Barcelona top La Liga by five points after beating Las Palmas behind closed doors at the Camp Nou on Sunday, thanks to an inspired performance from Lionel Messi. Real Madrid, last season’s champions, are still seven points adrift of their great rivals, even after beating Espanyol with a brace from Isco.
Elsewhere, Valencia went third after edging Athletic Bilbao at the Mestalla, while Real Sociedad and Real Betis shared eight goals in a thrilling draw. Villarreal also won as Cedric Bakambu scored a hat-trick to make new manager Javier Calleja’s league debut a winning one.
Here are the final scores from all of Sunday’s matches:
Real Sociedad 4-4 Real Betis
Barcelona 3-0 Espanyol
Valencia 3-2 Athletic Bilbao
Villarreal 3-0 Eibar
Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol
Here’s what those scores mean for the standings:
Barcelona: 21
Sevilla: 16
Valencia: 15
Atletico Madrid: 15
Real Madrid: 14
Real Betis: 13
Leganes: 11
Real Sociedad: 10
Villarreal: 10
Levante: 9
Celta Vigo: 8
Getafe: 8
Athletic Bilbao: 8
Espanyol: 8
Deportivo La Coruna: 7
Girona: 6
Las Palmas: 6
Eibar: 6
Alaves: 3
Malaga: 1
The full standings are available, per BBC Sport.
The leaders were forced to play behind closed doors after protests involving an unauthorised poll asking people to vote on independence for Catalonia, per Sky Sports.
An understandably strange atmosphere stifled the game in the first half, which ended goalless. Barca finally broke Las Palmas down when Messi picked out Sergio Busquets to open the scoring.
Sky Sports Statto relayed a snapshot of the goal and detailed how long it had been since holding midfielder Busquets last found the net:
The goal was also a landmark moment for Messi, who reached triple digits as a provider, per OptaJose:
Messi put the game out of reach with his first score, continuing his terrific run in front of goal at home in the process, according to Sky Sports Statto:
The Argentinian is also bossing the scoring charts on the continent this calendar year, per Squawka Football:
Messi completed his brace 13 minutes from the end. The prolific No. 10 inspired Barca to stretch their lead at the top and pile the pressure on their title rivals.
Real’s response was to see off Espanyol with room to spare at the Santiago Bernabeu. Isco opened the scoring after being teed up by Ronaldo.
Just like Messi, Ronaldo achieved his own milestone as a provider:
Meanwhile, Sky Sports Statto noted how an Isco goal usually leads to three points for Los Merengues:
The three points were safe when Isco completed his brace on 71 minutes.
The day started with an eight-goal thriller between Real Sociedad and Real Betis at the Anoeta. A goal glut started when Antonio Sanabria put Betis ahead on six minutes before Willian Jose equalised for the hosts seven minutes later.
Mikel Oyarzabal made it 2-1 Sociedad, only for Zouhair Feddal to head in a devilish cross from Andres Guardado. It took Betis just 60 seconds after the restart to go in front for a second time when 36-year-old Joaquin finished with aplomb.
Xabi Prieto made it 3-3 just before the hour mark, but Sergio Leon thought he’d won it for Betis six minutes from time. Sociedad weren’t done, though, and rescued a point when Llorente got his head to a cross from Asier Illarramendi.
Betis are sixth, while Sociedad remain three points adrift of the UEFA Champions League places in eighth.
There were also goals galore when Valencia hosted Bilbao at the Mestalla. Simone Zaza and Daniel Parejo gave Los Che a two-goal lead before Aritz Aduriz answered back for the visitors.
It was a scoring milestone for the 36-year-old, per the league’s official Twitter account:
Sadly for Aduriz, his didn’t have long to reflect on his moment as Rodrigo soon restored Valencia’s two-goal cushion. Raul Garcia found the net for Athletic to make the hosts uncomfortable late on, but Los Che managed to see out a key win.
Valencia are now up to third on the watch of shrewd manager Marcelino. Zaza is providing a cutting edge up front, while former Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Paulista has slotted seamlessly into defence.
By contrast, Bilbao are struggling for points in 13th. Jose Angel Ziganda is finding that previous manager Ernesto Valverde, who now has Barca bossing the title race, a tough act to follow.
Marcelino once had Villarreal purring, but the Yellow Submarine managed to impress without him or recently deposed successor Fran Escriba. Bakambu’s hat-trick, completed from the penalty spot in the 76th minute, helped Calleja’s team heap more misery on Eibar.
The latter remain rooted in the bottom three after yet another humbling defeat. Meanwhile, Villarreal are up to ninth after an impressive win at El Madrigal.
Barca remain perfect, but Valencia are starting to make waves in the burgeoning title race. As for Real, the holders need to go up a gear if they are to replicate last season’s form.
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