La Liga Table 2016: Latest Standings Following Saturday’s Week 22 Results

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Barcelona seized control of the title race in La Liga after beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the Camp Nou on Saturday. Elsewhere, Villarreal went level on points with Real Madrid after earning a key win at El Madrigal.

Here are the full results from Saturday:

La Liga Results: Saturday ScoresHomeScoreAwayBarcelona2-1Atletico MadridEibar1-2MalagaGetafe0-1Athletic BilbaoVillarreal1-0GranadaReal Sociedad2-1Real BetisSky Sports

Here’s what those results mean for the standings:

La Liga StandingsPositionClubPlayedWonDrawnLostGoal DifferencePoints1Barcelona21163237512Atletico Madrid22153421483Real Madrid21135338444Villarreal22135411445Athletic Bilbao2210483346Celta Vigo211047-1347Eibar229677338Sevilla219666339Deportivo La Coruna21611432910Malaga22769-22711Getafe227510-62612Valencia21510642513Real Sociedad226610-82414Espanyol216411-152215Real Betis225710-162216Granada225512-202017Rayo Vallecano215412-191918Las Palmas214611-121819Sporting Gijon205312-131820Levante214512-1817Sky Sports

Recap

Barca fell behind early when Koke poked Atleti into a shock lead. But the home side’s brilliant front three took the game over soon after.

Lionel Messi netted the equalizer—a reminder of how often he’s punished the side from Spain’s capital. It’s a fact detailed by WhoScored.com:

Messi’s finish ended Atleti’s extremely stingy streak of denying league goals recently, as noted by Squawka:

Not to be outdone by Barca’s vintage No. 10, fellow striker Luis Suarez was the next to punish the 2013/14 champions. In the process, the Uruguayan cemented his position as the most prolific marksman in La Liga, as noted by his stats, courtesy of Squawka:

Atletico then lost two players, with a dismissal occurring in each half. Full-back Filipe Luis was the first to go, before centre-back Diego Godin followed him 15 minutes after the restart.

Luis was given a straight red after a particularly robust challenge on Messi. ESPN’s Dermot Corrigan provided an image of the tackle:

Playing against nine, Barca ruthlessly held possession and overworked their undermanned visitors.

With a three-point lead and a game in hand, last season’s champions have to be favourites to retain the title.

It took a penalty from Bruno for Villarreal to see off a stubborn Granada team. The Yellow Submarine skipper has become something of a specialist from the spot within the club’s annals, per OptaJose:

Villarreal should have scored a few more, but the team consistently wasted promising opportunities on the break. Still, manager Marcelino’s team has opened a significant gap at the base of the top four.

Athletic Bilbao took the chance to go fifth by winning in Getafe. The lone goal came from promising winger Inaki Williams, who finished with a deft header.

Elsewhere, Malaga won away at Eibar, thanks in part to a goal from veteran former Premier League striker Roque Santa Cruz. He came off the bench to net early in stoppage time, before Borja Baston got one back for Eibar and made it a frantic finish.

Despite being on the losing side, the Eibar striker continued his remarkable run in the new calendar year, as OptaJose noted:

Real Sociedad also had a late scare against Betis at Anoeta. Xabi Prieto and Inigo Martinez had given the home side a comfortable two-goal cushion.

But Ruben Castro struck back early in the second half. The visitors continued then to press, but they couldn’t manufacture enough clear-cut chances.

Barca are beginning to look ominous now that Messi is firing again. But Suarez’s contributions can’t be overlooked, as the mercurial attacker has elevated his game to an even higher level this season.

But while the title race may be playing out as expected, the top-four race is looking surprisingly one-sided. Impressive Villarreal, a team disciplined at the back and deceptively skilled and creative in forward areas, is seizing the chance to secure lucrative UEFA Champions football for next season.