Messi shines as Barca stay top – La Liga Round-up Week 26

Luis Enrique may be leaving but Barcelona remain top of the table in Spain after a five-star display against Celta Viga. There were also wins for Real Madrid and Atletico but Sevilla saw their title hopes hit after being held by Alaves. Meanwhile, down at the bottom victories for Leganes and Deportivo mean the gap between the bottom three and the rest is now four points.

Madrid bounce back in style

No Ronaldo, Bale or Morata but no problem for Real Madrid who made a tricky trip to Eibar look easy with a 4-1 win. Zinedine Zidane’s side have been wobbling and there were many who fancied Eibar to pull off another shock on Saturday. However, Madrid made light work of it, Karim Benzema scored twice, his first goals since January while James Rodriguez and Marco Asensio were also on target in a convincing win.

Barcelona back on top

Real Madrid may have briefly regained top spot courtesy of playing earlier in the day but Barcelona snatched it back after smashing in five goals to see off Celta at Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored twice, his 37th goal in 37 games this season, and set up two more with Neymar, Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti also on the scoresheet. Ominous stuff in truth and a result that may have left PSG a tad nervous ahead of their Champions League second leg, even with a 4-0 lead.

Sociedad stay in top four hunt

Real Sociedad continue to breathe down Atletico’s necks with a 3-2 win over Real Betis on Friday night. Xabi Prieto was the hero for the visitors scoring twice, including the winner with a back post header with just 18 minutes left on the clock.

Griezmann at the double for Atletico

Antoine Griezmann scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season as Atletico romped past Valencia. Kevin Gameiro was also on target as Diego Simeone’s men leapfrogged Real Socieded to move back into fourth spot.

Villarreal too good for Espanyol

Villarreal have also not given up hopes of a top four finish, they stay four points behind Atletico but kept pace after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Roberto Soriano opened the scoring before Cedric Bakambu’s effort flew off goalkeeper Diego Lopez and into the back of the net to seal the win.

Deportivo gain vital win

Deportivo can breathe a little easier after a crucial 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Sporting. It was nervy stuff from the visitors however, Emre Colak missing a penalty before Pedro Mosquera got the all important goal right on half-time. Depor are now six points from safety while Sporting are slowly sinking into Liga 2.

Leganes down Granada

Another massive result at the bottom as Leganes eased their relegation fears with a 1-0 win over Granada. Darwin Machis scored late on in a victory that makes grim reading for Granada. Lucas Alcaraz’s side have been much improved in recent weeks but look fairly doomed – they still have to play Barcelona, Atletico and Real Madrid at home and Sevilla away.

Jese grabs first Las Palmas goal in rout

Jese Rodriguez finally grabbed his first goals since his return to La Liga as Las Palmas thrashed Osasuna 5-2. The on-loan PSG man opened the scoring after just seven minutes although La Liga’s bottom side actually went in at half-time 2-1. However, the hosts came roaring back after the break, Jese scoring again to round off the win. He’s now scored as many goals for Las Palmas as he did for PSG. Osasuna, meanwhile, are now 13 points from safety and all but relegated.

Garcia spot on for Athletic

Athletic Bilbao made it 13 games without defeat at San Mames, their best run since 1992, with a 1-0 win over Malaga thanks to Raul Garcia’s penalty. Ernesto Valverde’s side are just one place off the European spots, although still four points behind Villarreal.

Sevilla slip up at Alaves

Sevilla completed this week’s round of fixtures on Monday night but saw their title hopes suffer a blow after being held at Alaves. Wissam Ben Yedder fired the visitors in front but Alaves deservedly levelled through Aleksandar Katai with 15 minutes to go. Jorge Sampaoli’s side are now four points behind leaders Barcelona and their title hopes are fading, they are now 33/1 to win the title, but given how this season has gone so far, don’t rule them out just yet.

Week 26 Results in full

Real Betis 2-3 Real Sociedad
Leganes 1-0 Granada
Eibar 1-4 Real Madrid
Villarreal 2-0 Espanyol
Barcelona 5-0 Celta Vigo
Sporting Gijon 0-1 Deportivo
Atletico Madrid 3-0 Valencia
Las Palmas 5-2 Osasuna
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Malaga
Alaves 1-1 Sevilla