands of rapidly improving fellow strugglers Rayo Vallecano, who moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 win. A dour encounter seemed destined to finish goalless until Abella Damia felled Jose Fernandez in the area and Larrivey stepped up to place his spot-kick in the bottom left-hand corner of the net. The defeat leaves Osasuna just a point above the drop zone.

Rock-bottom Real Betis registered their first away victory of the season, winning 3-1 at Levante, but remain rooted to the foot of the table, seven points adrift of safety. Salva Sevilla put Betis ahead on 11 minutes, only for Pape Diop to level midway through the first period for Levante. Second-half goals from Jorge Molina and Ruben Castro ensured Betis secured only their fifth win of the campaign.

An incident-packed Clasico saw Barcelona edge Real Madrid by the odd goal in seven to close the gap at the top of La Liga to a point while Atletico won at Real Betis as the Spanish title race took another intriguing turn.

The season’s second Clasico delivered seven goals, three penalties, a red card and a Lionel Messi hat-trick as Barcelona left the Santiago Bernabeu with three points from a storming 4-3 victory over Real Madrid. The game started at a frantic pace that lasted the full 90 minutes. Andres Iniesta put Barca ahead after just five minutes, but two goals from the outstanding Karim Benzema’s turned the game around before Messi restored parity before the break.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty, after the Portuguese had been brought down by Dani Alves, restored Madrid’s lead, though replays showed contact was outside the area before Ronaldo went dramatically to ground. Sergio Ramos was controversially adjudged to have brought down Neymar in the area and saw red for the 19th time in his career.

Messi fired in the spot-kick to level at 3-3 and Carlo Ancelotti caused some raised eyebrows by sacrificing Benzema for defender Raphael Varane. Barca were awarded their second penalty in the 83rd minute as Iniesta fell after attempting to battle his way between Daniel Carvajal and Xabi Alonso. Messi kept his cool among Los Blancos’ protests to fire what turned out to be the winner into the top right-hand corner from the spot.

Atletico Madrid capitalised on the second-half dismissal of Real Betis forward Braian Rodriguez to win 2-0 at the Benito Villamarin. The Uruguayan saw red in the 55th minute for his second bookable offence, and Atletico scored twice in the next 10 minutes through Gabi and Diego Costa as rock-bottom Real Betis were made to pay. Betis had frustrated Atletico for long periods in the first half but another defeat leaves them running out of time in their battle for Primera survival. Their win means Atleti are level on points with Real Madrid but have the lead on head-to-head results.

Athletic Bilbao tightened their grip on fourth place with a slender 1-0 victory over Getafe at San Mames. Markel Susaeta scored the only goal of the game in the 39th minute and although Athletic were by some distance the better side, they were unable to extend their advantage. The win sees Ernesto Valverde’s men move a step closer to Champions League qualification, while Getafe remain perilously close to the relegation zone in 17th spot.

Almeria climbed out of the bottom three with a 4-3 win over Real Sociedad in a thrilling encounter at the Juegos Mediterraneos. Carlos Vela gave La Real a 21st minute lead from the spot after handball by Angel Trujillo, but the lead was short-lived as Oscar Diaz stroked home an equaliser eight minutes later. Imanol Agirretxe restored the Basques’ advantage after the break, only for Jose Verza to convert a penalty after Carlos Martinez brought down Aleix Vidal in the 66th minute.

Almeria went ahead five minutes later, Verza dispatching his second spot-kick of the night after Vidal was fouled again, this time by Mikel Gonzalez. Not for the first time this season, Almeria’s defence looked ragged and Markel Bergara equalised five minutes from time. A draw looked to be on the cards until Hicham Khaloua, a late substitute, scored the winning goal in stoppage time on his debut, sending the home crowd into raptures.

The result ended a run of three successive defeats for Almeria, lifting them up to 16th, a point clear of the drop zone. La Real slip to sixth, a point behind Sevilla and nine adrift of Athletic.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Sevilla won 2-1 away at Osasuna to move up to fifth in their challenge for a place in Europe once again. Jairo Samperio opened the scoring midway through the first half with a fine individual goal, and Carlos Bacca doubled the lead from the penalty spot just before half-time in controversial circumstances which saw Osasuna coach Javi Gracia ordered from his dugout for protesting the decision. Javier Acuna scored a fine goal for Osasuna in stoppage time, but it was only a consolation for the Navarrans, who slipped to 17th.

Javi Fuego netted a first-half double as Valencia returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win against Villarreal at Mestalla. Juan Antonio Pizzi’s side ended a three-game winless run, moving up two places into eighth as a result. Villarreal’s defeat saw them drop one place to seventh, with Giovani dos Santos’ late strike a mere consolation.

Espanyol and Levante fought out a goalless draw at Cornella-El Prat in a game that neither of these mid-table sides appeared capable of winning. After only sixty-two seconds Espanyol’s Simao Sabrosa swung in a cross that found Hector Moreno, whose bullet header was tipped away by Keylor Navas. Levante came back into it and Hector Rodas should have done better when presented with a chance from 12 yards but in truth a draw was a fair result.

Granada moved a step closer to preserving their top-flight status for another season with a 1-0 win over 10-man Elche at Los Carmenes. Yacine Brahimi’s goal midway through the second half settled the game for Granada, who made it three home victories in a row following successes over Villarreal and Real Betis. It could have been more comfortable for Granada but Fran Rico missed a penalty in the 73rd minute after Elche defender Cristian Sapunaru had been sent off for bringing down Youssef El Arabi.

Malaga were indebted to midfielder Ignacio Camacho who scored twice in the space of eight minutes to give Los Boquerones a 2-0 win at Celta Vigo, boosting Bernd Schuster’s side’s chances of survival. The Andalusians out-fought their opponents and even managed to successfully negotiate the final 35 minutes without conceding despite being reduced to 10 men after Duda was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Rafinha after failing to win a free-kick when he was brought down by the Barcelona loanee.

Strugglers Real Valladolid and Rayo Vallecano shared a 1-1 draw which did little to help either side in their fight to avoid relegation. Valladolid took an early lead through a Ze Castro own goal, but Alberto Bueno levelled matters with a goal against his former club before half-time. The result means Valladolid are still in the drop zone, three points worse off than their opponents and with just one win in their last eight matches.

With 10 gameweeks remaining, it might be rash to suggest that the result of one match could determine the destination of Spain’s Primera Division title but, come the end of the season, this weekend’s Clasico in Madrid might in retrospect have had a significant bearing on the final outcome.

Real Madrid go into Sunday’s showdown with Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu four points ahead of their deadliest rivals, knowing that a win would extend that margin to seven, leaving the Catalans playing catch-up for the rest of the campaign. There is even the possibility of Los Blancos contesting a two-horse race, not with Barca, but with their neighbors Atletico Madrid.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, this Sunday’s el Clasico is being shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Match: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

Kickoff: Sunday, April 23rd 2:45pm ET

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The pre-game coverage starts on beIN SPORT on Sunday at 3pm ET, with the match kicking off at 3:55pm ET.

The season’s first Clasico at Camp Nou last October was a cagey affair that saw Carlo Ancelotti’s side suffer the second of only two defeats so far this season. Alexis Sanchez added to Neymar’s early strike before a stoppage-time goal from Jese Rodriguez left the final score 2-1 to Barcelona. At that stage in the campaign, La Blaugrana were sweeping all their opponents aside, but their form has stuttered since the turn of the year while Madrid have hit their stride at just the right time.

Los Blancos have had the perfect preparation for the Clasico, recording wins over Malaga in La Liga and Schalke in the Champions League. The 1-0 win at La Rosaleda last Saturday was their 30th consecutive game unbeaten, while the 3-1 win over Schalke – for an aggregate 9-2 thrashing – was achieved with a team comprised largely of fringe players. The only black spot for Ancelotti came when Jese suffered a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury in the opening minutes, effectively ending his season.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s winning goal at Malaga took the Portuguese striker’s tally for the season to 25 goals in La Liga and 39 overall. It also meant that the Madrid front three of Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have bagged 50 out of Los Blancos’ 77 Primera goals. With his double strike against Schalke on Tuesday night, Ronaldo took his total haul for Real Madrid to 242 goals in just 236 games, bringing him level with the Hungarian great Ferenc Puskas. Only three men – Santillana (290), Alfredo di Stefano (307) and Raul (323) – are ahead of him in the club’s all-time top goalscorers list.

Meanwhile, Barcelona warmed up for the Clasico by hammering Osasuna 7-0 at Camp Nou last Sunday. Lionel Messi set a record of his own, hitting a hat-trick to make him the Catalans’ all-time leading scorer with 371 goals, with Alexis Sanchez, Andres Iniesta, Cristian Tello and Pedro Rodriguez queuing up to complete the rout against the Pamplona outfit.

The result must have come as something of a relief to Barca coach Tata Martino, who has seen his side struggle by their own high standards since the turn of the year. Recent defeats at Real Sociedad and lowly Real Valladolid have led the highly-critical Catalan press to openly question whether the Argentine tactician has what it takes to deliver success to Barca.

Messi has had – for him – a poor season, yet he has still notched 18 times in La Liga. The forward trio of Messi, Alexis and Pedro have accounted for 49 of Barca’s 81 La Liga goals, with Neymar and Cesc Fabregas notching another 15 between them. While their heavy win last weekend will go some way to banishing the impact of those shock defeats, Martino’s men will be under no illusions that Real Madrid present a very different proposition to Osasuna.

There will of course be a third Clasico next month, when the two contest the final of the Copa del Rey in Valencia. With both giants believing they can complete a rare treble, the often derided domestic cup competition will carry added significance, but it is the Primera Clasicos that really fire passions in Spain’s two largest cities. It could be that form goes out of the window as personal individual battles as well as team rivalries bring a unique intensity to this most special of fixtures.

Two things are certain. By Sunday, the pre-match hype will have reached boiling point; and whatever the result, sufficient copy will be generated to keep the Spanish presses rolling until the Copa provides time for revenge.

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NOTE TO FOOTBALL FANS IN THE UK:

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Real Madrid were made to work for their 1-0 win at La Rosaleda against a spirited Malaga side. Cristiano Ronaldo got the vital goal midway through the first half, firing home a low strike after a superb cross-field ball from Gareth Bale for his 25th goal of the Primera campaign. Malaga failed to make the most of having half the possession with no end product to some enterprising attacking play.

Atletico Madrid remain close behind their city rivals following a 1-0 victory over Espanyol at the Vicente Calderon. Diego Costa scored the only goal of the game after 10 minutes, picking up David Villa’s cross from the left and curling it into the bottom corner. Despite a late spell of pressure, the visitors could not find an equaliser and the defeat leaves them ninth with just one win in their last four games.

Barcelona put their stuttering form behind them ahead of next weekend’s Clasico by hammering Osasuna 7-0 at Camp Nou. Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick to make him Barca’s all-time leading goalscorer with 371. The Argentine opened the scoring after 19 minutes and Alexis Sanchez and Andres Iniesta increased the hosts’ advantage before the break. Messi struck again in the second half and completed his treble with a simple finish in the 87th minute, after substitute Cristian Tello had grabbed a fifth for Barca. There was still time for a seventh, Messi providing an assist by setting up Pedro Rodriguez.

Aritz Aduriz missed a penalty but recovered to score the equaliser as Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 at Villarreal. The point puts Los Leones six points clear of Real Sociedad in the race for the final Champions League spot and keeps Villarreal, for whom Tomas Pina opened the scoring, a further point behind them. Villarreal had Gabriel Paulista sent off midway through the second half, receiving his first yellow card for handball, which led to the spot-kick which was saved by Sergio Asenjo and seeing red after fouling Aduriz. Meanwhile Real Sociedad overcame Valencia 1-0 at Anoeta, a 61st-minute goal from Imanol Agirretxe deciding a game of very few chances.

Sevilla produced the perfect response to their Europa League loss to city-rivals Real Betis with a convincing 4-1 win over Real Valladolid that boosts their hopes of a top-four finish. Sevilla’s league form has improved significantly after a shaky start and could yet see them playing Champions League football next season, although Athletic and La Real remain favourites to do so ahead of Unai Emery’s men. A brace from Kevin Gameiro including a penalty, plus further goals from Ivan Rakitic – another penalty – and Diogo Figueiras earned them victory and extended their winning streak in La Liga to four matches. Javi Guerra grabbed a late consolation for Valladolid.

Celta Vigo took a big step towards securing their survival with a narrow but vital 1-0 victory at Levante. Nolito scored the only goal of the game after 19 minutes and Celta were fortunate not to lose their lead in the second half, with Levante’s David Barral missing a penalty and then having a shot blocked on the line by Celta goalkeeper Yoel Rodriguez.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games (including this Sunday’s el Clasico) are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Getafe let the lead slip three times as they were held 3-3 by 10-man Granada in an entertaining game at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Playing under new coach Cosmin Contra, Getafe looked as if they would end a winless streak stretching back to November when they went ahead first through Ciprian Marica, then Lisandro Lopez and finally Angel Lafita. However Granada, who had Manuel Iturra sent off, responded on each occasion and a brace from Youssef El Arabi and one from Ivan Riki secured a draw which keeps them three points above their opponents.

Rayo Vallecano climbed out of the relegation zone by comfortably beating fellow strugglers Almeria 3-1 to register their third straight league win. Alberto Bueno gave Rayo the lead on 37 minutes and Joaquin Larrivey extended the advantage 20 minutes later. Fernando Soriano gave Almeria a brief glimmer of hope with a powerful finish, but Larrivey struck again to secure another vital victory for Paco Jemez’s side.

Bottom club Real Betis claimed a much-needed point from a goalless draw against Elche at the Martinez Valero. Fran Escriba’s side had the better of the chance to force an opener in the first half but their opponents gave as good as they got. The draw extended Betis’ unbeaten run to five games in all competitions, leaving them nine points from safety, while the point moves the hosts up one place to 13th.

Real Madrid are three points clear at the top of La Liga after beating Levante on Sunday. Atletico Madrid won at Celta Vigo to trail the leaders by three points and Barcelona’s shock defeat at Valladolid leaves them a further point behind in third.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit his 24th goal of the Primera season as Real Madrid overcame Levante 3-0. The Portuguese put Los Blancos ahead before half-time, rising above his markers to head home Angel Di Maria’s corner. Carlo Ancelotti’s men dominated possession and made it 2-0 after the break as Marcelo cut in from the left to finish on 49 minutes. Levante’s David Navarro was sent off in the 64th minute for a crude lunge on Ronaldo from behind before Marcelo’s 81st-minute cross was diverted into his own goal by Nikos, unchallenged at the back post.

A two-goal second-half salvo from David Villa gave Atletico Madrid a 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo. The first half was a virtual non-event, but when a rejuvenated Atletico emerged, two goals in two minutes just after the hour mark from former Barca striker Villa gave Los Rojiblancos the win, which leaves them three points behind their capital city rivals.

Relegation-threatened Real Valladolid caused one of the upsets of the season after inflicting a 1-0 defeat on Barcelona. There were 40 points and 16 places between the two sides at kick-off, but struggling Valladolid emerged victorious thanks to Fausto Rossi’s first-half strike. The champions had several chances to get back into the game but could find no way past Valladolid keeper Diego Marino and, with just two weeks to go until El Clasico, Tata Martino’s men find themselves four points adrift of Real Madrid and in third place for the first time since 2011.

First-half goals from Fran Rico and Youssef El Arabi gave a Granada a well-deserved and morale-boosting 2-0 win over high-flying Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine had goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo to thank for keeping them in the game with early saves from Riki and Brahimi, but it was Riki who won a penalty on 22 minutes after colliding with visiting captain Bruno Soriano in the area. Rico scored from the spot midway through the first period and 10 minutes later provided El Arabi with a pass to double Granada’s lead and ensure the win.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Valencia and Athletic Bilbao shared the points in an exciting 1-1 draw at Mestalla. Paco Alcacer converted a cross from Sofiane Feghouli to put Valencia ahead with his 10th goal of the season, despite appearing to be offside, but Aritz Aduriz levelled for Athletic from the spot after Ander Herrera had collided with Feghouli in the area. The result suited neither side with Valencia slipping five points behind seventh-placed Sevilla and Athletic unable to take full advantage of Villarreal’s defeat at Granada. Ernesto Valverde’s men are nevertheless now seven points ahead of the Yellow Submarine.

Struggling Rayo Vallecano came from behind to stun Real Sociedad 3-2 at Anoeta, denting the Basque side’s European prospects in the process. Inigo Martinez gave La Real a first minute lead but Rayo were level within three minutes when Joaquin Larrivey was fouled by Jose Angel and dispatched the penalty himself. La Real regained the lead through Ruben Pardo on the stroke of half-time, only for Alberto Bueno to level a second time for Rayo soon after the restart. Ruben Rochina put Rayo ahead with just under half an hour to go and the Madrid minnows hung on for a win that sees them remain in the drop zone but now level on points with Almeria and Valladolid.

Sevilla stayed in close touch with the Europa League places with a 3-1 away win over Almeria. Carlos Bacca, Daniel Carrico and Kevin Gameiro were all on target for Sevilla with Aleix Vidal claiming a late consolation for the home side as the result kept the pressure on sixth-placed Real Sociedad, who are two points clear of Sevilla in the overall standings. The result left struggling Almeria back in the bottom three but only one point from safety in a congested lower half of the table.

Espanyol gave their Europa League hopes a further boost with a comfortable 3-1 win over Elche at Cornella-El Prat. The hosts needed just two minutes to open the scoring, David Lopez heading them in front from a corner. Diego Colotto grabbed the second midway through the first half and Pizzi added a third after the break, although Juan Rafael Fuentes scored an own goal to give the visitors a late consolation. Espanyol are now seven points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, with Elche just three points above the bottom three.

Malaga boosted their Primera survival hopes with a 2-0 win at Osasuna. Samuel Garcia put Bernd Schuster’s side ahead early in the first half but Malaga suffered a setback just after the break when Jesus Gamez was dismissed for a second booking. Javi Gracia’s men failed to take advantage, however, and Nordin Amrabat doubled Malaga’s lead to seal the win. The result leaves both sides on 29 points, three clear of the relegation zone.

Bottom side Real Betis notched only their fourth success of the season as they secured a valuable 2-0 win over Getafe. The struggling Sevilla-based side took the lead in the 16th minute through Leo Baptistao before Ruben Castro made sure of the points before half-time. The result means Betis stay bottom of the table, but they have cut the gap to safety to eight points, while Getafe drop to 16th, only a point outside the bottom three.

Real Madrid top La Liga after finishing all-square with Atletico Madrid in the city derby. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are just a point ahead of Barcelona, who won at home against lowly Almeria, while Atleti trail the Catalans by two points.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck eight minutes from time to secure a 2-2 draw for Real Madrid in a pulsating capital city derby against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. Atleti had looked on course for a win over their neighbours after first-half strikes from Koke and Gabi had put them ahead following Karim Benzema’s early opener for Los Blancos. But Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo lashed home his 22nd Primera goal of the season in the 82nd minute to deny Atletico’s hopes of completing a league double over their more illustrious rivals for the first time since 1951, having defeated them at the Bernabeu 1-0 earlier in the season.

Barcelona defeated Almeria 3-1 at Camp Nou despite another lacklustre performance against the Andalusian strugglers. Alexis Sanchez put the Catalans ahead on nine minutes and Lionel Messi double the lead on 24 minutes with a masterful free kick. Almeria battled their way back into the game and Angel Trujillo took advantage of some dreadful marking to head home a corner before the half-hour mark. With Barca dominating possession but seemingly devoid of ideas, Carles Puyol made the game safe from close range and Xavi Hernandez added a fourth with a fine finish from outside the box with two minutes remaining.

Aritz Aduriz kept Athletic Bilbao on course for a Champions League place with a hat-trick in a comprehensive 4-0 win over Granada at San Mames. The striker headed home the opener from Andoni Iraola’s right-wing cross after just seven minutes and fired in a fine 20-yard second to put the hosts in total command inside 20 minutes. He then won the penalty which earned defender Diego Mainz a red card and completed his treble in the 73rd minute. Carlos Gurpegi sealed the win, which leaves fourth-placed Athletic six points clear of Villarreal.

Villarreal lost ground to Athletic as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to basement side Real Betis. The Yellow Submarine looked set to take all three points when Bruno Soriano gave them the lead from the penalty spot on 70 minutes, but the game changed 10 minutes later when Uche Ikechuwku was sent off for a second booking. Betis were able to take advantage of having an extra man and Ruben Castro headed in the equaliser shortly after Ikechukwu’s dismissal. The draw gave Betis their first point five league games, but they remain 11 points from safety.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Sevilla earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with substitute Kevin Gameiro’s second-half strike proving the ultimate difference between the two teams. The French striker picked up Carlos Bacca’s cross from the left and slotted home a close-range shot on 77 minutes. La Real remain sixth, a point behind Villarreal as Unai Emery’s side moved up to seventh.

There was a surprise win for relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano, who overcame ten-man Valencia 1-0. Joaquin Larrivey grabbed the vital goal on 61 minutes when he headed in Razvan Rat’s cross. Valencia lost Antonio Barragan on 77 minutes, when the defender was shown a second yellow card. Rayo remain in the bottom three despite their win, while Valencia are three points outside the Europa League places.

Levante‘s excellent run continued as they beat Osasuna 2-0 despite playing the last half-hour with ten men. Joaquin Caparros’ men have transformed themselves from relegation strugglers to Europa League contenders and have now gone eight games unbeaten. First-half goals from Papakouli Diop and Ruben Garcia ensured three points for Levante, but Victor Casadesus made it harder for his side with a red card in the 60th minute for a foul on Alvaro Cejudo.

Espanyol‘s hopes of a Europa League place suffered a setback as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Getafe. Javier Aguirre’s side had won two of their previous three games, but could not find a way through the Getafe defence. The draw left Los Periquitos in mid-table and just six points above their hosts, who themselves are four points clear of the relegation places.

Elche claimed a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo to go six points clear of the relegation zone and up to 13th in the table, just one point behind Celta, who remain 11th. Midfielder Carles Gil came off the bench in the second half to score the winning goal with just six minutes remaining.  Celta had been the better side for most of the game and could have scored themselves but for Manu Herrera’s double save to deny Fabian Orellana and Andreu Fontas.

Malaga and Real Valladolid each had to settle for a point from their relegation battle at La Rosaleda which left both sides with much to do to avoid the drop. Veteran striker Roque Santa Cruz put Malaga ahead after 13 minutes, but Daniel Larsson levelled for the visitors after half an hour. The result kept Malaga three points ahead of their opponents in the fight for survival, but was another opportunity squandered to pull further clear of the bottom three.

Real Madrid beat Elche to go three points clear at the top of La Liga, as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both succumbed to Basque opposition. Barca were well-beaten by Real Sociedad while Atletico were humbled at Osasuna. The title race is poised to take another twist next weekend when Los Blancos visit the Vicente Calderon.

Gareth Bale hit an outstanding long-range effort for Real Madrid as Los Blancos completed a comfortable 3-0 win over Elche at the Santiago Bernabeu. Asier Illaramendi fired a low shot into the bottom corner for the opening goal, his first for Real Madrid, and the player with the world’s biggest price tag doubled the lead in the second half with a stunning 35-yard strike for his 10th of the season. Substitute Isco hit a third to seal the win with 10 minutes remaining.

Exuberant Osasuna pulled off one of the biggest shocks in La Liga this season by thumping title-chasing Atletico Madrid 3-0 in Pamplona. Atleti coach Diego Simeone rang the changes for the clash with the mid-table side, but his best-laid plans went badly wrong. Javi Gracia’s men struck three times in a frantic first half, with Alvaro Cejudo, Emiliano Armenteros and Roberto Torres all on target. Simeone’s side improved marginally after the break, but were unable to prevent Osasuna recording a deserved and famous victory.

Anoeta has not been a happy hunting ground for Barcelona in recent seasons and the Catalans endured another miserable trip there as Real Sociedad produced a top-drawer brilliant team display to beat the off-colour champions 3-1. The Basque side, who defeated Barca 3-2 in the corresponding fixture last season, went ahead in the 32nd minute when Gorka Elustondo’s header found the net via the shoulder of defender Alex Song. Lionel Messi equalised four minutes later with a clinical finish, but goals from Antoine Griezmann and David Zurutuza early in the second half ensured Barca left San Sebastian empty-handed for the third time in four seasons.

Basement boys Real Betis were plunged even further into trouble with a 2-0 home defeat to Athletic Bilbao, in which they had two players sent off, were denied two penalties and had what they saw as an undeserved spot-kick awarded against them. Iker Muniain opened the scoring in the first half from the spot and Damien Perquis, who had conceded the penalty, was sent off before the interval. Lolo Reyes also received his marching orders after picking up two bookings, and 20-year-old Guillermo Fernandez scored his first goal for Athletic to seal the points and complete a miserable afternoon for Gabriel Calderon’s side.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Villarreal remained fifth, ahead of Real Sociedad, with a 2-1 victory over Espanyol at Cornella-El Prat, where goals either side of half-time from Moi Gomez and Jeremy Perbet gave the Yellow Submarine a comfortable lead. Jhon Cordoba’s 77th minute strike gave Espanyol a foothold in the game, but they were unable to secure an equaliser and Villarreal ran out deserved winners.

Rayo Vallecano’s survival received another set-back after they were beaten 1-0 at home by Sevilla who finished the game with 10 men for the second week in a row. Former Rayo player Coke headed in the game’s only goal of the game on 58 minutes and the home side were unable to respond, even though Sevilla had Vicente Iborra sent off seven minutes before the end after receiving a second yellow card for time wasting.

Valencia defender Ruben Vezo volleyed a late winner as his team came from behind to beat Granada 2-1 at Mestalla. It looked as if the home side might see their hopes of making a run for a European place next season damaged when Granada took the lead early in the second half through Piti after a mistake from Javi Fuego, but Los Che levelled thanks to substitute Paco Alcacer. Granada looked to be hanging on for a point heading into stoppage time, until 19-year-old Vezo struck, meeting a free-kick from the right at the far post and keeping his composure to nudge the ball home.

Getafe remain in trouble near the foot of the table after a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo, but did well to pick up a point after playing most of the second half with 10 men. Angel Lafita gave Luis Garcia’s side the lead after 20 minutes but Getafe failed to cling onto their advantage and made things easier for Celta when Lisandro Lopez was shown a second yellow card early in the second half, shortly after which Rafinha equalised for the Galicians.

Andalusian relegation rivals Almeria and Malaga fought out a goalless draw at the Juegos Mediterraneos, with both sides looking to avoid defeat and doing enough to warrant victory. The draw sees Almeria four points above the bottom three, with Malaga a place and a point behind them in 17th. Almeria’s lack of goals must be troubling coach Francisco Rodriguez, his men having scored just three times in their past seven league games. Malaga did have the ball in the net after five minutes, but Sergio Sanchez was correctly ruled offside.

Real Valladolid missed the chance to put pressure on their relegation rivals as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Levante. Despite battling back from a half-time deficit when Javi Guerra canceled out Victor Casadesus’ opener, third from bottom Valladolid had to make do with a point.

Lionel Messi broke one record and moved closer towards another as Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano with ease. Real Madrid won 3-0 at Getafe and Atletico Madrid beat Real Valladolid by the same score as the three title contenders remain separated only by goal difference.

Lionel Messi rewrote the record books as Barcelona completed a 6-0 demolition of Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. The 26-year-old Argentine scored twice to surpass Telmo Zarra as the player with most goals for a single Spanish club, his double taking his Barca tally to 337 in all competitions. Adriano opened the floodgates in just the second minute on Saturday and further goals from Alexis Sanchez, Pedro Rodriguez and Neymar with a superb strike from distance added to Messi’s double to seal a comfortable win for the Catalans.

Messi also became the third highest all-time scorer in La Liga, moving above Alfredo Di Stefano in the record books and level with another Real Madrid legend, Raul, on 228 La Liga goals. Messi needs just 24 more to overhaul outright record of 251 by former Athletic Bilbao striker Zarra in the 1940s and 1950s. Hugo Sanchez is second on the list with 234 goals.

Atletico Madrid issued a reminder of their title aspirations with a commanding 3-0 home win over lowly Real Valladolid, ending a three-game losing streak. Atletico’s confidence had been rocked by a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-finals and a shock 2-0 reverse at Almeria last weekend, which knocked them off the top of La Liga.

Two goals in the opening four minutes from Raul Garcia and Diego Costa saw Diego Simeone’s men off to a flying start and Diego Godin added a third in the second half to seal a morale-boosting victory for Atleti. The best opportunities for the visitors fell to Javi Guerra early in the second period, and Manucho in injury time, but neither player was able to hit the target.

Real Madrid kept up the pace up with Barca and Atleti by easing to a 3-0 victory at Getafe, thanks to goals from by Jese Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric. With Cristiano Ronaldo suspended, the pressure was on Carlo Ancelotti’s side to pick up the three points at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, a stadium they had lost at last season, but Jese settled any nerves they might have had with an early goal. Benzema doubled their advantage on 27 minutes and midway through the second half Luka Modric got the goal his recent form had merited. The defeat plunged Getafe into the relegation mix, four points clear of the danger zone.

Athletic Bilbao saw their unbeaten league record at the new San Mames come to an end as Espanyol claimed a deserved 2-1 win. Goals from Sergio Garcia and Diego Colotto ensured Los Periquitos completed a notable double, having beaten Athletic in September’s reverse fixture, and also achieving back-to-back league wins after last week’s win over Granada. Carlos Gurpegi hit Athletic’s reply early in the second period the hosts were unable to up their game and Colotto duly made them pay with the winner after 65 minutes. Aritz Aduriz was sent off late on to wrap up a miserable night for Ernesto Valverde’s men.

Fifth-placed Villarreal suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat as late goals from Fabian Orellana and Nolito handed Celta Vigo three points at El Madrigal. The home side were totally dominant in the first period but could not find a way through and the game was marred when a smoke bomb was thrown on to the pitch after Orellana had headed Celta into the lead late in the second half, forcing the referee suspending the match for more than 20 minutes. The players eventually re-emerged to play the four remaining minutes, enough time for Nolito to add a second and barely deserved goal for the visitors.

Malaga’s poor form continued as they went down 1-0 to Real Sociedad at La Rosaleda. Carlos Vela struck after 10 minutes for the visitors and their lead was never seriously threatened by the home side, who now face a battle against relegation, having won just one of their last seven games. The introduction of Roque Santa Cruz and Duda in the second half injected a more urgent approach from Malaga, but they were unable to convert possession into goals. Bernd Schuster’s men are now just three points clear of the bottom three, while La Real are sixth, level on points with Villarreal.

Sevilla and Valencia fought out a goalless draw at the Sanchez Pizjuan as both sides finished the game with 10 men. An evenly matched first half saw neither side creating many clear-cut chances, but Sevilla dominated the second half after Valencia captain Ricardo Costa was dismissed in the 50th minute for picking up two yellow cards. They were unable to make their numerical advantage count, however, and their night was summed up when Diego Alves saved Ivan Rakitic’s penalty. It was the Croatian’s third missed spot-kick this season. Sevilla’s Denis Cheryshev was also given his marching orders in stoppage time for two bookings, the second one for diving.

A great strike by David Barral was enough for Levante to see off Almeria. The striker hit a sensational volley after 61 minutes, finally converting one of the numerous chances that had fallen his way during the game, although not for the first time Joaquin Caparros’ side were grateful to their goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who produced an outstanding save to prevent a late equaliser from Oscar Diaz. The defeat leaves Almeria in 15th place, four points clear of the drop zone, while Levante remain 10th.

Elche and Osasuna both remain five points ahead of the relegation places after a goalless draw at El Valero. Goalkeepers Antonio Tono and Andres Fernandez were the stars in a game of few chances. Oriol Riera had the best chance for the visitors after five minutes and should have done better with a close-range header and Cristian Herrera fired wide from just six yards as Elche got a foothold in the game and Fernandez was forced into a save as Ruben Perez tried his luck from distance.

Granada overcame Andalusian rivals Real Betis 1-0 to ease their relegation fears while leaving their opponents rooted to the foot of La Liga. In a bad-tempered game at Los Carmenes which saw both teams finish with 10 men, Piti claimed the winner for El Grana just after the half-hour mark. The home side’s Dani Benitez was shown a straight red card with 10 minutes to go for a bad tackle on Jose Nono, while Betis lost Antonio Amaya who was shown a second yellow card.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Atletico Madrid lost their outright lead at the top of La Liga, their defeat at Almeria providing the story of the weekend. With Barcelona and Real Madrid both winning against Sevilla and Villarreal respectively, the top three are all level on 57 points, Barca having the advantage of a superior goal difference.

Barcelona returned to winning ways with a 4-1 win at rain-soaked Sevilla. The Catalans made a bad start when Alberto Moreno latched on to a pass from Ivan Rakitic to beat Marc Bartra and Victor Valdes to give the Andalusians a 15th minute lead. Alexis Sanchez levelled on 34 minutes, though his goal from Lionel Messi’s free kick had more than a suspicion of offside about it. Sevilla continued to press their opponents and spurned several chances to restore their lead.

Messi then put Barca in front just before half-time, as torrential rain threatened to halt the proceedings, with his first goal in La Liga since September. The rain abated after the restart, but a sodden pitch failed to prevent both sides playing some attractive passing football. The Argentine added to his tally on 56 minutes and Barca were cruising as substitute Cesc Fabregas chipped over Beto for Barca’s fourth with just a few minutes remaining.

Here are the highlights from all of the goals in this gameweek:

Leaders Atletico Madrid suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at Almeria as coach Diego Simeone made a number of changes following the midweek Copa del Rey loss to Real Madrid and was crucially without injured goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Atleti struggled throughout, failing to trouble Esteban Suarez in the Almeria goal and, as their frustrations became apparent, Almeria grew in confidence. A dull game sprang to life as Aleix Vidal struck a shot which hit both posts before bouncing clear.

Moments later the home fans were celebrating a stunning goal from Jose Antonio Verza who curled the ball into the top corner leaving stand-in keeper Daniel Aranzubia stranded. It immediately got worse for Atleti as Aranzubia failed to take a routine back pass cleanly, brought down Jonathan Zongo in the process and received a straight red card for his error. With all three substitutes used, midfielder Gabi went between the posts but Verza lashed his penalty high into the net, sealing the win to take Almeria up to 15th, four points clear of the relegation zone.

Real Madrid beat Villarreal 4-2 to maintain their title challenge. Carlo Ancelotti was without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, but the front three of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez were all on target as Madrid had too much for their opponents in an exciting encounter. Sidelined since January with a calf injury, Bale made an instant impact on his return, opening the scoring after six minutes after defender Chechu Dorado hesitated on the ball and Bale stole in to lift it over goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.

It was 2-0 when Bale crossed to find Benzema but Madrid were jolted when Mario cut their lead just before half-time. Jese restored the two-goal cushion on the hour but Giovani Dos Santos again narrowed the gap for Villarreal with a sublime left-footed curling free-kick from 22 yards. Benzema grabbed his second and Madrid’s fourth, drilled home a low first-time shot from Jese’s pass to ensure victory for Los Blancos.

Athletic Bilbao remain fourth but are 13 points behind the top three after a goalless draw with Celta Vigo at Los Balaidos. Celta dominated the first half against a lacklustre Athletic side and although the visitors came back into the game in the second period, neither they nor their hosts could fashion a winner. Charles missed the best chance for Celta when his shot rattled against a post, While Athletic spurned two good opportunities in the final minutes. Kike Sola just failed to get on the end of Oscar De Marcos’ low cross and then Iker Muniain shot just wide from an Ibai Gomez cross.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Levante had Keylor Navas to thank for a point from a 0-0 draw against Real Sociedad at Anoeta. The Basques had more possession and created more chances than the visitors, who were once again grateful to Costa Rican goalkeeper Navas for making a number of crucial saves and keeping a clean sheet. Carlos Vela came closest to scoring, but his second half effort was ruled offside. La Real remain sixth in the table, seven points behind Athletic and three adrift of fifth-placed Villarreal while Levante, who are unbeaten in their last five league games, drop down to 10th.

Revitalised Valencia followed up their win at Camp Nou last weekend by thrashing rock bottom Real Betis 5-0 at Mestalla to move up to eighth in La Liga. Los Che Valencia began positively and took the lead after 41 minutes through a header by Jeremy Mathieu. Paco Alcacer doubled the home side’s advantage on the stroke of half-time, and added his second in the 67th minute, soon after Sofiane Feghouli had made it 3-0. Eduardo Vargas marked his full debut for Valencia by scoring the fifth goal with 11 minutes remaining.

A late winner ended Espanyol‘s run of four games without a win as Los Periquitos finished 1-0 winners over Granada, despite playing for an hour with 10 men. Javier Aguirre’s side lost Victor Alvarez after just half an hour when the defender fouled Youssef El-Arabi on the edge of the area and received a straight red card. The game looked to be heading towards stalemate as El Grana failed to make their advantage count and Hector Moreno made them pay, heading the winner from a 79th-minute corner to earn three much-needed points for the home side, while Granada slipped towards the drop zone.

Struggling Rayo Vallecano outplayed 10-man Malaga to win 4-1 at Los Vallacas, but remain in the relegation zone, with their opponents also in danger of being sucked into a relegation battle. Iago Falque put the Madrid side ahead after 25 minutes and Anaitz Arbilla doubled their lead two minutes later. Malaga had Sergio Sanchez sent off just before half time, the defender receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Joaquin Larrivey and the Argentine striker putting away the resulting penalty himself. Falque grabbed his second to make it four on the hour and, although substitute Oleksandr Iakovenko pulled one back from Malaga on his debut, Bernd Schuster’s side were well beaten.

Osasuna moved further away from the relegation zone with a win 2-0 over Getafe in Pamplona. Oriol Riera fired the Basque side ahead in the seventh minute, latching on to Francisco Silva’s pass and lobbing goalkeeper Miguel Moya from 18 yards, but it was struggling Getafe who dominated. Osasuna improved in the second half and eventually got a second goal through Roberto Torres to move four points clear of the bottom three and extend Getafe’s winless league run to eight games.

Elche threw away a two-goal lead at lowly Real Valladolid as Humberto Osorio hit a second-half double to salvage a valuable point in the home side’s battle to avoid relegation. Ferran Corominas gave Elche the lead in the first half and Manu del Moral doubled the Alicante side’s advantage after the break, but Osorio clawed Valladolid level with goals in the 71st and 83rd minutes. The 2-2 draw leaves Juan Ignacio Martinez’s men three points from safety.

There was finally a shift at the top of La Liga as Atletico Madrid thrashed Real Sociedad to go top, while Barcelona were beaten by Valencia. Real Madrid were held to a draw by Athletic Bilbao and remain third.

Atletico Madrid went top of La Liga for the first time since 1996 after an impressive 4-0 victory against Real Sociedad at the Vicente Calderon. Atleti dominated the first half as David Villa turned in a cut-back from Diego Costa to break the deadlock. It was the third goal in as many Primera games for Spain’s all-time top scorer, but he was substituted only a few minutes later with a thigh injury. La Real had the hosts under pressure after the break, but Diego Simeone’s side were lifted by the appearance of Diego Ribas from the bench, playing his first game since re-signing for the club on loan.

Diego Costa ran onto a through ball from Raul Garcia on the break and slotted into the bottom corner for the vital second goal and then Miranda powered in a header from a Koke cross to make it three. Three minutes from time, Ribas marked his return by shooting high into the net to cap a sensational night for Los Rojiblancos.

Ten-man Barcelona suffered their first home defeat of the season as Jordi Alba was sent off in a 3-2 loss to Valencia at Camp Nou. With Atletico Madrid winning, the result meant Barca were toppled from pole position in La Liga for the first time in 59 weeks. It looked to be business as usual when top scorer Alexis Sanchez gave Barca the lead in the seventh minute with his 13th goal of the season, but the Catalans let the game slip and went behind to goals from Dani Parejo and Pablo Piatti either side of half-time.

Lionel Messi responded quickly after the break by drawing La Blaugrana level from the penalty spot after Valencia skipper Ricardo Costa was adjudged to have handled, but Paco Alcacer scored a third for Los Che on 59 minutes and this time Barcelona had no answer. Dani Alves came close to scoring a late equaliser, but Jordi Alba capped a poor display at left-back by making things even harder for Tata Martino’s men when he was shown a second yellow card with 13 minutes remaining. The defeat was Barcelona’s first at Camp Nou since they lost to Real Madrid in 2012.

Cristiano Ronaldo was controversially sent off as 10-man Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao at San Mames. The world player of the year was red carded for reacting to a shove by Carlos Gurpegi and immediately confronting Ander Iturraspe in the 75th minute, although the decision to expel the Portuguese appeared harsh. Only a minute earlier, Athletic had scored a stunning equaliser, substitute Ibai Gomez scoring with only his second touch after coming on, firing in a bouncing ball from the edge of the area.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side had gone ahead on 65 minutes through striker Jese, making his first start in La Liga, but were left hanging on for a point. Los Blancos’ failure to take all three points left them behind Barcelona, but only on goal difference, any they now face the prospect of being without the suspended Ronaldo, possibly for three games.

Villarreal defeated Osasuna 3-1 at El Madrigal to remain fifth, three points behind Athletic, and leave their opponents hovering close to the relegation zone. Villarreal came out to attack after a goalless first half and Jeremy Perbet put them ahead immediately following the restart. Manuel Trigueros double the lead and Perbet hit his second with 15 minutes remaining. Oriol Riera grabbed a late consolation for the visitors but Villarreal ran out deserved winners.

Portuguese playmaker Duda scored twice as Malaga came from behind after throwing away the lead to defeat Sevilla 3-2 in an exciting Andalusian derby at La Rosaleda. Jose Antonio Reyes had a chance to put Sevilla in front in the 14th minute of an end-to-end encounter, but his shot was blocked by Willy Caballero. Instead, Duda put Malaga ahead after half-an-hour, slotting a penalty low into the right corner after he had been fouled by Coke.

Carlos Bacca levelled for Sevilla in the 49th minute, finishing into the bottom corner from the left of the area, before Fazio put the visitors in front, Ivan Rakitic swinging in a free-kick and the centre-back meeting it with his head to make it 2-1 in the 66th minute. There were more twists to come as Samu slammed an equaliser into the top corner following a cross from Pablo Perez and Duda completed the comeback, finishing from close range in the 83rd minute after being put through by Perez.

Rayo Vallecano avoided defeat for the first time in three league games by drawing 0-0 at Levante, but remained in deep trouble in the Primera Division relegation zone, six points from safety. It was an evenly matched game at the Ciutat de Valencia that saw few chances until a frantic final 10 minutes, but neither team were able to take any of the opportunities that fell to them.

Getafe went into their game against Real Valladolid at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez needing a win after six defeats and a draw in their last seven competitive matches had seen them slide down La Liga and crash out of the Copa del Rey. Diego Castro came close to stealing the points for the home side in stoppage time, but his thunderous 25-yard strike crashed against the post. The draw left Getafe in mid-table while Valladolid remain in trouble in the bottom three.

Celta Vigo continued their recent revival with a 2-1 win at Granada. Gustavo Cabral’s 28th-minute opener for the Galicians was cancelled out by Youssef El Arabi just before the break but the home side were denied a point as Augusto Fernandez netted the decider two minutes from time. Celta’s win was their third in four league games, lifting them up to 11th place, one place and three points above Granada, who have now lost four of their last six.

Elche moved four points clear of the Primera Division relegation zone after earning a narrow but deserved win at home to Almeria as both clubs look to avoid an immediate return to La Segunda. A somewhat lucky goal from Cristian Herrera, who deflected a shot from Javi Marquez past Esteban after 59 minutes, was enough for Fran Escriba’s side to take all three points, despite having Damian Suarez sent off in the 90th minute for picking up two yellow cards. The result means Almeria are just two points above the drop zone, while the men from Alicante side move up to 15th.

Real Betis registered only their third win of the season and their first since September as they overcame Espanyol 2-0 at the Benito Villamarin, but remain rooted to the foot of La Liga, eight points from safety. A second-half brace from Ruben Castro secured the points to give Gabriel Calderon his first win in charge of the Sevilla outfit. The striker has now scored Betis’ last four goals. Espanyol had their chances, but failed to test former Real Madrid goalkeeper Adan who was making his debut for Los Verdiblancos.

La Liga’s top three all won at the weekend to leave the Spanish title race too close to call. Barcelona and Real Madrid enjoyed home wins against Malaga and Granada respectively while Atletico Madrid put four past Rayo Vallecano.

Barcelona were unaffected by the week’s political wrangling at Camp Nou as they registered a convincing 3-0 win over Malaga. Visiting goalkeeper Willy Caballero was the busiest man on the pitch, keeping Barca at bay for 40 minutes before defender Gerard Pique fired home with his second goal in as many games. Pedro Rodriguez doubled the Catalans’ lead 10 minutes after the break and Alexis Sanchez effectively ended the match with half an hour remaining. While Barca maintain their narrow lead, Malaga are now just two points clear of the drop zone.

Atletico Madrid maintained their title challenge with a 4-2 win at Rayo Vallecano. David Villa pounced on a Rayo error to open the scoring after just eight minutes, and Arda Turan doubled the lead after half an hour, soon after the home side’s Jonathan Viera saw his penalty saved. Viera made up for his miss from the spot by cutting the deficit towards the end of the first half, but Rayo saw all their good work undone as poor defending from a free-kick led to Turan’s second goal and Atletico’s third. A Saul Niguez own goal after 75 minutes made sure of the points for Diego Simeone’s side, with Joaquin Larrivey scoring the second Rayo consolation.

Second-half goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema saw Real Madrid overcome a tough Granada side at the Bernabeu. It was not a vintage performance from Los Blancos, who were playing their seventh game in January, and they were frustrated for large parts of the game. Ronaldo finally broke the deadlock on 57 minutes, shimmying past two defenders inside the area before blasting into the bottom corner. Although the Ballon d’Or winner was unable to find a second goal, his flick on to Marcelo opened up the Granada defence, allowing Benzema to side-foot home the Brazilian’s low cross.

Athletic Bilbao gave a clear demonstration of their Champions League credentials as they crushed Basque rivals Osasuna at El Sadar. Aritz Aduriz scored twice, taking the match away from the hosts with Athletic’s second and third goals after Markel Susaeta’s opener had been cancelled out by Emiliano Armenteros. It got worse for Osasuna in the 76th-minute with the sending-off of Alejandro Arribas, who picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Susaeta. Athletic took full advantage and substitutes Ibai Gomez and Enrique Sola struck late on as the visitors strengthened their hold on fourth place.

Real Sociedad thumped Elche 4-0 to keep up their challenge for a European place and leave their opponents hovering two points above the danger zone. Elche defender Damian Suarez put through his own goal after just two minutes, but it was another starring performance from Antoine Griezmann that led La Real to victory. Griezmann scored twice, either side of a Carlos Vela strike, as the Basques closed the gap on Villarreal.  

Real Valladolid gave their Primera Division survival hopes a welcome boost with a 1-0 win over high-flying Villarreal at the Jose Zorrilla. Jesus Rueda’s first-half goal divided the two sides and saw the home side end a run of four matches without a win and strike blow to the visitors’ hopes of a Champions League place. Javier Aquino’s clumsy challenge on Carlos Pena four minutes before the interval led to a free-kick which Fausto Rossi played to Jesus Rueda, who powered a header into the bottom right corner. Villarreal spurned several chances to equalise, but Valladolid held on.

Levante came away from Sanchez Pizjuan with an unlikely 3-2 victory over Sevilla, who had dominated the game. The Valencians twice came from behind before grabbing the winner late on after their goalkeeper Keylor Navas produced an outstanding performance. Coke opened the scoring midway through the first half for Unai Emery’s side but David Barral levelled a few minutes later from the penalty spot.

The Andalusians attacked relentlessly in the second half but were continuously denied by Navas, until Ivan Rakitic restored their lead on 68 minutes. Loukas Vyntra pulled the Levante level, before Simao grabbed their winner with 15 minutes remaining. There was still time for more drama in injury time, with Nikos Karabelas seeing red for a late tackle on Sevilla’s Jairo, who was himself sent off a minute later for a shove on Barral.

Valencia and Espanyol shared the points in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Mestalla which saw all the goals scored in the first half. In a frantic opening, Jhon Cordoba put the visitors ahead inside three minutes, but Paco Alcacer levelled only four minutes later with his first goal of the season. A header from Jonas put Juan Antonio Pizzi’s side in front on 32 minutes, but Cordoba won a penalty just before the break, allowing Sergio Garcia to equalise. Both sides had opportunities in the second half, but the result left Espanyol the happier of the two sides

Almeria ended a run of four games without a win with a 1-0 home victory over Getafe. The win keeps Francisco Rodriguez’s side out of the danger zone while their opponents remain in mid-table after winning just once in their last seven Primera games. Jonathan Zongo’s second-half header was all that separated the two sides, the 21-year-old getting his head onto the end of a corner from on-loan Liverpool striker Suso. Almeria could have extended their lead but for a fine display from goalkeeper Miguel Moya, while Pedro Leon and Miguel Michel wasted chances for Getafe.

Celta Vigo ensured Gabriel Calderon’s first game as Real Betis coach ended in disappointment as they ran out 4-2 winners against the basement boys at Los Balaidos. The Argentinian was appointed after Betis sacked Juan Carlos Garrido after just six weeks in charge. His tenure had looked set to get off to a positive start when Ruben Castro gave Betis the lead in the 17th minute, but two goals from Fabian Orellana and one from Charles turned the match round before half-time. Substitute Nolito added a fourth for Celta 17 minutes from time and, although Ruben’s second made the scoreline more respectable, it was too little, too late.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both dropped points but Real Madrid won again to close the gap on La Liga’s top two to a point and leave all three clubs embroiled in a three horse-race for the Spanish title. 

Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Levante at the Cuitat de Valencia. The home side took a shock lead in the 10th minute with Loukas Vyntra’s headed goal but Barca quickly levelled when Gerard Pique headed in from close range nine minutes later. Levante coach Joaquin Caparros vowed before the game to make Barcelona suffer and his men did just that, defending in numbers and frustrating the champions, who were unable to break through, even with Lionel Messi back in harness.

Atletico Madrid were held 1-1 at the Vicente Calderon by Sevilla, who are now unbeaten in eight games. David Villa put Atleti ahead after 18 minutes but Diego Simeone’s men were unable to improve on their lead. Defender Juanfran rashly impeded Carlos Bacca 20 minutes before the end and Ivan Rakitic beat Thibaut Courtois from the spot for his ninth goal of the season. Sevilla’s Alberto Moreno received a straight red late on, as Unai Emery’s side remained seventh and in contention for a European place.

Real Madrid brushed aside Real Betis, winning 5-0 at the Benito Villamarin to leave the hosts rooted to the bottom of La Liga. Gareth Bale scored his first goal in six weeks, firing home a free-kick midway through the first half after Cristiano Ronaldo had opened the scoring with a thunderous strike from distance. Karim Benzema widened the gap further before the break, taking advantage of a great move from Luka Modric and in the second half Angel Di Maria scored his second goal in as many games before substitute Alvaro Morata piled further misery on Betis.

The result was too much for the Betis hierarchy, who showed coach Juan Carlos Garrido the door following the defeat, just 48 days after he had replaced the sacked Pepe Mel.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Athletic Bilbao recovered after going a goal down to win 4-2 against Real Valladolid at San Mames holding on to the Champions League qualifying spot as a result. Oscar Gonzalez gave the visitors an early lead, which they held until the 65th minute when Ibai Gomez struck Athletic’s equaliser. Oscar De Marcos put the Basques ahead with 15 minutes left, Gomez added his second and their third and Ander Herrera made it four late on. Valdet Rama grabbed a stoppage time consolation, but Valladolid remain in the bottom three. 

Villarreal maintained their chances of a Champions League qualifying place with a 2-0 victory over struggling Almeria. Ikechukwu Uche gave the Yellow Submarine the lead in the third minute and Bruno Soriano made sure of the win with a late penalty after Jonathan Pereira had been brought down by Rafita. Villarreal remain fifth, while Almeria are 17th, just three points clear of the relegation zone.

Getafe battled back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, despite playing the final half-hour with 10 men. Two headed goals from Imanol Agirretxe gave La Real an early lead, but the hosts bounced back to level the scores with goals from Ciprian Marica and Pedro Leon. Getafe had Borja Fernandez dismissed in the second half after he received two yellow cards but the Basques were unable to make their numerical advantage count.

Valencia missed the chance to make up ground on the European places as they drew a blank in a goalless draw at Malaga that was anything but dull. Both sides had numerous chances to score, with more than 20 shots on goal in the first hour alone, but goalkeepers Willy Caballero and Diego Alves were both in imperious form. Caballero kept out Daniel Parejo’s 25-yard free-kick before denying Jonas on the rebound. The Malaga keeper blocked another Parejo effort after the break while Roque Santa Cruz was foiled by Alves at the other end.

Espanyol went into their game against Celta Vigo at Cornella-El Prat following two defeats, but their captain Sergio Garcia hit a superb winner two minutes from time to earn his side a 1-0 win over the Galicians. A dour encounter looked to be heading for a draw, but Garcia’s left-footed finish into the bottom-left corner, his eighth goal of the season, gave Los Periquitos the points and lifted them to eighth in the table. 

Osasuna stretched their unbeaten league run to five games with a battling goalless draw at Granada. The Basques had found themselves slipping dangerously close to the drop zone but wins against Espanyol and Betis in their last two outings, combined with earlier draws against Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, had eased their worries. Granada largely controlled the game, especially in the first half, but neither side could find a way to goal.

Rayo Vallecano fell further into the relegation mire after losing 2-0 away to fellow strugglers Elche. The outcome was never in doubt once the visitors went a goal and a player down after 19 minutes when Raul Baena was dismissed for bringing down Coro in the area and Edu Albacar scored from the resulting penalty. Paco Jemez’s side could only try to keep the score down for the rest of the game but failed to prevent Javi Marquez doubling Elche’s lead on 79 minutes to seal the win.

Real Madrid were the major beneficiaries from the weekend’s La Liga action, narrowing the gap behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to three points after their slender win at Espanyol and the top two’s goalless draw at the Vicente Calderon.

Barcelona remain top of La Liga on goal difference after their top-of-the-table clash with Atletico Madrid failed to live up to the hype and finished goalless. Tata Martino opted for an attacking trio of Pedro Rodriguez, Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez, with Lionel Messi and Neymar starting on the bench, while Diego Simeone was able to field a full-strength team.

The two sides cancelled each other out for most of the game, with Barca dominating possession and Atleti content to soak up the pressure and play a counter-attacking game. When Messi and Neymar did emerge in the second half, neither could change the game and chances were at a premium. Messi forced a rare save from Thibaut Courtois while Atletico’s best chances fell to Diego Costa and Arda Turan, but neither tested Victor Valdes.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Real Madrid closed to within three points of leaders Barca and Atleti with a 1-0 victory over Espanyol at Cornella-El Prat. Defender Pepe headed the only goal of the game at the start of the second half as Madrid gained their eighth win in nine games since their last league loss, the 2-1 Clasico defeat in October. The margin should have been greater, with Cristiano Ronaldo – his mind on the Ballon d’Or, perhaps – guilty of spurning a hat-trick of openings, twice firing wide and seeing a third chance superbly saved by Kiko Casilla.

Athletic Bilbao tightened their grip on fourth place with a resounding 6-1 victory over Almeria at San Mames. Midfielder Mikel Rico opened the scoring after just six minutes and Ander Herrera doubled the lead four minutes later. Aymeric Laporte made it 3-0 just after the half-hour mark, but Helder Barbosa gave Francisco Javier Rodriguez’s side faint hope by scoring before half-time. A fourth from Aritz Aduriz put the Basques further ahead and a double from substitute Ibai Gomez completed the rout.

Villarreal ended Real Sociedad’s run of five consecutive victories with a resounding 5-1 thrashing at El Madrigal, leap-frogging their Basque opponents into fifth place in the process. Giovani Dos Santos and Ikechuwku Uche each scored twice and teenager Moi Gomez registered his first goal in La Liga to put the Yellow Submarine five goals ahead with less than an hour played. Imanol Agirretxe pulled one back but that was as good as it got for La Real as Marcelino Garcia’s men ran out convincing winners.

Elche were denied a first win since November as Daniel Carrico’s 89th-minute header rescued a 1-1 draw for Sevilla. Cristian Herrera’s 82nd-minute effort had looked set to earn the struggling home side three vital points, but Carrico’s late effort leaves Elche only two points above the relegation zone.

Brazilian forward Charles struck twice to hand Celta Vigo a valuable 2-1 win against Valencia at Los Balaidos. Los Che had enjoyed a revival since new coach Juan Antonio Pizzi took over in December, while the Galicians were looking move clear of the relegation zone. Valencia took the lead with a Dani Parejo goal after 23 minutes but Celta turned the game around, Charles netting twice, on 50 and 78 minutes to earn them three important points.

Granada halted their miserable run by thrashing lowly Real Valladolid 4-0 at Los Carmenes. The Andalusians had fallen to within four points of the drop zone after losing four of their last five games, but registered a valuable victory thanks to a brace from Jose Recio and goals from Jeison Murillo and Youssef El Arabi. The win was only Granada’s third at home this season and sees them up to ninth in La Liga, while the result leaves Valladolid in the bottom three.

Levante climbed into the top 10 after a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Malaga. David Barral headed the only goal of the game for Los Granotes from a corner in the 19th minute as Levante sealed a much-needed victory after six defeats in their previous seven La Liga outings. Barral managed to out-jump the Malaga defence to nod Andreas Ivanschitz’s corner past Willy Caballero at the far post. The result lifted Levante into 10th place while Malaga slipped to 14th.

Rayo Vallecano picked up a much-needed win away at neighbouring Getafe but remain in the relegation zone. Alberto Bueno scored the only goal of the game on 29 minutes in an even game that saw few clear-cut scoring opportunities for either side. Rayo stay 19th in the table, level on points with Valladolid and two behind Osasuna while Getafe, who are 10th, have now lost four consecutive league games.

Real Betis remained stranded at the foot of La Liga after losing 2-1 at home to Osasuna as both sides finished with 10 men. Roberto Torres fired Osasuna ahead in the second minute and Betis were put under further pressure seven minutes before the break when Nono was sent off for his second bookable offence after fouling Oriol Riera. The problems continued for Betis as a 57th-minute own goal from Jordi Figueras put Osasuna 2-0 up and it got even worse for Betis as Ruben Castro missed a penalty after a challenge by Andres Fernandez that saw the Osasuna goalkeeper sent off. Jorge Molina pulled a goal back ten minutes from time, but Betis are now six points from safety.

There were wins for Spain’s top three as La Liga resumed after the Christmas and New Year break. Barcelona defeated Elche comfortably, Atletico Madrid won at Malaga and Real Madrid overcame Celta Vigo.

Alexis Sanchez took full advantage of the absence of Lionel Messi and Neymar as Barcelona strolled to an easy 4-0 win over Elche. With Messi still recovering from injury and Neymar on the bench, the Chilean hit his first hat-trick for the Catalans to take his season’s La Liga tally to 11. Pedro Rodriguez was also on target for La Blaugrana, who also had the luxury of missing a second-half penalty from Xavi Hernandez.

Atletico Madrid had to wait until the 70th minute to seal victory in a close encounter against Malaga, enduring a frustrating afternoon at La Rosaleda as home coach Bernd Schuster opted for a five-man defence, fuelling criticism he has received for being too negative and cautious. Atleti struggled to create clear–cut chances, but their patience paid off when Koke – rumoured to be a January target for several EPL sides – popped up with the winner.

A below par first-half performance from Real Madrid ensured their game against Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu remained goalless at half-time. Carlo Ancelotti’s men raised their performance after the break, however, and Karim Benzema broke the deadlock with his ninth goal of the season. Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the lead and then added his second, the 400th goal of his senior career, as Los Blancos sealed a 3-0 win.

Real Sociedad continued their good run by defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in the Basque derby at Anoeta. A goal at the end of either half saw La Real narrow the gap between themselves and their northern rivals to just a single point. Antoine Griezmann put the hosts ahead in the closing stages of the first half with his 12th goal of the season and although Athletic enjoyed more possession, they were unable to carve out clear chances to equalise and were made to pay when Ruben Pardo finished a counterattack in injury time to seal the points.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Sevilla won convincingly against Getafe with a 3-0 scoreline at the Sanchez Pizjuan to move into seventh place. Goals from Vitolo, Carlos Bacca and Ivan Rakitic, who struck his eighth goal of the season, rewarded the home side’s dominance, while Getafe lost ground in their race for a Europa League place.

Villarreal thrashed Rayo Vallecano 5-2 at Las Vallecas, with Ikechuwku Uche hitting a hat-trick and Jeremy Castillo scoring twice. Paco Jemez’s team has easily the worst defensive record in La Liga and, although they had more possession than the visitors, Villarreal were ruthless in front of goal. They were 5-0 up before two goals from Nery Castillo, the second a stoppage time penalty, restored some pride for Rayo. The result keeps the Yellow Submarine in the Europa League positions while Rayo are four points from safety.

Incoming Valencia coach Juan Antonio Pizzi made the best possible start in his new role as Los Che defeated city rivals Levante 2-0 at Mestalla. The Argentine saw his fellow countryman Pablo Piatti drill in the opener just before half-time and hard-working midfielder Sofiane Feghouli sealed the win midway through the second half with a neat finish as Valencia climbed to eighth.

Almeria enjoyed their best win of the season, moving up to 14th place with a resounding 3–0 win over Granada in the Andalusian derby at the Juegos Mediterraneos. Sebastian Dubarbier opened the scoring in the 14th minute and while Verza doubled the lead just before the half hour mark from the penalty spot after Diego Mainz had fouled Fernando Soriano in the area. Riki went closest for the visitors, the former Deportivo La Coruna striker hitting the crossbar after the interval, before Aleix Vidal sealed victory for Almeria 11 minutes from time.

Alvaro Cejudo scored the only goal of the game after 33 minutes as Osasuna edged the first half against Espanyol at El Sadar, but the hosts were also indebted to goalkeeper Andres Fernandez for a string of quality saves as Espanyol put up a fight in the second period. Osasuna’s win moved them up to 15th in the table, while Espanyol remain 10th, having taken just eight points from nine away games this season.

Real Valladolid and Real Betis took a point each from a goalless draw at the Jose Zorilla, which was more exciting than the scoreline suggests, but the result that does little to help either team’s precarious situation at the foot of the Primera Division. Basement side Betis earned Juan Carlos Garrido his first point since taking over as coach last month, but the Andalusians remain six points from safety.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both had to come from behind to win their respective matches in the final game week before the mid-season break. As a result, the two clubs remain level on points at the top of La Liga, with Barca edging ahead thanks to a marginally superior goal difference. Real Madrid stay five points behind the top two after beating Valencia, while Athletic Bilbao’s win over Rayo Vallecano keeps them in the final Champions League berth. Real Sociedad, who beat Granada, and Villarreal, who lost to Sevilla, occupy the two Europa League slots.

Barcelona found themselves 2-0 down after just 15 minutes at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez as defenders Sergio Escudero and Lisandro Lopez gave Getafe a shock lead against the champions. Barca responded in the best way possible, however, as Pedro Rodriguez hit a nine minute hat-trick to give La Blaugrana a half-time lead. Cesc Fabregas extended their advantage on 68 minutes and it was 5-2 when Fabregas scored his second from the spot with 18 minutes remaining after Pedro was fouled by Lopez.

Atletico Madrid overcame battling Levante 3-2 despite going a goal behind with less than two minutes on the clock as Andreas Ivanschitz stunned the Vicente Calderon with an early goal for the visitors. Diego Godin levelled with a header and Diego Costa put Atleti in front two minutes into the second half, but Pedro Rios’ fine solo effort on 57 minutes restored parity. Costa fired home a 77th-minute penalty, his 19th Primera goal this season, to preserve all three points for Diego Simeone’s men.

Valencia caretaker boss Nico Estevez saw his men put on a spirited display in an exciting game against Real Madrid at Mestalla, but they were defeated 3-2, despite some poor defending in Los Blancos’ backline. Angel Di Maria put Madrid ahead on 28 minutes, but Los Che hit back to level six minutes later through Pablo Piatti. Cristiano Ronaldo restored the visitors’ lead, only for Jeremy Mathieu to exploit a woeful Madrid defence to head a second equaliser for Valencia. The home side’s hopes of a point were dispelled, though, when substitute Jese Rodriguez grabbed the winner eight minutes from time.

Athletic Bilbao dominated their match with Rayo Vallecano at San Mames much more convincingly than the 2–1 scoreline suggests. Miko San Jose gave the Basques a 33rd minute lead, but Rayo bounced back to equalise after the break when Athletic’s defence failed to clear their lines and Alberto Bueno stabbed the ball home. Parity was short-lived, however, and Mikel Rico struck on 66 minutes to restore Athletic’s lead and seal the three points.

A goal in each half from Carlos Vela saw Real Sociedad move into fifth with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Granada at Los Carmenes. The Mexican striker opened the scoring after 29 minutes, lobbing the ball home from the edge of the 18-yard box, before Piti equalised for the home side with a 25-yard thunderbolt. Antoine Griezmann restored La Real’s lead minutes ahead of half-time before Vela struck again midway through the second half with his ninth of the season.

Sevilla chalked up their fourth win in five games, defeating Villarreal at El Madrigal to move up to seventh place in the table, two points behind the Yellow Submarine. Juan Cala headed the visitors into the lead in the 24th minute from a set piece, and with 19 minutes remaining Carlos Bacca made sure of the points by taking advantage of a defensive error. Villarreal were awarded a penalty late on when Jaume Costa was fouled by Cala, and the defender was shown a straight card. Substitute Jeremy Perbet sent Beto the wrong way from the spot but Sevilla held on for the win.

Espanyol produced a fine performance to brush aside Real Valladolid 4-2 at Cornella-El Prat. Sergio Garcia got the ball rolling for Javier Aguirre’s side by scoring from the spot after just five minutes after Jesus Rueda tripped Christian Stuani, who in turn doubled the lead half an hour later. Victor Sanchez made sure of the points with a third goal on 67 minutes, and Stuani got his second and Espanyol’s fourth shortly afterwards. Javi Guerra and Victor Perez each pulled two late goals back for Valladolid as Espanyol took their foot of the gas, but it was an impressive win for Los Periquitos. 

Malaga recorded back-to-back victories in La Liga for the first time since February as Ignacio Camacho’s early goal helped see off 10-man Elche. However, they received an early boost when, with their first serious attempt on goal, Camacho got on the end of Duda’s curling free-kick to glance a header past home goalkeeper Tono and put the Andalusians in front. Elche suffered a major blow in the 61st minute when they lost Damian Suarez to a red card for a foul on Malaga striker Samu Garcia and were unable to avoid a third successive defeat.

An early goal from Ramon Azeez was enough for Almeria to claim a much-needed win over Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin. Azeez drilled a strike from 30 yards in only the fourth minute, enabling Almeria to climb out of the bottom three and into 16th place while Betis remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Despite a flurry of missed chances by both sides, Almeria kept their slender lead and were able to celebrate their fourth win of the season.

Celta Vigo and Osasuna shared the points in a 1-1 draw at El Balaidos. Emiliano Armenteros gave the visitors the lead on 17 minutes but Augusto Fernandez equalised before half-time. The draw leaves Osasuna in the bottom three, while Celta are 15th.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both won again to remain level at the top of La Liga as Atleti’s three-goal margin brought them exactly level with the Catalans on points, wins and goal difference. Ten-man Real Madrid salvaged a draw at lowly Osasuna to trail the top two by five points.

Atletico Madrid survived an even first half at the Vicente Calderon to overcome fading Valencia 3-0. Diego Costa struck the opener on 59 minutes and Raul Garcia doubled Atleti’s lead moments after coming onto the pitch. Costa missed a penalty but scored another to take his total for the season in La Liga to 17 and seal victory for Diego Simeone’s side. The defeat was too much for the Valencia hierarchy, who sacked coached Miroslav Djukic as Los Che slipped to ninth.

A Neymar double saw Barcelona to a 2-1 victory over Villarreal at Camp Nou. The Brazilian converted a penalty on half an hour after Mario Gaspar had handled, but the Yellow Submarine hit back three minutes after the break through Mateo Musacchio’s fierce header. The second-half introduction of Xavi Hernandez saw Barca up their game against a resolute Villarreal defence and they eventually found a way through when Neymar fired home the winner.

Real Madrid fought back from two goals and a man down to rescue a point against Osasuna in Pamplona. Oriol Riera struck twice for the hosts in the first half and the home side appeared to have cemented their advantage when Sergio Ramos was sent off for two bookable offences. Isco gave Los Blancos some hope, scoring moments before half-time and a Pepe header completed their comeback on 80 minutes, by which time Osasuna had also been reduced to 10 men as Francisco Silva was ordered off after picking up two yellow cards.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

A lively encounter at the Sanchez Pizjuan saw two form teams meet as Sevilla entertained Athletic Bilbao. The game sparked quickly as Alberto Moreno put the hosts ahead on four minutes, but Markel Susaeta took advantage of shaky Sevilla defending to equalise two minutes later. Susaeta had a chance to put Athletic ahead from the penalty spot moments before the break, but Beto saved well.

Real Sociedad put their Champions League woes behind them with a 5-1 thrashing of Betis, who remain rooted to the foot of La Liga. Imanol Agirretxe opened the scoring for the Basques in the sixth minute, but Jorge Molina hit back to level for Betis before three goals in just over 10 minutes – from Jon Ansotegui, Antoine Griezmann and Agirretxe again – left the Andalusians beleaguered. Xabi Prieto completed the rout with a late fifth for La Real.

Ten-man Rayo Vallecano slumped to their sixth home defeat of the season, beaten 2-0 by Granada. Fran Rico put El Grana ahead with a 35th minute free-kick and Paco Jemez’s side were dealt another blow before half-time as defender Nacho was sent off for receiving two bookings, the second for diving in an attempt to win a penalty. Despite gallant efforts by Rayo, the points were made safe for Granada when Riki added their second two minutes from time.

A late goal from David Barral saw Levante end a miserable run of form as they came from behind to earn a much-needed 2-1 win over Elche. Los Granotes had lost five in a row in all competitions coming into the match but the three points halted their slide down the table. Cristian Sapunaru put the visitors in front after 26 minutes but Barral levelled four minutes before the break and then headed in the winner with 10 minutes remaining.

Malaga looked to be heading for stalemate against Getafe as the two sides cancelled each other out for 75 minutes at La Rosaleda, before substitute Roque Santa Cruz hit the winner just moments after stepping off the bench.

Almeria held Espanyol to a goalless draw at Los Juegos Mediterraneos, where Midfielder Verza blasted a 24th minute spot-kick over the bar for the struggling Andalusians. Neither side was able to fashion a winner, though Almeria temporarily lifted themselves out of the bottom three on goal difference until Valladolid’s 3-0 win over Celta Vigo on Monday. Celta were reduced to 10 men when striker Charles was sent off for a second bookable offence and his opposite number Javi Guerra then struck a second-half hat-trick to take his season’s tally to ten goals.

Barcelona fell to their first Primera defeat of the season at Athletic Bilbao allowing Atletico Madrid, who won at Elche, to draw level on points with the leaders. Gareth Bale hit a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Valladolid convincingly to trail the top two by just three points.

Barcelona had the lion’s share of possession at San Mames, but could must barely a chance in front of goal as Athletic Bilbao deservedly inflicted a first defeat in La Liga on the Catalans. The loss came just five days after Barca’s first Champions League defeat at Ajax. Athletic made the champions look pedestrian and coach Tata Martino cut a frustrated figure as his men registered just two shots on goal. Iker Muniain struck the winner for Los Leones, turning in Markel Susaeta’s pass with 20 minutes remaining.

Atletico Madrid had to wait until the 63rd minute to break the deadlock at Elche. Koke gave Atleti the lead and Diego Costa doubled it on 74 minutes with his 15th goal of the season. With Barca losing, Diego Simeone’s side are behind the Catalans only on a marginally inferior goal difference. Meanwhile, Gareth Bale rattled in a treble as Real Madrid thumped Valladolid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, and set up Karim Benzema for Los Blancos’ second.

Villarreal looked on course for a ninth win of the season after Bruno Soriano put them ahead on 32 minutes against Malaga, but defender Weligton rescued a valuable point for Bernd Schuster’s men, equalising in the third minute of stoppage time. The Yellow Submarine are fifth as a result, yielding fourth place to Athletic Bilbao.

Real Sociedad are sixth after coming from a goal down to beat Espanyol and Cornella-El Prat. Jhon Cordoba gave Los Periquitos a half-time lead, but Antoine Griezmann’s ninth of the season drew La Real level and Christian Stuani deflected Ruben Pardo’s shot into his own goal with two minutes remaining to complete the turnaround.

Pedro Leon’s 79th minute strike was enough to give Getafe the points in a 1-0 win against Levante, while Sevilla remained a place and a point behind Getafe with a 2-1 win at Granada. Carlos Bacca put Sevilla in front after 23 minutes at Los Carmenes and Yacine Brahimi levelled for El Grana on the hour, but Kevin Gameiro won it for the visitors with an 87th minute winner.

Brazilian striker Jonas hit a nine-minute hat-trick either side of half-time as Valencia won 3-0 against 10-man Osasuna to ease the pressure on under-fire coach Miroslav Djukic. The Baques made life difficult for themselves when their captain Francisco Punal was sent off after just 15 minutes for a foul on Dani. Jonas’ treble takes his season’s total to eight.

Celta Vigo recovered from going a goal down against struggling Almeria 3-1 to register their fourth win of the season. Liverpool loanee Suso put the Andalusians ahead on nine minutes, but Fabian Orellana equalized for Celta on 26 minutes before Borja Oubina gave them the lead and former-Almeria striker Charles sealed the win with half an hour left to play.

Bottom side Betis twice let a lead slip against Rayo Vallecano, who moved out of the relegation zone after the two sides drew 2-2 at the Benito Villamarin. Antonio Amaya gave Betis the lead on 26 minutes but Alberto Bueno levelled for Rayo after the break. Joan Verdu restored Betis’ advantage, but Bueno grabbed his second in stoppage time to rescue a point for Rayo.

Barcelona increased their lead in La Liga to three points with a win at Betis as Atletico Madrid dropped two vital points at Villarreal. Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick as Real Madrid increase the pressure on their city rivals.

Barcelona had an ultimately comfortable 4-1 win at Betis, who were left bottom of La Liga. Betis coach Pepe Mel, forced to make multiple changes through injury and suspension, saw his side dominate much the first half against the Primera leaders and Victor Valdes was the busier goalkeeper in the early stages until Betis were hit by two killer blows.

Neymar slotted home his fourth goal of the season on 35 minutes and Pedro Rodriguez doubled the Catalans’ lead two minutes later. Cesc Fabregas made it three on the hour as Barca bossed the second half and added his second 10 minutes from time with Betis well-beaten. Jorge Molina’s stoppage-time penalty was scant consolation for Los Verdiblancos.

Atletico Madrid lost ground on Barcelona as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Villarreal. An own goal from Mario Gaspar gave the visitors an early lead, but Juanfran also put through his own goal 11 minutes from time to gift Villarreal a point which they fully deserved, having contained Atleti for long periods of the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit his second hat-trick in three Primera games as Real Madrid thumped Real Sociedad 5-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Portuguese striker opened the scoring from Karim Benzema’s pass on 12 minutes before setting up the Frenchman to slot home six minutes later.

Ronaldo added the third from the penalty spot before Gareth Bale played in Sami Khedira to make it 4-0 after just 36 minutes. French winger Antoine Griezmann pulled one back for La Real with his seventh of the season after the break, but Ronaldo sealed his treble with an astounding free-kick to take his tally for the season to 24 goals in just 17 games in all competitions. 

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Athletic Bilbao came from behind to beat Levante 2-1 thanks to two astute half-time substitutions after Athletic trailed to a first half strike by David Barral. Coach Ernesto Valverde replaced Benat Etxebarria with Mikel Rico and Iker Muniain with Aritz Aduriz and it was Rico who lashed in a volley for the equaliser before Aduriz headed in the winner six minutes from the end. The night ended on a sour note for Aduriz, who received a straight red card for a late clash with Levante’s Aloys Nong.

Inconsistency is Valencia’s greatest enemy this season and they had to come back twice against Valladolid to earn a point from a 2-2 draw at Mestalla. Valencia’s Ever Banega fired a fifth-minute spot-kick over the bar before Javi Guerra gave La Pucela the lead on nine minutes, but Dorlan Pabon was on hand for the equaliser for Valencia twenty minutes later. Right-back Gilberto Garcia restored Valladolid’s lead after the break, but Sofiane Feghouli rescued a point for Los Che 14 minutes from time.

Sevilla won 3-1 at struggling Espanyol to finally end a 14-month streak without an away win, while the Catalans have now taken just four points from the last 24 available. Federico Fazio headed in Ivan Rakitic’s free kick to put Sevilla ahead after just three minutes and Machin Vitolo stabbed in from a Rakitic corner inside 10 minutes.

Sergio Garcia gave Espanyol a glimmer of hope on 23 minutes, but Carlos Bacca restored the two-goal cushion following the break. Espanyol finished with 10 men after Victor Sanchez received a second yellow card for a crude challenge on Vicente Iborra and was sent off for the second time this season. 

Almeria made it three wins in a row with a 1-0 win at Osasuna. Rodri’s 18th minute strike, his seventh goal of the season was enough to secure three points at Reyno de Navarra to take the Andalucians out of the relegation zone.

Youssef El Arabi hit a second-half hat-trick as Granada stormed to a 3-1 win over neighbouring Malaga at Los Carmenes. The Moroccan striker took his tally to the season to six as El Grana climbed to eighth. El Arabi broke the deadlock following a goalless first half, and although Juani equalised for the visitors, El Arabi restored the lead within minutes and completed his treble to seal the win.

Getafe and Elche fought out a 1-1 draw at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Pedro Leon gave the Madrid outfit the lead midway through the first half and Yiadom Boakye levelled for the visitors on the hour.

Rayo Vallecano bounced back after three straight defeats to record their fourth win of the season at Celta Vigo. Jonathan Viera put Rayo in front on 24 minutes and Argentine striker Joaquin Larrivey made sure of the points with a second-half strike.

After a whirlwind of La Liga matches last week and UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches this past mid-week, the top flight of Spanish soccer is ready to battle again.

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Here’s a preview of this weekend’s La Liga matches available on US TV and Internet.

All times Eastern.

Friday Nov 8 

Osasuna vs Almeria, 2pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Friday’s game in Pamplona is a basement battle between two sides struggling to make an impact. Almeria have won their last two games after failing to win any of the previous 10, while Osasuna were hammered 5-0 by fellow Basques Real Sociedad last weekend.

Granada vs Malaga, 4pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

An Andalucian derby at Los Carmenes sees a resurgent Granada side face Bernd Schuster’s Malaga. El Grana sit in 11^th spot in the table, just one place and a point ahead of their opponents. Both sides snatched last-minute victories last weekend, Granada winning 1-0 at Levante and Malaga edging Betis by the odd goal in five.

Saturday Nov 9

Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad, 9:30am, beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Carlo Ancelotti will be looking for a more consistent performance than the one that saw his men struggle to hold on to a 3-2 lead against Rayo Vallecano last weekend as his side take on Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernebeu. La Real will be looking to bounce back after another poor display in the Champions League while Los Blancos will be without defender Sergio Ramos, who is suspended after picking up five yellow cards.

Getafe vs Elche, Noon, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Getafe coach Luis Garcia admitted his players were ‘tired’ after defeat against Valencia, their third game in seven days. He will be hoping for a response, however, when Getafe take on Elche at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. Elche coach Fran Escriba has also urged his men to bounce back after their last minute defeat against Villarreal last Monday.

Athletic Bilbao vs Levante, 2pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde conceded that his side were well beaten by in-form Atletico Madrid last time out and will have their work cut out against a resolute Levante when the sides meet at San Mames.  Athletic defender Erik Moran is suspended after his red card against Atleti. Meanwhile, coach Joaquin Caparros was equally frustrated at Levante’s inability to take their chances Sunday’s defeat against Granada.

Celta vs Rayo, 4pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Celta Vigo are up to 15th in La Liga after their win at Sevilla, but coach Luis Enrique conceded that his side were fortunate to come away with three points thanks to a blunder by Sevilla keeper Beto. Celta have yet to register a home win and the visit of bottom side Rayo Vallecano could present the ideal opportunity to put that right. Rayo have the leakiest defence in La Liga and have won just once on their travels.

Sunday Nov 10

Espanyol vs Sevilla, 6am, beIN SPORT Play

Espanyol coach Javier Aguirre was unhappy after his side lost to neighbours Barcelona last Friday, despite a spirited performance from his team. They will be more optimistic of taking points from Sevilla, who have failed to win away from home for well over a year. Boss Unai Emery says Sevilla need to start winning after successive defeats to Real Madrid and Celta Vigo cancelled out an improvement in form. Striker Kevin Gameiro will miss Sunday’s game after limping off against Celta with a suspected thigh strain.

Valencia vs Valladolid, 11am, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Valencia coach Miroslav Djukic was relieved to see his side overcome Getafe last weekend after defeats against Villarreal and Almeria. The win lifted Los Che up to ninth, a point behind local rivals Levante. Valladolid will be without the suspended Patrick Ebert after the German midfielder’s red card at Almeria.

Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid, 1pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

The form side in La Liga, Atletico Madrid thrashed Austria Vienna 4-0 in the Champions League in midweek to ensure qualification as group winners with two matches left to play. A point behind Barcelona, Atleti take on a Villarreal side looking to keep up the pace with the top three. Villarreal will be without Giovani dos Santos after the Mexican pulled up early in the second half of the Yellow Submarine’s win at Elche with a suspected thigh strain.

Betis vs Barcelona, 3pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Pressure is mounting on coach Pepe Mel after Betis lost again to a stoppage-time winner at Malaga last weekend. Club President Miguel Guillen has given Mel his public backing and is confident the coach can turn the Sevilla club’s fortunes around. Barcelona continue to top the table despite a lack of sparkle in recent performances and with Lionel Messi experiencing an unfamiliar goal-drought. However, La Blaugrana impressed in defeating Milan in midweek and will be looking for a convincing performance and result at Betis on Sunday.

Editor’s note: For more La Liga news, opinion and analysis, visit our La Liga page.

The top three all won again at the weekend as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid continue to dominate La Liga. Neither Barca nor Los Blancos are in vintage form, while Diego Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to eclipse Lionel Messi as Pichichi contenders.

Below par Barcelona saw off Espanyol 1-0 in the Catalan derby on Friday. It was Barca’s 11th win in 12 games and keeps them at the top of La Liga despite an unconvincing display against an organised Espanyol side that now has just one win in the last seven and has failed to score in their last three.

Alexis grabbed the vital goal, his seventh of the season, on 68 minutes when he turned in a long pass from Neymar that went through the legs of two defenders. Barca struggled to break down Espanyol and it was a frustrating night for Lionel Messi, who has now gone four La Liga games without a goal.

Atletico Madrid continue to hang on Barcelona’s coat tails and remain a point behind the leaders after defeating Athletic Bilbao at the Vicente Calderon. David Villa put Atleti ahead on 32 minutes and Diego Costa made it 2-0 five minutes before the break with his 13^th goal of the season. Athletic left-back was dismissed in the second half after his second caution.

Almeria climbed off the foot of the table on goal difference after overcoming Valladolid at Los Juegos Mediterraneos. Rodri’s 39th minute goal, his fifth of the campaign, gave the Andalusians their second successive win after being without a victory in their opening 10 games. Replays showed that the Almeria forward had controlled the ball with his hand, but the goal was allowed to stand. Valladolid were reduced to 10 men 15 minutes before the end when Patrick Ebert received a second yellow card.

Real Madrid won 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano, despite the lowly home side enjoying the lion’s share of possession in an exciting encounter at the Vallecas. Cristiano Ronaldo beat Alejandro Galvez to slot into the bottom corner for Madrid’s first in only the third minute. Karim Benzema headed in Gareth Bale’s right-wing cross for the second and Bale set up Ronaldo for his 13^th of the season in La Liga after the restart.

A storming comeback from Rayo looked likely when they were awarded two penalties in three second half minutes, both dispatched by Jonathan Viera. Despite dominating their illustrious neighbours, Rayo were unable to fashion an equaliser and their defeat leaves them in last place after Almeria’s win.

Real Sociedad put five past Osasuna at Anoeta to rise to seventh in La Liga. Ion Ansotegi gave La Real a half-time lead and Inigo Martinez double it straight after the break. Osasuna defender Jordan Loties responded immediately by bringing down Carlos Vela and receiving a straight red card. Jagoba Arrasate’s men then proceeded to put the visitors to the sword as Antoine Griezmann hit his seventh of the season before Chory Castro and Haris Seferovic added last strikes to complete the rout.

Getafe were beaten 1-0 at home by Valencia, with Dorlan Pabon scoring the winner for Los Che five minutes before half-time to end a poor run of form for Miroslav Djukic’s men. Sevilla also suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Celta Vigo after Sevilla goalkeeper gifted Alex Lopez the only goal of the game with a dreadful clearance early in the second half.

Malaga and Betis both went into their clash at La Rosaleda struggling for both goals and form, but between them they served up a real thriller. Roque Santa Cruz put the home side ahead after 13 minutes when he tapped in Eliseu’s cross, only for Juan Verdu to equalize for Betis. Eliseu restored Malaga’s lead on 66 minutes but Jordi Figueras hit back immediately to level once again for Betis. A draw seemed a fair result from an entertaining encounter, but Samuel Garcia grabbed all three points for Malaga in the third minute of stoppage time.

The game between Levante and Granada appeared to be heading for a goalless draw until Granada substitute Piti broke the deadlock and Levante hearts with a long-range free-kick in the 90th minute. Earlier, Levante’s Nabil El Zhar had a penalty saved by keeper Roberto after he was adjudged to have been brought down by Manuel Iturra. It was a similar story at the Martinez Valero, where Ikechuwku Uche scored a 90th minute winner for Villarreal against Elche.

Editor’s note: Bookmark our La Liga TV schedule page to stay on top of the latest La Liga matches. Plus, visit our La Liga page for the latest news, analysis and opinion.

The non-stop La Liga schedule rolls on relentlessly, with Week 11 games finishing up on Thursday night, and the first Week 12 match starting up again on Friday night as Barcelona defeated Espanyol 1-0 in the Catalan derby at Camp Nou. The remainder of the Gameweek 12 La Liga games are scheduled Saturday through Monday.

Here’s the preview of La Liga matches being played this weekend:

Programming note: For viewers in the United States, La Liga games are shown exclusively on beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld. Even if you don’t have a TV subscription to beIN SPORT, you can access those channels via online streaming service DishWorld for $10/month. Read our review of DishWorld. And sign up for DishWorld via their website.

Saturday, November 2, 2013:

Real Sociedad vs Osasuna, 11am, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Real Sociedad will be looking to put behind them the disappointment of throwing away a 2-0 lead at Valladolid when they face Osasuna at Anoeta on Saturday. Frenchman Antoine Griezmann is in fine form for La Real, having scored four times in the last two games, while Osasuna will be looking for further points to help them pull away from the danger zone after a convincing win over Rayo on Wednesday.

Almeria vs Vallodolid, 1pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Almeria go into their clash with Valladolid boosted by their first win of the season at Valencia. Coach Francisco Rodriguez was delighted with his players after they came from behind against Los Che at Mestalla, but warned that there is still a long way to go. Meanwhile, Valladolid are on the up after a convincing win at Rayo and two storming comebacks from 2-0 deficits against Sevilla and Real Sociedad.

Rayo Vallecano vs Real Madrid, 3pm, beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Real Madrid go to struggling neighbors Rayo Vallecano having put their Clasico defeat firmly behind them with a remarkable 7-3 win over Sevilla on Wednesday. Isco and Karim Benzema both returned to the starting line-up in that game after missing out on the Clasico, while Carlo Ancelotti will find it hard to leave out Gareth Bale after the Welshman’s two goals on Wednesday.

Benzema also staked a claim for retention, scoring twice after failing to hit the target in seven games, while long term absentee Xabi Alonso could also be in contention for a starting place at Rayo after playing 25 minutes as a substitute against Sevilla.

Sevilla vs Celta Vigo, 5pm, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Sevilla had gone seven games without defeat prior to their visit to the Bernabeu, and coach Unai Emery will be looking to his men to bounce back at the first time of asking as they take on Celta Vigo at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Skipper Ivan Rakitic scored twice against Real Madrid to take his tally for the season to nine. The Croatian has been key to the Andalusians’ resurgent performances after their awful start to the campaign. Celta boss Luis Enrique will be without Jon Aurtenetxe, who injured his right leg in the 3-0 home defeat against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Sunday, November 3, 2013:

Getafe vs Valencia, 6am ET, not televised in the United States

As for Valencia, their coach Miroslav Djukic branded his men as ‘clueless’ after their defeat to La Liga’s bottom side. He will be looking for a response from his players when they travel to Getafe on Sunday to face a side that has climbed to sixth place after a string of excellent performances.

Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao, Noon ET, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Atletico Madrid put five past Betis last weekend but will find Athletic Bilbao a much tougher proposition, the Basques having reached fifth place with their win at Getafe. Atleti are seen by many as posing an equal, if not greater, threat to Barcelona’s dominance while Athletic, under Ernesto Valverde, are an altogether tougher proposition than the side that struggled so badly last season.

Levante vs Granada, 2pm ET, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Levante will be looking to consolidate their recent good form when they welcome Granada to the Ciutat de Valencia, while Malaga and Betis, two sides badly in need of a rapid change in fortunes, face each other at La Rosaleda on Sunday evening. Malaga recovered from a 5-0 home mauling by Celta Vigo to draw 0-0 with Espanyol, while Pepe Mel’s Betis side were destroyed by a rampant Atletico Madrid on their last away trip.

Monday, November 4, 2013:

Elche vs Villarreal, 4pm ET, beIN SPORT Espanol and DishWorld

Game week 12 concludes on Monday with a clash between two of the promoted sides as Elche face Villarreal. Segunda champions have enjoyed a mixed start to their first Primera campaign for 24 years, while Villarreal are playing as if they have never been away, lying fourth in the table with a 4-1 win over Valencia still fresh in their minds.

Editor’s note: Bookmark the TV schedule for La Liga games on US television and Internet. For the latest news, analysis and opinion, visit our La Liga page.

Barcelona maintained a one-point lead at the top of La Liga after the midweek games in Spain. Barca won comfortably at Celta Vigo while Real Madrid hit seven against Sevilla and Atletico Madrid won at Granada.

Barcelona coach Tata Martino made five changes from the side that won El Clasico last Saturday as his side marched on with a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo. Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring in the ninth minute in his 100^th appearance in a Barcelona shirt after Cesc Fabregas’ shot was parried by Yoel Rodriguez.  The Celta goalkeeper was unlucky to palm a shot from Fabregas over the line for Barca’s

second after the break, before Lionel Messi set up the third for the former Arsenal midfielder.

Atletico Madrid kept up the pressure on the leaders, winning 2-1 at Granada. Diego Costa put Atleti ahead from the spot on 38 minutes, the Brazilian registering his 12^th goal of the season after David Villa had been flattened in the area by Diego Mainz. Villa scored the second, also from the spot, after being fouled by Jeison Murillo. Atleti left-back Felipe Luis was unlucky to receive a second yellow card for handball with a minute remaining before Odion Ighalo hit a late consolation for El Grana.

Here are the best goals from Gameweek 11:

Real Madrid bounced back from defeat in El Clasico to thrash Sevilla 7–3 in a remarkable game at the Santiago Bernabeu. Making his first home start in La Liga, Gareth Bale struck twice to put Los Blancos ahead before the half-hour. Cristiano made it three from the penalty spot on 32 minutes before Sevilla captain Ivan Rakitic pulled one back for the visitors, also from the spot and Carlos Bacca narrowed it to 3-2 as Sevilla threatened a dramatic comeback.

Karim Benzema made it 4-2 after the break, however, and it was 5-2 when Ronaldo grabbed his second. Rakitic scored his second for 5-3 before Ronaldo completed his hat-trick: 6-3. Rakitic spurned an opportunity for a hat-trick of his own as he blasted his second spot-kick of the night over the crossbar and it got worse for Sevilla as Stephane Mbia received his marching orders for a second yellow card. Benzema completed the scoring with his second and the game’s tenth.

Getafe’s fine form continued as they ran out 2-0 winners over Villarreal at El Madrigal. Ciprian Marica gave Getafe the lead after just six minutes and dominated the rest of the game without being able to add to their score, despite the home side having Pablo Iniguez sent off when the central defender received a straight red card for bringing down Marica when the Romanian was through on goal at end of first half. Pablo Sarabia eventually sealed the points with Getafe’s second in stoppage time.

Athletic Bilbao fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Elche at San Mames and go level on points with fourth-placed Villarreal. David Lomban gave Elche the lead on nine minutes and Aaron Niguez extended their advantage after the interval. Athletic hit back with goals from Markel Susaeta and Aritz Aduriz to earn a point.

Betis remain in the bottom three after a goalless draw with Levante at the Benito Villamarin. Betis right-back Chica was dismissed after receiving two first half yellow cards, but Levante were unable to make their numerical advantage count.

Goalkeepers Kiko Casilla and Willy Caballero were the stars in an action-packed goalless draw between Espanyol and Malaga at Cornella-El Prat. With both sides struggling for form, and both having suffered heavy defeats at the weekend, coaches Javier Aguirre and Bernd Schuster will have been pleased to keep a clean sheet. 

Valencia coach Miroslav Djukic labelled his men ‘clueless’ as they threw away a first half lead to hand basement boys Almeria their first win of the season. The defeat, Valencia’s second in a matter of days, means the pressure at Mestalla is once again on the Serbian boss. Jonas put his side in front from the penalty spot after half an hour, but second half goals from Marco Torsiglieri and Aleix Vidal brought joy to Almeria and some respite for their under fire coach Francisco Rodriguez.

For the second home game in succession, Valladolid pulled back a 2-0 deficit to draw 2–2 with Real Sociedad, repeating their earlier achievement against Sevilla. Antoine Griezmann scored twice for the second successive game, putting La Real two-up soon after the break, but two goals in three minutes, from Daniel Larsson and Javi Guerra, won a well-deserved point for Valladolid.

Osasuna moved out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win against Rayo Vallecano, who replaced them in the bottom three. Oier Sanjurjo gave the Basques the perfect start in the first minute and Oriol Riera doubled their advantage within a quarter of an hour. On an eventful night, Osasuna lost Miguel de las Cuevas before half time, the midfielder receiving a straight red card for a tackle from behind on Adri Embarba. Roberto Torres scored Osasuna’s third on the hour as Rayo failed to exploit their numerical advantage. Alejandro Galvez’ late goal for the Madrid minnows was scant consolation.

Browse through the La Liga TV schedule for viewers in the United States.

Barcelona eclipsed Real Madrid in the season’s first Clasico, while Atletico Madrid also won to remain just a point behind the table-topping Catalans.

Playing in his first Clasico, Neymar was on target after just 19 minutes to give Barcelona a deserved lead as Tata Martino’s men outplayed Real Madrid in the first half. Los Blancos improved in the second half, but could not prevent Alexis Sanchez adding a second for Barca with a sublime chip over the head of Diego Lopez. Substitute Jese Rodriguez grabbed a stoppage time consolation, but it was too little, too late for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Atletico Madrid thumped Betis 5-0 to keep up the pressure on Barca. Oliver Torres, making his first start for Atleti, opened the scoring after just 13 seconds at the Vicente Calderon. Betis kept the hosts at bay for the remainder of the first half, but were undone by a three-goal blitz in 12 second half minutes as David Villa struck twice in four minutes and Diego Costa added his 11^th goal of the season. Gabi Fernandez made it five in stoppage time to drop Betis into the bottom three.

Villarreal maintained their challenge in fourth place, just two points behind Real Madrid, with a resounding 4–1 win over Valencia to cast doubts once again on coach Miroslav Djukic and consign his side to mid-table. The Yellow Submarine were two up before the break, with goals from Ikechuwku Uche and Hernan Perez. Giovani Dos Santos made it three after the restart and although Ricardo Costa gave Los Che a glimmer of hope with half an hour remaining, Dos Santos hit his second and Villarreal’s fourth six minutes from time.

Athletic Bilbao won a hard-fought three points at in-form Getafe, leap-frogging their opponents into fifth place as a result. Defender Aymeric Laporte scored the only goal of the game for the Basques in the eighth minute. Getafe missed a golden opportunity to equalise for after Adrian Colunga was brought down by Carlos Durpegi, but Diego Castro’s spot-kick was saved by Gorka Iraizoz. It was an eventful first-half for the Athletic goalkeeper, who limped off at the break and was replaced by Iago Herrerin for the second half.

Levante’s revival continued with a 3–0 victory over inconsistent Espanyol, who were unable to build on last week’s win against Atletico. A goal in each half from Nabil El Zhar, with one from Papa Diawara in between, proved enough to see off Los Periquitos.

Sevilla had a comfortable 2-1 win over struggling Osasuna, who played an hour with 10 men after Damia Abella received a straight red card for bringing down Kevin Gameiro. After a goalless first half, Ivan Rakitic gave Sevilla the lead and Jairo Samperio doubled it before a late Osasuna consolation from Oriol Riera.

Real Sociedad wiped away their Champions League woes by beating Almeria 3–0 at Anoeta. Antoine Griezmann was on target after just 13 minutes for La Real and doubled their lead with a header shortly after half-time. Jose Angel made it three to send Jagoba Arrasate’s men into the top half of the table. Still winless Almeria turned in another woeful defensive performance and are now six points adrift of safety at the foot of La Liga.

Malaga coach Bernd Schuster insisted there was no need to panic after his side crashed 5-0 at home to Celta Vigo. Alex Lopez opened the scoring for the Galicians in the fifth minute and Augusto Fernandez made it 2-0 before half-time. Lopez added his second before Nolito and Charles were also on target to complete the rout.

Rayo Vallecano also suffered a home defeat, beaten 3-0 by Valladolid, for whom Patrick Ebert, Javi Guerra and Daniel Larsson scored the goals, while Elche’s good run came to an end as they were defeated, also at home, by Granada. Manuel Iturra got the only goal of the game in the first half.

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Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both dropped points for the first time this season, while Real Madrid won to narrow the gap at the top of La Liga. As a result, Barca have a one-point lead over Atleti, with Los Blancos a further two points behind.

Leaders Barcelona saw their unblemished record fall as they were held to a 0-0 draw by struggling Osasuna at El Sadar. Tata Martino’s men dominated possession but failed to convert their few clear-cut chances with Cesc Fabregas guilty of spurning two golden opportunities when it seemed harder to miss. The resilient home side barely threatened Victor Valdes’ goal, but ultimately frustrated the champions to take a valuable point.

The draw meant Barca missed out on equalling Real Madrid’s record of nine wins at the start of the 1968-69 season. It was also their first failure to score in 65 La Liga games since a goalless draw with Villarreal in January 2012.

Atletico were unable to take advantage of Barca’s slip as they lost their own 100 per cent record in Diego Simeone’s 100^th match in charge, going down 1-0 to Espanyol at Cornella-El Prat. The game’s only goal came early in the second half, when Atleti goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois deflected a cross from Juan Fuentes over the line.

Real Madrid took advantage of the top two stumbling, with a 2-0 win over Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blancos dominated the game but were denied numerous times by an inspired performance from visiting keeper Willy Caballero. Angel Di Maria broke the deadlock immediately following the restart, however, and Real Madrid made sure of the points in stoppage time when Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot after substitute Gareth Bale had been fouled by Weligton.

Villarreal lost ground on the top three to trail Real Madrid by five points after a 2-0 loss at San Mames against Athletic Bilbao. Mikel Rico put the Basques in front on 33 minutes and Aritz Aduriz doubled their lead two minutes later. It was only the second defeat of the season for the Yellow Submarine, whose cause was hardly helped when Bruno Soriano received his marching orders with a second yellow card at the end of the first half.

Real Sociedad secured their first away win of the season with a 2-1 win at Valencia. Antoine Griezmann put La Real ahead shortly before the break and Ruben Pardo doubled their lead on the hour. Dorlan Pabon pulled one back for Los Che in stoppage time, but it was a deserved win for Jagoba Arrasate’s men ahead of this week’s Champions League encounter with Manchester United.

Getafe continued their fine run of form with a 2-0 win at Granada, whose central defensive partnership endured a miserable time against Luis Garcia’s men. El Grana were reduced to 10 men after just half an hour when Pape Diakhate saw red and then Jeison Murillo deflected Pedro Leon’s cross into his own goal two minutes after half-time. Leon sealed the points for Getafe in the 55th minute with a strike from the edge of the area.

Sevilla looked set to continue their winning ways, but threw away a 2-0 lead at Valladolid. Carlos Bacca gave Unai Emery’s men the perfect start, slotting home in only the second minute, and Alberto Moreno extended their advantage on the half-hour. Sevilla maintained their two-goal cushion until nine minutes from time, when Manucho halved the deficit, before Patrick Ebert struck the equaliser for Valladolid.

First half goals from Manu del Moral and Fidel Chaves saw Elche to a third successive win with a 2-1 at Betis. Jorge Molina gave the Sevilla outfit hope of a recovery, pulling a goal back just before the break, but Los Franjiverdes were not even hampered by the dismissal of Domingo Cisma at the start of the second half and held on for the win.

The match between Celta Vigo and Levante looked to be heading for stalemate until the 88^th minute, when Pape Diop grabbed the winner for Los Granotes to leave Celta one place off the bottom.

Almeria remain without a win after losing at home to fellow strugglers Rayo Vallecano. The home side gained a numerical advantage when Rayo defender Saul received two second-half yellow cards, but it was the visitors who took the points when centre-back Alejandro Galvez headed in from a corner with 12 minutes remaining. Their sixth defeat in nine games leaves Los Rojiblancos three points adrift at the bottom of La Liga.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck a last-gasp winner for Real Madrid, Diego Costa hit another double for Atletico Madrid and there were comfortable wins for Barcelona and Villarreal as the top four in La Liga all won at the weekend.

Ronaldo’s deflected shot four minutes into stoppage handed Real Madrid three points they scarcely deserved against a spirited Levante side that twice squandered the lead. Los Blancos looked jaded in a goalless first-half, while Levante were unrecognisable from the team that lost 7-0 at Camp Nou on the opening day of the season.

Babacar Diawara put Los Granotes in front on 57 minutes, only for Sergio Ramos to reply within four minutes. Substitute Nabil El Zhar’s brilliant solo effort with only four minutes left looked to have won it for Joaquin Caparros’ men, but Alvaro Morata, who had replaced Isco stabbed in an equaliser in the 90th minute before Ronaldo’s late show.

Barcelona coach Tata Martino rested several players and was without Lionel Messi as La Blaugrana went behind to an early Real Valladolid goal from Javi Guerra. The lead lasted barely four minutes, however, as Alexis Sanchez levelled for the Catalans. Barca upped the tempo after the break with Xavi putting them ahead and Alexis extending the lead with his second, before Neymar rounded off the scoring to secure an emphatic 4-1 win to maintain Barca’s 100 per cent record.

Atletico Madrid maintained parity with Barca, overcoming Celta Vigo 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon. Diego Costa scored either side of half-time to take his total for the season to eight, equal with Messi at the top of the scoring chart. Nolito halved the lead with 20 minutes remaining, but Diego Simeone’s side were always too strong for the northerners.

Villarreal eased to a 3-0 win over Granada at El Madrigal. Bruno put the Yellow Submarine ahead after half an hour and Giovani Dos Santos doubled their advantage shortly after the break as El Grana offered little threat. Tomas Pina made it three late on to keep Villarreal in fourth place, two points behind Real Madrid. 

Getafe continued their fine form with a resounding 3–1 win over Real Betis. They were three up after half an hour and the game was effectively over. Pedro Leon scored twice, the first a spectacular free kick and Adrian Colunga added a third. Betis improved after the break, but had only a Rafael Lopez own goal to show for it.

Getafe’s win meant they climbed to fifth, ahead on goal difference of Athletic Bilbao and Valencia who shared the points in an entertaining 1-1 draw at San Mames. Ever Banega put Valencia in front from the penalty spot two minutes ahead of half-time after Sofiane Feghouli was brought down by Aymeric Laporte. Athletic upped their game in the second half, Mikel Rico equalising to give the Basques a deserved point.

Elche climbed to mid-table with their second win of the campaign, defeating Espanyol, whose early season form is fading fast. Coro opened the scoring for the Segunda champions just before the break and, although Thievy Koulossa equalised for Los Periquitos, Victor Sanchez made life harder for them after receiving his second yellow card. Coro grabbed his second and what proved to be Elche’s winner.

Two of the bottom three enjoyed rare victories. Osasuna registered their first triumph on the road at inconsistent Malaga to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Javi Gracia. Oriol Riera’s first-half goal at La Rosaleda was enough to give Los Rojillos only their second win of the campaign overall and nudge them up to 18th in the table.

Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad looked to be heading for stalemate until Jonathan Viera was fouled by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the 88th minute. The striker made no mistake from the penalty spot to double Rayo’s points tally and take them off the bottom of the table, while La Real coach Jagoba Arrasate was left to rue a host of missed chances.

Rayo’s place was taken by Almeria, who succumbed to a stoppage time winner from Sevilla’s Ivan Rakitic in an all-Andalusian clash at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Kevin Gameiro gave Sevilla the lead after only six minutes, but Almeria hit back when Rodri netted his fourth of the season 17 minutes later. Los Rojiblancos looked to have won a hard-fought point until Rakitic’s late strike left them bottom and the only side yet to notch a win.

Here are all of the goals from gameweek 8 of La Liga action:

Atletico Madrid and Barcelona both maintained unblemished La Liga records after seven rounds of matches. Atleti took the spoils in the Madrid derby and, together with Barca, who defeated Almeria, extended their lead over Real Madrid to five points.

Diego Costa’s 11^th minute goal at the Bernabeu was the difference in the capital as Atletico emerged 1-0 winners over Real Madrid. It was Los Blancos’ first home league defeat since December 2011 and Atletico’s first win over their city rivals in La Liga for 14 years. Carlo Ancelotti’s stars failed to shine in a bad-tempered affair marred by eight yellow cards, four for each side, with the names of Real Madrid’s entire back line finding their way into the referee’s book.

Lionel Messi gave Barcelona a 21^st minute lead with a shot that cannoned in off the far post as the Catalans strolled to a comfortable 2-0 win over Almeria. The major talking point, however, came when the Argentine left the field seven minutes later with a hamstring injury. The Andalusians – who lost 8-0 last time Barca visited Los Juegos Mediterraneos – showed little ambition as Adriano wrapped up the win on 56 minutes, leaving Almeria as the only side without a win.

Valencia were made to fight by lowly Rayo Vallecano at Mestalla, Brazilian striker Jonas firing home after 37 minutes to hand Los Che another win in their climb up the table and condemn Rayo to their sixth loss. Emmanuel Nosakhare struck after 36 minutes to cement three valuable points for Real Betis and condemn Villarreal to their first defeat of the season at the Benito Villamarin. The Yellow Submarine remain two points behind Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Malaga shared four goals with Real Valladolid in an exciting encounter at the Jose Zorilla. Roque Santa Cruz put Los Boquerones in front on 23 minutes, a lead they held until Javi Guerra’s equaliser 10 minutes after the break. Humberto Osorio then put Valladolid ahead, only for Bartlomiej Pawlowski to level for Malaga.

A scrappy game between Real Sociedad and Sevilla ended in a 1-1 draw at Anoeta.  Jairo Samperio put Unai Emery’s side in front on 17 minutes when he ran on to Ivan Rakitic’s precision through ball,

but Sevilla failed to hold the lead and Antoine Greizmann equalised for La Real on 65 minutes.  A fractious performance from Sevilla, who have the worst disciplinary record in La Liga, was capped after defender Cala received two of the Andalusians’ six yellow cards.

Osasuna coach Javi Gracia was left fuming with his ill-disciplined players after they went down 1-0 to Levante at the Reyno de Navarra, their sixth defeat of the season. Jordi Xumetra won it for Los Granotes in the 87^th minute. Osasuna received seven yellow cards, two of them shown to Alvaro Cejudo who spent only 10 minutes on the pitch after replacing Sisinio Gonzalez as a second half substitute.

Elche registered their first win since returning to La Liga, a Javi Marquez goal on 63 minutes enough to beat Celta Vigo at Los Balaidos. Meanwhile, Adrian Colunga struck twice in the second half at Cornella-El Prat as Getafe upset the formbook to overcome Espanyol 2-0.

Granada won for the second time this season, defeating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at Los Carmenes. Youssef El-Arabi scored both goals for El Grana in the second half. The first came from the penalty spot after Ander Herrera was adjudged to have brought down Yacime Brahimi in the box and the second was a fine solo effort.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both made it six wins out of six and, with Real Madrid also winning, there was no change at the top of La Liga after the midweek matches in Spain.

Barcelona answered recent criticism of coach Tata Martino in the best possible way with a 4-1 thumping of Real Sociedad at Camp Nou. Neymar hit his first goal in Barca colours after only four minutes and Lionel Messi doubled the Catalans’ lead four minutes later. The game was all but won on 23 minutes after a rare Sergio Busquets strike and, although Alberto de la Bella pulled a goal back for the Basques, defender Marc Bartra rounded off the scoring with his first Barca goal.

A Diego Costa double ensured victory for Atletico Madrid over Osasuna but Diego Simeone’s men were made to fight for the points by a resolute Osasuna side. Oriol Riera narrowed the margin just before half time but, despite preventing Atleti from adding to their tally, Osasuna never threatened an equaliser as they slumped to their fifth defeat of the season.

Real Madrid struggled to break down stubborn Elche, the men from Alicante having the better of the first half without finding a way through the Madrid defence. Los Blancos took the lead with a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick just after half-time. Richmond Boakye looked to have salvaged a draw when he headed Elche level in stoppage time but Carlos Sanchez fouled Pepe further into added time and Ronaldo scored from the spot to secure a 2-1 win for Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s side stay two points behind Barcelona and Atletico while Elche still await their first win.

Villarreal remain in fourth place just two points behind Real Madrid after running out 2-1 winners over Espanyol at El Madrigal. Jeremy Perbet put the Yellow Submarine ahead after only 30 seconds and Jonathan Pereira extended their lead in the second half. Sergio Garcia scored for Los Periquitos 10 minutes from time as Villarreal held on for the win.

Athletic Bilbao came from behind to defeat Real Betis 2-1 at San Mames, where all the goals came in the second half. Jorge Molina put the visitors in front on 63 minutes but Oscar de Marcos equalised ten minutes later. Mikel San Jose struck the winner eight minutes from the end to take the Basques into sixth place.

Valencia’s match at Granada looked to be heading for stalemate but Brazilian striker Jonas scored with virtually the last kick of the game as he connected with Sergio Canales’ low cross to seal a 1-0 triumph in stoppage time. The win continued Valencia’s revival under Miroslav Djukic after a poor start to the campaign.

Meanwhile Malaga registered their fourth straight win, overcoming fellow Andalusians Almeria 2-0 at La Rosaleda. The visitors, who have yet to win since their return to the top flight, held on until the 68th minute when Fernando Tissone put Malaga ahead and Francisco Portillo made sure of the points in injury time.

Getafe dispatched Celta Vigo with a 2-0 win at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, a result that sees Los Azulones climb to ninth. Defenders Lisandro Lopez and Alvaro Arroyo scored the goals either side of the break.

Levante could only draw 1-1 against 10-man Real Valladolid at the Ciutat de Valencia. Papa Baba Diawara gave the home side the lead on 35 minutes, only for Javi Guerra to equalise six minutes later. Valladolid defender Zakara Bergdich received a straight red card for a foul on Jordi Xumetra, but Andreas Ivanschitz’s powerfully-struck penalty was saved by Diego Marino.

Sevilla took three points for the first time this season with a resounding 4-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano, who replaced them at the foot of the table. Ivan Rakitic set Los Nervionenses on their way with an early spot-kick and the Croatian was on target again soon after the break.

Rayo pulled a goal back two minutes later through Adrian Gonzalez but then pressed the self-destruct button as Alejandro Galvez was dismissed after receiving two yellow cards. Jonathan Viera was then shown a straight red card for a foul on Stephane Mbia before Carlos Bacca scored twice against the nine men as Rayo conceded their 20th goal in just six games.

A Pedro Rodriguez hat-trick kept Barcelona at the summit of La Liga as the Catalans won 4-0 away at Rayo Vallecano while Atletico Madrid remained level with them on maximum points with a 2-0 victory at Real Valladolid.

Pedro struck after half an hour and twice more after the break as Barcelona made quick work of the Madrid minnows. Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Neymar were his providers and Fabregas added a fourth eleven minutes from time. Struggling Rayo, for whom Roberto Trashorras had a first-half penalty saved by Victor Valdes, have the worst defensive record in La Liga, conceding 16 times in their opening five games.

Atletico kept up the pace with Barca as second half goals from Raul Garcia and Diego Costa were enough to see off Valladolid.

City counterparts Real Madrid went behind against Getafe after only five minutes when Angel Lafita struck. Pepe equalised for Los Blancos fifteen minutes later, however, and Cristiano Ronaldo gave Carlo Ancelotti’s men a half-time lead. Getafe offered little after Isco made it 3-1 with a superb finish and Ronaldo added his second and Madrid’s fourth in stoppage time.

Promoted Almeria are scoring plenty of goals but conceding even more. Leading 2-0 at home against Levante thanks to Verza’s penalty and a Suso strike, it looked as if Francisco Rodriguez would register his first win in charge. However, Almeria defender Christian Fernandez received two yellow cards in as many second-half minutes following his side’s second goal and Nabil El Zhar put Levante back in contention with a penalty, before Pape Diop completed Los Granotes’ comeback. Almeria have now dropped points from a winning position four times this season.

Osasuna, without a point prior to their encounter with Elche, opened their account with a 2-1 win over the Segunda champions. Emiliano Armenteros put the Basques in front after 16 minutes and Oriol Riera double their advantage after the break. Edu Albacar struck a consolation for Elche from the penalty spot two minutes from time as Osasuna moved off the foot of the table.

Valencia ended a run of three straight defeats with a 3-1 win over still winless Sevilla, who replaced Osasuna in last place, piling the pressure on coach Unai Emery. Jonas gave Los Che, who dominated throughout, a first-half lead but Kevin Gameiro equalised after the break. Jonas then added his and Valencia’s second before Victor Ruiz sealed the points eight minutes from time.

Espanyol consolidated their good start to the season, defeating Athletic Bilbao 3-1 and leap-frogging their opponents into fifth place as a result. Victor Sanchez gave Los Periquitos the lead on 24 minutes, but Oscar de Marcos equalised two minutes before half-time for the Basques. Sanchez grabbed his second following the restart and Sergio Garcia’s 66^th minute strike established a two-goal cushion for the Catalans. Ibai Gomez pulled a goal back for Athletic in stoppage time but Espanyol deserved their win.

The weekend’s remaining three games all finished goalless. Real Sociedad are still without a win since the first day of the season after being held by Malaga, who created the best chances but couldn’t finish. Villarreal remain unbeaten after playing out a stalemate with Celta Vigo and Real Betis also drew a blank in the Andalusian derby with Granada.

Gareth Bale marked his Real Madrid debut with a goal, but his new club failed to match Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who both extended their winning start to the campaign to four games.

Following victories for the Catalans and Los Colcherones, Carlo Ancelotti’s men could only draw with Villarreal – who also went into the game with a 100 per cent record – 2-2 at El Madrigal.

Cani capped a great start for the Yellow Submarine midway through the first half when he punished a dithering Madrid defence. Los Blancos levelled when Bale – a peripheral presence for much of the game – tapped in Daniel Carvajal’s cut-back. Cristiano Ronaldo then gave the Merengues a 64th-minute lead, only for Giovani dos Santos to equalise and rescue a well-deserved point for Villarreal.

Barcelona seemed looked on course for a comfortable win against battling Sevilla at Camp Nou when Neymar crossed for Lionel Messi to add to Dani Alves’ first-half strike and make it 2-0 with a quarter of an hour left. Ivan Rakitic gave the visitors hope, though, and when the unmarked Coke volleyed in a 90th-minute corner the Andalusian side thought they had completed an unlikely comeback, before substitute Alexis Sanchez gave Barca a win they scarcely deserved.

Former Barca striker David Villa set Atletico on their way to a 4-2 home triumph against Almeria with his second goal of the campaign after 15 minutes. Diego Costa added a second from the penalty spot before Rodri pulled one back for Almeria before half-time. Tiago Mendes and Koke made it four for Atletico, with Aleix Vidal’s  90^th minute goal for Almeria scant consolation.

Mounir El Hamdaoui hit a hat-trick as Malaga won 5-0 against a poor Rayo Vallecano side at La Rosaleda. Francisco Portillo and Eliseu Pereira were also on target for Los Boquerones, who registered their first win under new coach Bernd Schuster.

Another side achieving their first success of the new campaign were Real Betis, who hit three first-half goals in an impressive 3-1 win over lacklustre Valencia. Jorge Molina was on target after 10 minutes for Betis and a Salva Sevilla double put Pepe Mel’s men 3-0 up at the break. Ricardo Costa pulled one back for Los Che, but Valencia crashed to a third successive defeat.

Athletic Bilbao withstood a late fightback by Celta Vigo to maintain their fine beginning to the new campaign, edging out Luis Enrique’s men 3-2 in an exciting encounter at San Mames.  Charles gave Celta an early lead which was quickly cancelled out by Mikel San Jose. Andoni Iraola and Benat Etxebarria gave the Basques a two-goal cushion before Santi Mina pulled one back for Celta eleven minutes from time to set up a tense finish. 

Espanyol maintained their good start to the season with a 1-0 win at Granada, who had Odion Ighalo sent off for a second bookable offence in the second half. Manuel Lanzarote hit the winner for Espanyol 15 minutes from time.

New coach at basement club Osasuna, Javi Gracia, accused his players of being naive after they threw away an early lead to lose 2-1 at Getafe. Gracia replaced Jose Luis Mendilibar, who was dismissed following the Pamplona side’s abysmal start to the season. Roberto Torres gave Osasuna and 11th minute lead, but goals from Miku either side of the break handed Los Azulones the points.

In the weekend’s other games, Elche drew 0-0 with Real Valladolid while Levante also played out a goalless draw with Real Sociedad who, together with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico, begin their Champions League group stage campaign this week. On Tuesday, Real Sociedad entertain Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk at Anoeta and Real Madrid travel to Istanbul to face Galatasaray. Atletico host Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday while Ajax of Amsterdam visit Camp Nou to play Barcelona.

Valencia and Betis begin their Europa League group stage games on Thursday, hosting EPL side Swansea and French club Lyon respectively, while Sevilla’s opening match is away at Portuguese outfit Estoril.

Promoted Villarreal are the surprise team in La Liga after three rounds of games, joining last season’s top three on maximum points after the weekend’s matches. Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona overcame Valencia 3-2, while Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-1 with an Isco double.

Goals from Jeremy Perbet, Javier Aquino and Ikechukwu Uche put a smile on the face of Villarreal coach Marcelino as the Yellow Submarine won 3-0 at Osasuna, who are bottom of the table having lost all three games so far.

Messi was on target in the 11th  minute at Mestalla and again in the 39th minute, before firing home a pass from Neymar to complete his treble two minutes later. Valencia hit back with two goals from Helder Postiga before half-time. Barca hung on for the win after a goalless second half.

Meanwhile, Isco continues to build his reputation at the Bernabeu, striking twice against Athletic, either side of Ronaldo’s thumping header in first-half stoppage time. Ibai Gomez responded for Athletic, but it was too little too late for the Basque side.

David Villa sent Atletico Madrid on the way to a 2-1 win at Real Sociedad. Koke added a second and although Xabi Prieto pulled one back for La Real, Atleti took the points to maintain their perfect start to the campaign.

Sevilla and Malaga shared four goals in the Andalucian derby at the Sanchez Pizjuan. The visitors twice had the lead, through Pedro Morales and Roque Santa Cruz, with Kevin Gameiro equalising twice for Sevilla. Malaga’s Duda received a straight red at the end of the match as his side took their first point of the campaign.

There was a similar scoreline at the Juegos Mediterraneos, where newly promoted sides Almeria and Elche shared the points. The home team were twice ahead with goals from Fernando Soriano and Verza, but Elche hit back each time, Eduardo Albacar’s goal and a stoppage time strike from Yiadom Boakye robbing Almeria, who had Sebastian Dubarbier sent off, of a first win.

Levante earned their first victory with a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano. Ruben Garcia’s first-half strike for Levante was cancelled out by Joaquin Larravey 11 minutes from time, but Andreas Ivanschitz stole the points for the visitors deep into stoppage time after Rayo’s Lass Bangoura had seen red for violent conduct.

Rafinha was on target for Celta Vigo, who drew 1-1 with Granada, for whom Piti scored a second-half leveller, while Espanyol and Real Betis played out a goalless draw at Cornella-El Prat.

Barcelona and Real Madrid had slender 1-0 away wins in Andalucia to leave both giants among five clubs with maximum points after two weeks of the new La Liga season.

The Catalans, without Lionel Messi, won at Malaga thanks to full-back Adriano’s goal just before half-time, while Los Blancos had an early Karim Benzema goal to thank for their victory at Granada.

In contrast, Atletico Madrid put five past Rayo Vallecano without reply. Goals from Raul Garcia, Arda Turan and Tiago Mendes added to a Diego Costa brace to register their second win and heap more misery on Rayo.

Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal were the other two teams to retain an unbeaten record. Athletic defeated Osasuna 2-0 at their temporary home at Anoeta with an Alejandro Arribas own goal and a late strike from Oscar De Marcos. The Yellow Submarine, meanwhile, overcame Valladolid at El Madrigal. Javi Guerra gave the visitors an early lead and Giovani dos Santos’ penalty levelled matters before Cani hit Villarreal’s winner six minutes from time.

The only other side to score more than twice on an uncharacteristically low-scoring weekend was Espanyol, who had an impressive 3-1 win over Valencia. Former Zaragoza striker Helder Postiga gave Los Che a 10^th minute lead, but David Lopez, Christian Stuani and Thievy Koulossa made the result comfortable for Los Periquitos.

Celta Vigo had a good 2-1 win at Real Betis. After a goalless first half in which they were reduced to 10 men following Borja Oubina’s dismissal, Celta went 2-0 up through Charles and Nolito. Ruben Castro’s 90^th minute goal for Betis was barely a consolation.

Newly-promoted Elche gave Real Sociedad a scare, Coro giving them the lead as early as the second minute. La Real had to wait until the 74^th minute for Carlos Vela’s equaliser as the sides shared the points.

Almeria were denied three points by a late Diego Castro equaliser at Getafe. Los Rojiblancos took the lead on the half hour thanks to Rodri’s third goal of the campaign, only for Angel Lafita to reply immediately for Getafe. Almeria had the lead again before half time after Fernando Soriano scored, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw, leaving coach Francisco Rodriguez once again lamenting defensive weaknesses.

Levante and Sevilla fought out a goalless draw in the weekend’s remaining fixture.

Barcelona put seven past Levante, while Real Madrid recovered from a shaky start to beat Real Betis as the 2013/14 Primera Liga season got underway in Spain this past weekend. Villarreal celebrated their return to the top flight with a win, while Atletico Madrid also started with an impressive victory.

With new signing Neymar on the bench alongside new coach Tata Martino, it was business as usual at Camp Nou as Barcelona romped to a 7-0 win over a poor Levante side. Only three minutes had elapsed when Alexis Sanchez gave the Catalans the lead, with Lionel Messi making it two shortly after. A four-goal salvo in 22 minutes killed the contest as Dani Alves, Pedro Rodriguez, a Messi penalty and Xavi Hernandez made it 6-0 before half-time.

Neymar made his debut in a quiet second half that resembled a training exercise more than a competitive game, with Barca adding only once to their score, Pedro on target with his second with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Real Betis gave Real Madrid an early scare at the Bernabeu when Jorge Molina slotted past Diego Lopez after 13 minutes of Carlo Ancelotti’s first game in charge. Los Blancos recovered their composure to equalize through Karim Benzema on 25 minutes, but Betis looked like hanging on for a point until Isco, Madrid’s exciting star signing from Malaga, struck a cool winner four minutes from time.

Diego Costa opened the scoring at the Sanchez Pizjuan, putting Atletico Madrid ahead after 35 minutes, only for Diego Perotti to level for Sevilla two minutes later. It was an even contest until Diego Costa grabbed a second 10 minutes from time and Cebolla Rodriguez made sure of the points for Atleti in stoppage time.

Returning to La Liga after a season away, Villarreal came from behind to win at Almeria, who were also back in La Primera after a two-year absence. New signing Rodri gave Los Rojiblancos the lead shortly before the interval, but teammate Sebastian Dubarbier deflected past his own goalkeeper after the break to equalize for the Yellow Submarine.

In a game of defensive mishaps, Rodri restored Almeria’s lead, hitting his second with 15 minutes remaining, but the home side couldn’t hold on to their advantage. Giovani dos Santos leveled before Jonathan Pereira won the game for Villarreal with five minutes remaining.

Ricardo Costa scored the only goal of the game as Valencia overcame Malaga.  The visitors’ line-up was unrecognisable from that which took the Champions league by storm, new boss Bernd Schuster having been forced to sell players and replace them with younger, inexperienced ones. Ironically, it was one of last season’s Malaga heroes, goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who was at fault for Valencia’s goal.

Former Valencia coach Ernesto Valverde started his reign at Athletic Bilbao with a win as the Basques won 2-1 at Real Valladolid. Patrick Ebert canceled out Markel Susaeta’s opener, but Iker Muniain sealed the points soon after half-time. Fellow northerners Osasuna are many people’s tip for the drop this season and they began with a defeat at home to Granada. Youssef El Arabi and Hassan Yebda gave El Grana a half-time lead and although a Francisco Punal strike gave Osasuna some hope, Granada hung on for the points.

Champions League qualifiers Real Sociedad began their campaign with a routine 2-0 win over Getafe, thanks to goals from Carlos Vela and Haris Seferovic either side of the break. Segunda champions Elche crashed 3-0 at Rayo Vallecano, who had an Alberto Bueno brace and an Alberto Perea strike to thank for their resounding win.

Celta Vigo and Espanyol both flirted with relegation last season and the two shared four goals in their meeting at El Balai­dos. Goals from Alex Lopez and new signing Charles gave Celta a two-goal lead, but Espanyol fought back to achieve parity through Victor Sanchez and Thievy Koulossa.

The 2013/14 season of La Liga kicks off this weekend. Champions Barcelona once again prepare to start the campaign with a new coach. Argentine Gerardo Martino took over at Camp Nou in less than ideal circumstances after Tito Vilanova was forced to step down to continue his battle with cancer and will need to instill continuity in the face of continued high expectations.

Martino will need to quickly cement an understanding between goal machine Lionel Messi and new signing Neymar, the talented Brazilian striker signed from Santos. The new coach will also be expecting greater consistency this season from the Barcelona engine room. Xavi looked jaded at times last term alongside Andres Iniesta and with Thiago Alcantara moving to Bayern Munich, the pressure on Messi as the source of both goals and creativity will be immense. Meanwhile, the club looks set to retain Cesc Fabregas, the midfielder having been the subject of sustained interest from Manchester United.

Defense was Barca’s achilles heel last term and a fallible backline could once again be their undoing. Chelsea’s David Luiz and fellow Brazilian international Thiago Silva were identified as potential long-term replacements for veteran skipper Carles Puyol, and Luiz has emerged as the primary target. Chelsea seem unlikely to let the Brazilian go and Daniel Agger, Jan Vertonghen, Jeremy Mathieu and Vincent Kompany have all been linked with a move to Camp Nou.

The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid heralds a new dawn at the Santiago Bernabeu following Jose Mourinho’s final turbulent year at the helm. The Italian has made two significant midfield signings, bringing in Asier Illarramendi from Real Sociedad and the exciting and highly-rated 21-year-old playmaker Isco from Malaga. Illarramendi, a 23-year-old defensive midfielder, is seen as a long-term replacement for Xabi Alonso. Striker Gonzalo Higuain, meanwhile, has joined Napoli.

Speculation has continued to surround the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Bernabeu. Ancelotti has insisted that the brilliant but temperamental Portuguese is vital to the club, but admits his future is uncertain. Attempts by Real Madrid to lure Gareth Bale away from Tottenham Hotspur have added to the uncertainty surrounding Ronaldo, who has often said he is unhappy in the Spanish capital, though it remains to be seen whether Los Blancos are prepared to meet the London club’s €93m asking price for the Welsh international.

Last season’s Primera was a three-horse race for much of the campaign until the challenge of Atletico Madrid lost momentum towards the end, but Los Colchoneros held on for an impressive third-placed finish. The prolific Radamel Falcao, scorer of 28 goals in La Liga for Atleti last season, has moved on to Monaco and his replacement, David Villa, is an interesting choice. Although 31 years old and plagued with injury in recent seasons, he scored 48 times in 116 games for Barcelona and remains Spain’s leading all-time marksman.

Looking for experience in defence as well as attack, coach Diego Simeone has brought in 32-year-old fellow Argentine Martin Demichelis from Malaga. In addition, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was a key player for Atleti last term and he will be available for a third successive season on loan from Chelsea, but Simeone expects the coming campaign to be the last before the Belgian returns to his EPL parent club.

Former Valencia defender Miroslav Djukic, now back at Mestalla as coach, has had some big decisions to make during the off-season, not least telling the long-serving David Albelda that, after 15 seasons at Mestalla, he did not figure in the new man’s plans. The no-nonsense Serbian has failed, however, in his bid to hold on to his star striker Roberto Soldado, who has joined Tottenham.

With their well-publicized financial issues, the lack of Champions League football for yet another season at Mestalla has not gone down well and the ambitious Djukic clearly has his eyes set on a top four finish this time out. Valencia’s biggest enemy last year was inconsistency, with a fine record at Mestalla negated by some erratic performances on the road. The club’s position was not helped by instability among the technical staff. Three coaches passed through the revolving door at Mestalla last season and Djukic is the fifth to take charge in a little over a year.

Real Sociedad massively over-achieved last season, qualifying for the Champions League under coach Philippe Montanier and his assistant Jagoba Arrasate. With Montanier having left to take charge of French Ligue 1 side Rennes, Arrasate has stepped up to the top job at the Anoeta.

La Real will have to negotiate a Champions League qualification round but, despite the real possibility of lucrative group stage football for the first time in a decade, the club have not been big spenders over the summer, planning instead to give more opportunities to talented youngsters such as highly rated 20-year-old Ruben Pardo, who has come up through the ranks at Anoeta under Arrasate and is seen as a long-term replacement for the Bernabeu-bound Asier Illarramendi.

Malaga enjoyed an extraordinary run in the Champions League last season, reaching the quarter-finals and finishing sixth in La Liga in what turned out to be Manuel Pellegrini’s last season in charge at La Rosaleda. Already in financial turmoil after their Qatari owner drastically scaled down his support, and excluded from European competition despite their top-six placing, this season could be make or break for Los Boquerones.

One of the first jobs for Pellegrini’s replacement, the German former Real Madrid boss Bernd Schuster, was to replace both Isco and veteran Frenchman Jeremy Toulalan, whose departures for the Bernabeu and Monaco respectively left Malaga short of a creative midfield. Chilean Pedro Morales will fill one of those roles, while the exit of Martin Demichelis to Atletico has seen another Argentine defender, Marcos Angeleri, arrive from Estudiantes.

Rayo Vallecano finished eighth in La Liga last term under Paco Jemez, which would have earned them a Europa League place but for UEFA denying them a licence for international competition. Getafe boss Luis Garcia Plaza is confident that the coming campaign could be the best since his arrival at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez two years ago, while incoming Levante coach Joaquin Caparros has made several mainly low profile signings including Andreas Ivanschitz from German club Mainz and Elche’s Jordi Xumetra.

Real Betis secured a Europa League berth thanks to Malaga’s exclusion by UEFA and Pepe Mel is looking to build on his team’s success. He has retained striker Ruben Castro but has lost Dorlan Pabon, another key source of goals. City rivals Sevilla enjoyed an end of season resurgence to finish ninth and earn an unexpected Europa League place following Rayo’s exclusion. Boss Unai Emery has brought in strikers Carlos Bacca from Club Brugge and Kevin Gameiro from Paris Saint Germain after star players Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas joined Manchester City.

Athletic Bilbao’s turbulent season ended with the departure of coach Marcelo Bielsa, striker Fernando Llorente, and defender Fernando Amorebieta. Ernesto Valverde is Bielsa’s replacement while Benat Etxebarria has signed from Real Betis to reinforce the midfield and Osasuna striker Kike Sola should provide a further attacking option to help the Basques bounce back. Espanyol President Joan Collet has admitted that survival is the first objective for next term, while new Real Valladolid boss Juan Ignacio Martinez has outlined a similar aim following his move from Levante.

Granada boss Lucas Alcaraz has brought in Riki from Deportivo La Coruna and Piti from Rayo Vallecano as well as Chilean midfielder Manuel Iturra from Malaga, as El Grano look to avoid another basement battle. Jose Luis Mendilibar remains in charge at Osasuna, although Los Rojillos have signed Joan Oriol from Villarreal and Jordan Loties from Nancy, their realistic expectation must be for another relegation scrap. Fellow strugglers Celta Vigo narrowly escaped the drop on the final day of last season and incoming coach Luis Enrique moved quickly to bring in prolific Brazilian striker Charles from Almeria following Iago Aspas’ move to Liverpool.

Of the three promoted clubs, Villarreal appear best equipped to survive, having bounced back after only a single season in the second tier. Coach Marcelino has added Atletico goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo to his squad. Segunda champions Elche return to La Primera after an absence of 24 years. Boss Fran Escriba has acquired loanees Ruben Perez from Atletico and Sevilla pair Miroslav Stevanovic and Manu del Moral. Almeria coach Francisco Rodriguez will see avoiding instant relegation as his primary aim. Los Rojiblancos return to the top flight after a two-year absence after promotion via the Segunda play-offs.

The worst-kept secret in football was finally revealed this week as Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini signed a three-year deal as Roberto Mancini’s replacement at Manchester City. With Sevilla midfielder Jesus Navas also arriving at the Etihad and striker Iago Aspas joining Liverpool from Celta Vigo, what can Premier League fans expect next season from the new arrivals from La Liga?

At 59 years of age, the man known as the Engineer will be the second oldest manager in England’s top flight, after Arsene Wenger.  Pellegrini is a vastly experienced coach but has never managed in England before.  After 450 games in a one-club career as a central defender with Universidad Chile, he cut his managerial teeth in Argentina before a five-year spell in Spain with Villarreal.

Moving to Real Madrid in 2009, Pellegrini brought Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso to the Bernabeu at a combined cost of around €200m, but after his expensive team crashed out of the Champions League and came second to Barcelona in La Liga, the Chilean was fired.

Replacing Jesualdo Ferreira after Malaga’s disastrous start to 2010-11, Pellegrini steered the Costa del Sol outfit to an 11^th place finish before taking them to fourth in La Liga in his first full season in charge and securing a Champions League slot.  In addition to reaching the Champions League quarter-finals last season, Pellegrini guided Malaga to sixth, good enough for a Europa League place next term.

As a coach, Pellegrini is noted for his ability to mould successful teams playing attacking and entertaining football. While initial success at Malaga was built on significant investment in players, a financial crisis at the club meant last season’s achievements were achieved, contrary to the expectations of many, on a much-reduced budget. He will not face similar problems at City but, apart from handling a collection of highly-paid egos more effectively than Mancini did, Pellegrini will be expected to deliver success.

Spanish international winger Jesus Navas has joined City for a reported €17.5m. His signature was secured before Pellegrini’s arrival but the attack-minded player, who has 24 caps for his country, will fit the Chilean’s attacking style. With 336 appearances for Sevilla under his belt, he was a key figure in his club’s UEFA Cup winning run in 2005-06 and for a number of years was ever-present in the Andalusians’ line-up, scoring 31 goals and providing assists for many more.

The 27-year-old says he is excited at the prospect of linking up with Pellegrini, and believes the new coach will get the most out of his team and achieve great things at the Etihad. “Everything I know about him is positive. Every team he coaches plays well, and everyone in the city will support him,” Navas told City’s official website following the coach’s appointment. “He’s important because he will help the team and we all know the importance of a good manager and a good person who we trust.”

City fans will be looking forward to the prospect of Navas linking up with fellow Spanish international David Silva at City but, with Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata all with Premier League sides, Navas himself is also relishing the chance to pitch his wits against his countrymen.

With 12 goals in 36 appearances last season for a struggling Celta Vigo side, and 50 in 153 games overall for the Galicians, striker Iago Aspas is no stranger to controversy, but denies his move to Liverpool is to either replace or replicate Luis Suarez. With the Anfield future of the brilliant but enigmatic Uruguayan still the subject of contention, coach Brendan Rodgers has moved quickly to bring in the lively front man from Celta, who only escaped relegation from La Liga with a 1-0 win over Espanyol on the final day of the season.  Liverpool are reported to have paid around €9m for the 25-year-old striker, who can play either in the centre or out wide.

Like Suarez, Galician-born Aspas wears his heart on his sleeve and has been known to allow his emotions to get the better of him. In March last season, in a lively and highly-charged encounter away to despised local rivals Deportivo La Coruna, and with both clubs mired in the relegation zone, the red mist descended for Aspas, who head-butted Carlos Marchena and received his marching orders. Celta were beaten and Aspas was banned for four games. No sooner had he returned, then he was booked for diving and was suspended once again.

With the English national team continuing to be exposed to criticism at senior and Under 21 levels, many will lament the arrival of yet more overseas talent, but the entertainment value of the latest batch of imports from La Liga is unlikely to be denied.

Spain, the current World and European champions, are in the United States in prepare for the Confederations Cup that kicks off on June 15. But before they head to Brazil, a full-strength Spanish national squad will play Haiti tomorrow night in Miami. And then on Tuesday Spain will play Ireland in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Fernando Torres and Roberto Soldado have been recalled by Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, who has named the two strikers in a provisional Confederations Cup squad.

The 29-year-old Torres, who won the Europa League with Chelsea this season and has scored 22 goals in 64 appearances for the London club, is one of eight English-based players to have been selected by del Bosque, with the 26-strong squad due to be reduced to 23 before tournament begins in Brazil on June 15.

Valencia striker Soldado, 27, missed out on a place in Spain’s Euro 2012 squad, but he has hit 28 goals in 45 appearances for Los Che this season.

Real Madrid goalkeeper and Spain captain Iker Casillas, who missed much of the season after breaking  a finger in January, also returns as does former Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez, a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, talented Malaga midfielder Isco and Barcelona’s Thiago Alcantara were all unavailable after being called up for the Spanish Under-21 side for the European Championship in Israel this summer. Manchester City’s Javi Garcia and Benat Etxebarria of Real Betis are included, but there is no place for veteran Barcelona defender Carles Puyol or Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo.

“When Torres and Martinez didn’t come in before, it was because we didn’t think the moment was right. Now it is the opposite – they are both in good form,” said Del Bosque.

Spain will be looking to improve on their third place finish in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, where they were surprisingly beaten 2-0 by the United States in the semi-final. Their first game in this year’s competition is in Recife on June 16 against Uruguay, 2011 Copa America winners and 2010 World Cup semi-finalists. Tahiti and Nigeria make up their group in the eight-nation event that runs until June 30.

Spain squad for Confederations Cup tournament:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Victor Valdes (Barcelona).

Defenders: Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Benat Etxebarria (Real Betis), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Javi Garcia (Manchester City), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Juan Mata (Chelsea), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City) Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona).

Forwards: Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Roberto Soldado (Valencia), David Villa (Barcelona).

23 of the 26 players called by the Spanish coach will be travel to the United States for matches against Haiti on June 8 in Miami and then against Ireland on June 11 before traveling to Brazil.

Tickets are currently on sale and available through www.sunlifestadium.com and www.ticketmaster.com or by calling the stadium box office at (305) 943-8000. Tickets start at just $29 and a limited number of VIP Field seats will be made available on the sidelines to watch the match. For more information on the VIP Field Seating, teams, players and event, please visit www.sunlifestadium.com.

Also, Spain, the defending World Cup and European champions, will face Ireland on Tuesday, June 11 at 8:00pm at Yankee Stadium. Tickets are available at www.yankees.com/soccer and www.ticketmaster.com.

Barcelona reached 100 points on the final day of the season in Spain, while Jose Mourinho signed off with a win. Real Sociedad pipped Valencia to the final Champions League place, but Mallorca, Zaragoza and Deportivo La Coruna were all relegated.

Goals from David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Martin Montoya and Andres Iniesta gave Barcelona a resounding 4-1 win over Malaga at Camp Nou to bring up 100 points for the season, matching Real Madrid’s achievement of last season.  The victory also pushed the Catalans’ goals tally for the campaign up to 115. Pedro Morales grabbed a consolation for Malaga, who said goodbye to coach Manuel Pellegrini but will have the Europa League to look forward to after their Uefa ban was overturned.

A tumultuous season and an eventful three years in charge for Jose Mourinho ended with Real Madrid defeating Osasuna 4-2 at the Bernabeu. The Portuguese once again left Iker Casillas out of his squad, with young goalkeeper Jesus Collado making only his second appearance in two years for Los Blancos.  Gonzalo Higuain and Michael Essien gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead, but goals from Roberto Torres and Alvaro Cejudo brought Osasuna level Karim Benzema hit a third for Mourino’s men and Jose Callejon got a late fourth.

A first-half strike from Antoine Griezmann was enough to secure victory for Real Sociedad at Deportivo La Coruna, a result that ensured the Basques a Champions League berth and consigned the Los Turcos to La Segunda. La Real’s winner saw them finish a point above Valencia who lost a seven goal thriller at Sevilla. Alfredo Negredo netted all four for the Andalusians, taking his season’s tally in La Liga to 25. Roberto Soldado scored twice for Los Che to finish the Primera season with 24 goals, with Ever Banega also on target for Valencia.

Mallorca saw their 16-year stay in La Liga come to an end despite a 4-2 win over Valladolid. Alejandro Alfaro, Jose Marti, Giovani and Javi Marquez all netted for the islanders while Alberto Bueno and Omar Ramos scored Valladolid’s goals. Zaragoza were also relegated after crashing 3-1 at home against Atletico Madrid in a match that remained goalless until the final minutes. Arda Turan gave Atleti the lead with six minutes remaining, but Helder Postiga equalised in the 89th minute. Diego Costa administered the coup de grace with two late strikes to end Zaragoza’s four-year top-flight stay.

Celta Vigo emerged the survivors from the relegation dogfight thanks to Natxo Insa’s 15th minute goal that proved sufficient to see off Espanyol. Meanwhile, Real Betis nicked the third Europa League place despite only managing a 1-1 draw at Levante. Jorge Molina replied for Betis after Pedro Rios had given Levante the lead.

In the remaining matches, Granada beat Getafe 2-0 with goals from Nolito and Youssef El-Arabi and Rayo Vallecano drew 2-2 with Athletic Bilbao. Franco Vazquez put Rayo ahead before goals from Markel Susaeta and Jon Aurtenetxe turned the game around. Piti restored parity with his 18th goal of the season for a 2-2 final score.

With matters at the top of La Liga done and dusted, attention turns to the foot of the table. Any three from four teams could be going down to La Segunda, with just one round of games left to play.

Mallorca remain in last place after holding Atletico Madrid to a goalless draw at the Vicente Calderon, but the islanders are only a point adrift of Celta Vigo and Zaragoza after Sunday’s penultimate round. Celta kept their survival hopes alive with a 2-0 win at Real Valladolid, the crucial goals coming from Gustavo Cabral and an Iago Aspas penalty.

Zaragoza crashed 4-0 at Real Betis, for whom Dorlan Pabon with two and Ruben Castro and Jorge Molina with one apiece all scored to ensure Betis remain in contention for a Europa League place.

The fourth club in danger of the drop is Deportivo La Coruna, who were beaten 3-1 at Malaga. Javier Saviola, Julio Baptista and Isco were all on target for Malaga in what is likely to have been Manuel Pellegrini’s final game in charge at La Rosaleda. Diogo Salomao scored Depor’s consolation, but the defeat leaves them four points adrift of both Granada and Osasuna, who are both safe.

Osasuna were assured of another season of Primera football in Pamplona with a 2-1 win over Sevilla. Alfredo Negredo gave the Andalusians the lead, but Francisco Punal and Alvaro Cejudo turned the game round to give Osasuna a vital win.

Valencia climbed back up to fourth place after defeating Granada 1-0, courtesy of Roberto Soldado’s second-half goal. Los Che moved ahead of Real Sociedad, who drew with Real Madrid at Anoeta. Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon put jose Mourinho’s men 2-0 up, only for Xabier Prieto and Antoine Griezmann to level for the Basques. Sami Khedira restored Los Blancos’ lead, but Prieto got his second in added time to earn Sociedad a 3-3 draw.

Elsewhere, champions Barcelona won 2-0 at local rivals Espanyol with goals from Alexis Sanchez and Pedro Rodriguez; Juanlu scored the only goal of the last ever game at San Mames as Levante overcame Athletic Bilbao; and Rayo Vallecano won 2-1 at Getafe to retain a slim chance of a Europa League place. Chori Dominguez cancelled out Rafi’s opener for Getafe before a late Diego Castro own goal gave Rayo the win.

Barcelona remained on course to register 100 points as champions, but with the title race settled, the interest in La Liga has shifted to the battle for European qualification.

Last weekend, an early Pedro Rodriguez strike and a Marc Valiente own goal set Barcelona on the way to a routine win over Real Valladolid at Camp Nou. Victor Perez pulled a late goal back for the visitors but it was a comfortable win for Barca who need to win their two remaining matches to hit the 100-point mark.

Real Sociedad came back from a goal down to beat Sevilla and are in pole position to secure the vital fourth place in La Liga and with it a Champions League place. Phillipe Montanier’s men fell behind to Ivan Rakitic’s tenth-minute goal, but the Croatian went from hero to zero, scoring Sociedad’s equaliser just six minutes later when he accidentally headed past his own goalkeeper. Imanol Agirretxe’s excellent finish, his 13th goal of the season then scored what proved to be the winner in the 24th minute.

Valencia maintained the pressure on Sociedad with a 1-0 win at Getafe, Jeremy Mathieu scoring the vital goal on the stroke of half-time. Los Che remain level on points with Sociedad, but the Basques are ahead on head-to-head results.

Rayo Vallecano moved up to ninth with a 3-2 win at Levante, whose miserable run continued. Piti gave Rayo a 20th minute lead, but Robert Aquafresca equalised for the Valencians soon after half time. Franco Vazquez restored the visitors’ lead on the hour and Piti extended it from the spot. Vicente Iborra’s late goal for Levante was no more than a consolation.

Granada recorded a convincing victory over Osasuna, leapfrogging their opponents into 15th place and boosting their survival prospects. Youssef El-Arabi, Siqueira (from the penalty spot) and Diego Buonanotte scored the goals to leave El Grana five points clear of the danger zone.

Deportivo La Coruna hauled themselves out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Bruno Gama put the Galicians ahead on 50 minutes, and Nelson Oliveira made sure of the three points in added time. The win saw Deportivo climb to 17th, a point ahead of Real Zaragoza, who suffered a late 2-1 loss to Athletic Bilbao. Helder Postiga gave Zaragoza the lead, but Fernando Llorente levelled with ten minutes to go and Ibai Gomez hit a last-gasp winner.

Basement side Mallorca lifted themselves off the bottom of the table and at the same time dented Real Betis’ European ambitions with a 1-0 win at the Iberostar. Israeli striker Tomer Hemed scored the only goal of the game on 21 minutes as Gregorio Manzano’s side moved to 19th, three points from safety with two games left to play.

The other two Gameweek 36 matches were played a fortnight ago, ahead of the meeting of the two Madrid clubs in the final of the Copa del Rey. Real Madrid hammered Malaga 6-2, while Atletico won 3-1 away at struggling Celta Vigo.

Real Madrid made an ideal start against Malaga when Raul Albiol headed in a Luka Modric corner after only two minutes. Roque Santa Cruz soon equalised, but Los Boquerones made life even harder for themselves when Sergio Sanchez gave away a penalty for a foul on Cristiano Ronaldo and was sent off.

Goalkeeper Willy Caballero saved the Portugal star’s spot-kick with his foot, but sustained an ankle injury from the impact of Ronaldo’s shot and had to be replaced by Carlos Kameni. Ronaldo then made amends with a free-kick to restore Real’s lead. Mesut Ozil added a third, only for Antunes to pull a goal back for Malaga with a stunning 25-metre drive.

Karim Benzema made it 4-2 on the stroke of half-time before Modric hit Real’s fifth after the break. With a quarter of an hour to go, Martin Demichelis followed Sanchez down the tunnel after picking up a second yellow card, and Angel Di Maria beat Kameni in injury time to complete an emphatic win.

After a goalless first half, Atletico Madrid struck early against Celta Vigo, with Diego Costa on target following Koke’s corner and Miranda’s flick-on. Juanfran doubled the visitors’ advantage when his long-range effort was deflected into the net, before Augusto Fernandez kept Celta in the game with a goal six minutes from time before Radamel Falcao restored the two-goal cushion.

Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions for the fourth time in five years after Real Madrid could only draw 1-1 with Espanyol on Sunday. The Catalans celebrated their success with a 2-1 win at third placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Atletico threatened to spoil Barca’s party at the Vicente Calderon when they fell behind to Radamel Falcao’s 28th goal of the season early in the second half. Alexis Sanchez grabbed the equaliser and the turnaround was complete ten minutes from time when Gabi turned David Villa’s shot ball past his own goalkeeper.

Espanyol unexpectedly dominated the first half against Real Madrid and took a deserved lead when Christian Stuani fired home. Second half substitute Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Los Blancos after the break and Gonzalo Higuain headed in a Luka Modric free-kick for the equaliser.

Roberto Soldado scored twice as Valencia put four past Rayo Vallecano. The striker’s first came from the penalty spot after 28 minutes and he doubled Los Che’s advantage six minutes later. Andres Guardado made it three on the hour and Nelson Valdez completed the rout in injury time.

Real Sociedad remain fourth but are now level on points with Valencia after being held to a 2-2 draw by Granada at Anoeta. Imanol Agirretxe put the home side ahead after nine minutes, only for Youssef El-Arabi to equalise six minutes later. Agirretxe restored the lead for Sociedad on the stroke of half-time and the score remained 2-1 until former Malaga midfielder Recio netted in injury time to give Granada an important point in their fight to stave off relegation.

Celta Vigo remain three points from safety, after suffering a 1-0 defeat against seventh-placed Real Betis, thanks to Ruben Castro’s second-half effort. Betis now have fading Malaga and resurgent Sevilla either side of them after those two sides played out a lacklustre goalless draw at La Rosaleda. Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini may have been distracted by rumours lining him up to replace Roberto Mancini at Manchester City.

Levante and Real Zaragoza drew 0-0 at the Ciutat de Valencia, while Bottom side Real Mallorca’s chances of survival received another blow with a 2-1 defeat by Athletic Bilbao that leaves them four points from safety. Aritz Aduriz gave the Basques an early lead at San Mames and Fernando Llorente sealed the three points for them with ten minutes remaining. The islanders’ cause was not helped by the dismissals of Andreu Fontas and Joaquin Navarro Jimenez, and Giovani dos Santos’ late reply was barely a consolation.

Deportivo La Coruna also continue to flirt with danger and are two points adrift of safety after losing to Real Valladolid, for whom Javi Guerra hit the only goal of the game. Osasuna had better luck, moving four points clear of the drop zone as Alejandro Arribas’ 75^th minute goal sunk Getafe.

Barcelona and Real Madrid both won and both scored four times, leaving the Catalans needing one more win to secure the Primera title. Barca’s 4-2 win over Real Betis keeps them 11 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid with four games remaining, and means they will almost certainly clinch the championship at Atletico Madrid next Sunday.

Tito Vilanova’s men twice fought back from behind against Real Betis and it was Lionel Messi, coming off the bench, who made the difference at Camp Nou. Dorlan Pabon gave the visitors the lead after two minutes and although Alexis Sanchez levelled soon afterwards, Betis regained the lead through Ruben Perez just before the break.

David Villa grabbed Barca’s second equaliser, heralding Messi’s entry to the action. The Argentine made an immediate impact, giving La Blaugrana the lead on the hour and hitting his second and Barca’s fourth with twenty minutes remaining.

Real Madrid overcame Real Valladolid in a seven-goal thriller at the Bernabeu. Oscar Gonzalez gave the visitors a surprise early lead before Marc Valiente deflected Angel Di Maria’s shot past his own goalkeeper for the equaliser. Cristiano Ronaldo then headed Madrid in front, only for Javi Guerra to make it 2-2 before half-time. Kaka’s left-footer and another Ronaldo header gave Los Blancos a two-goal cushion, although Lluis Sastre’s spectacular late volley kept the tension going until the final whistle.

Real Sociedad remain in fourth place, but dropped three vital points as they surprisingly lost 2-1 at Getafe. Philippe Montanier’s side appeared to be on course for an expected victory when Carlos Vela headed them into the lead after just four minutes. Their advantage was short-lived, however, as Pedro Leon pulling Getafe level and Abdelaziz Barrada turned the match around.

Sociedad’s defeat means they are now just two points ahead of Valencia, who scored four without reply against Osasuna to maintain the pressure on the Basques and send the Pamplona side back into the relegation mire. Roberto Soldado opened the scoring and Ricardo Costa headed the second from Tino Costa’s wide free kick on the stroke of half time. Ever Banega made it three with a free kick that went in off the crossbar after Alejandro Arribas was sent off for a foul on Soldado. The visitors were reduced to nine men when Timor picked up a second booking, and Jonas converted an injury time penalty after Nano blocked a Tino Costa cross with his arm.

Faltering Malaga trail Valencia by three points after they were beaten 1-0 by Granada in the Andalusian derby. Odion Ighalo’s 28th minute strike was enough to give El Grana a second consecutive win in their fight to avoid relegation.

Meanwhile, Sevilla are up to eighth, just one place and three points behind city rivals Betis after a resounding 3-0 success against Espanyol. A Joan Capdevila own goal opened the scoring before further goals from Jorge Moreno and Alfredo Negredo wrapped up the scoring with only 23 minutes played.

Another late escape act by relegation-threatened Real Zaragoza appears a realistic possibility after they convincingly beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0 with a brace from Apono, the first from the penalty spot, and one from Rodri. The win sees Zaragoza climb out of the bottom three, where they are replaced by Deportivo, who fought out a goalless draw with third-placed Atletico Madrid.

Levante’s Robert Acquafresca cancelled out Tomer Hemed’s early goal as bottom side Mallorca salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw at the Iberostar, while Celta Vigo remain in trouble after a similar result against Athletic Bilbao. Oscar de Marcos gave the Basques a first-half lead, but Iago Aspas’ 84^th minute equaliser gave the Asturians a point.

Lionel Messi came off the bench to transform a sluggish Barcelona, but could only draw with Athletic Bilbao, while Real Madrid came from behind to win the derby against Atletico.

Behind at half-time to Markel Susaeta’s 20th-minute opener at San Mames, Barca introduced Messi just before the hour and the substitute equalised with fine solo effort, jinking past three Athletic players before stroking the ball into the bottom-left corner. Alexis Sanchez quickly gave the Catalans the lead, but Ander Herrera levelled late on.

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao gave the hosts an early lead at the Vicente Calderon, but Juanfran diverted Angel di Maria’s free-kick past his own keeper to quickly level matters. Di Maria struck the winner in the second half to take the city bragging rights and close the gap behind Barca to 11 points, delaying Tito Vilanova’s men’s celebrations.

Real Sociedad maintained their challenge for Champions League football by defeating rivals Valencia 4-2 at Anoeta. Roberto Soldado headed the visitors into a 25th-minute lead, but Inigo Martinez levelled before Gonzalo Castro and Imanol Agirretxe put the hosts in charge. Jonas pulled one back late on for Los Che, but Agirretxe grabbed his second in added time to rubber-stamp an emphatic win for the Basques.

Sociedad’s victory meant they maintained a five-point advantage over both Valencia and Malaga, the latter having goals from Roque Santa Cruz and defender Weligton to thank for a 2-1 win against Getafe, whose late consolation came from Juan Valera.

Deportivo La Coruna stretched their unbeaten run to six matches, but are only a point clear of the relegation zone after drawing 1-1 at Real Betis, who remain seventh. Depor’s top scorer Riki gave the Galicians the lead after just seven minutes and resisted pressure from Betis until Jorge Molina fired home from outside the penalty area.

Betis’ city rivals Sevilla also drew 1-1, away at Real Valladolid. Alvaro Negredo’s second half goal from the penalty spot, cancelling out Javi Guerra’s opener for the hosts, was his 19th of the season.

Osasuna also eased their relegation fears with a 2-2 draw at Rayo Vallecano. Andrija Delibasic put the host ahead after six minutes with Raoul Loe replying for Osasuna two minutes later. Alejandro Arribas then gave the Pamplona outfit the lead before Piti’s second half equaliser ensured the points were shared.

Celta Vigo improved their chances of avoiding the drop with a slender win against Levante, thanks to Augusto Fernandez’s first-half effort, while Granada moved two points clear of the danger zone with a 1-0 victory at Espanyol, courtesy of Nolito’s 37th minute goal.

An exciting basement scrap at La Romareda saw Real Zaragoza come out on top with a late 3-2 victory against Mallorca. Paco Montanes’ 29th minute strike for the home side cancelled out Tomar Hemed’s opener for the islanders. Helder Postiga restored Zaragoza’s lead on the hour, only for Angel Arizmendi to hit Mallorca’s second equaliser with eight minutes remaining. A draw looked likely until Ruben Rochina’s winner two minutes from time left Mallorca bottom of La Liga.