La Liga – Round 27 Review: Real Madrid Keep Flying High, Fight For The Last Champions League Spot Fiercer Than Ever

Round 27 of La Liga has changed nothing at the top of the table. Real Madrid have kept their 10-point lead over FC Barcelona, after a 3-2 win in Seville against Betis. The Sevillian outfit put up a great fight, but in the end, as often has happened this season, JosAi?? Mourinho’s men prevailed, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brace to give Real Madrid the full three points and their 11th consecutive La Liga win.

Barcelona, on the other hand, have stringed four consecutive La Liga wins for the first time this season (which helps explain why they are so far from the first place) with a 2-0 win at El Sardinero against struggling Racing Santander, with Lionel Messi scoring a brace and taking his season tally to an unfathomable 50 goals, with more than two months left to go.

But while the title race hasn’t seen any changes, the fight for the last (and maybe the last two) Champions League spots is more interesting than ever. After a disappointing 2-2 draw against Mallorca, Valencia are now only four points ahead of Malaga and they don’t look such a lock to finish in their place anymore. But Malaga’s position isn’t exactly safe either; Levante and Osasuna are merely two points behind, while Athletic Bilbao are three points behind and AtlAi??tico Madrid and Espanyol four. The fight for the last Champions League spot couldn’t be fiercer and more intense. This week, Malaga beat Levante 1-0 at home to take the fourth spot, AtlAi??tico beat Granada 2-0 at home and Espanyol crushed Rayo Vallecano 5-1. After their midweek heroics at Old Trafford, Athletic Bilbao were visibly tired and lost 2-1 at Osasuna. Who will get the last Champions League spot, it’s anybody’s guess.

At the bottom, things are starting to look clearer. Zaragoza lost again, this time 3-0 at Real Sociedad, and they’re nine points away from the safety zone and six points below the 19th placed team, Sporting Gijon, who got a crucial 1-0 win over Sevilla to revamp their survival hopes. Villareal and Getafe will play a very important match tonight, with the winner getting a very important cushion in the quest to avoid relegation.

Goal of the Week

Fernando Llorente vs Osasuna

Despite Athletic’s somewhat unexpected defeat at Osasuna, their star striker Llorente scored an absolute stunner to give them some hope in the second half.

Match of the Week

Betis vs Real Madrid

It was one of the most entertaining matches of this season’s La Liga, played at an incredible fast pace and with several twists and turns. Betis stood up to the league leaders, but ultimately came away with nothing, perhaps undeservedly, as JosAi?? Mourinho himself acknowledged.

Referee Blunder of the Week

Betis vs Real Madrid

While the match was fantastic, it was stained by two terrible referee decisions that might have cost Betis a better result. The Sevillian outfit were denied two clear penalties for handball, the first with the score still at 2-2 and then one in the last minute of the match. Betis can definitely feel hard done by the referee’s decisions in this match.

Player of the Week

Kalu Uche (Espanyol)

Espanyol’s new signings Coutinho and Uche were on fire this weekend in the team’s 5-1 win over Rayo Vallecano, with Uche getting a sensational hat trick to cap up an extraordinary performance.

Team of the Week

Pablo (Sporting Gijon); Estrada (Real Sociedad), Botia (Sporting Gijon), Miranda (AtlAi??tico Madrid), Didac Villa (Espanyol); Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelona), Philippe Coutinho (Espanyol), AndrAi??s Iniesta (FC Barcelona); Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Kalu Uche (Espanyol)

Results

La Liga Standings (Top 5)

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