MADRID
Barcelona defeated reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid 3-1 in their week 18 game at the Nou Camp on Sunday night.
Home team Barcelona started the game with pressure and took the lead when their flamboyant Brazilian forward Neymar scored in the 11th minute. Barca doubled the margin in the 34th minute after Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez found the net.
In the second half, Atletico Madrid were awarded a penalty after Lionel Messi brought down Jesus Gamez in the box. Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic converted the penalty successfully.
Away team Atletico Madrid tried to equalise but Argentine star forward Messi scored for Barcelona with three minutes to go, making the final score 3-1.
Securing their runners-up position in the standings, Barca, with 41 points, are now just one point behind league leaders Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid are third with 38 points.
Atletico Madrid's Turkish star Arda Turan played in the match and shaped his team's offensive plays, especially in the second half.
Before the game, Lionel Messi was awarded a prize by the Spanish Professional Football League for breaking La Liga's highest goal scorer record. Messi set the record by scoring a hat-trick against Sevilla on Dec. 7.
Title contenders Real Madrid, who currently lead the league, beat Espanyol 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Saturday. Colombian attacking midfielder James Rodriguez, Welsh winger Gareth Bale and Spanish defender Nacho all scored a goal each.
Week 18 in La Liga will end on Monday night, with Rayo Vallecano hosting Cordoba in the last game of the week. The match kicks off at 20:45 CET (1945 GMT).
- Results of the week are as follows:
Levante 0-0 Deportivo La Coruna
Real Madrid 3-0 Espanyol
Malaga 1-1 Villarreal
Celta Vigo 1-1 Valencia
Eibar 2-1 Getafe
Almeria 0-2 Sevilla
Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Elche
Granada 1-1 Real Sociedad
Barcelona 3-1 Atletico Madrid
- Standings in La Liga are as follows:
| Rank | Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts |
|---|
| 1 |
Real Madrid |
17 |
14 |
0 |
3 |
59 |
15 |
44 |
42 |
| 2 |
Barcelona |
18 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
44 |
9 |
35 |
41 |
| 3 |
Atletico Madrid |
18 |
12 |
2 |
4 |
35 |
18 |
17 |
38 |
| 4 |
Sevilla |
17 |
11 |
3 |
3 |
28 |
17 |
11 |
36 |
| 5 |
Valencia |
18 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
32 |
15 |
17 |
35 |
| 6 |
Villarreal |
18 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
30 |
17 |
13 |
32 |
| 7 |
Malaga |
18 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
22 |
18 |
4 |
31 |
| 8 |
Eibar |
18 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
23 |
24 |
-1 |
26 |
| 9 |
Celta Vigo |
18 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
18 |
20 |
-2 |
21 |
| 10 |
Espanyol |
18 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
21 |
29 |
-8 |
20 |
| 11 |
Rayo Vallecano |
17 |
6 |
2 |
9 |
19 |
32 |
-13 |
20 |
| 12 |
Real Sociedad |
18 |
4 |
7 |
7 |
19 |
23 |
-4 |
19 |
| 13 |
Athletic Bilbao |
18 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
15 |
23 |
-8 |
19 |
| 14 |
Getafe |
18 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
14 |
24 |
-10 |
17 |
| 15 |
Deportivo La Coruna |
18 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
14 |
27 |
-13 |
17 |
| 16 |
Almeria |
18 |
4 |
4 |
10 |
15 |
27 |
-12 |
16 |
| 17 |
Levante |
18 |
3 |
7 |
8 |
13 |
33 |
-20 |
16 |
| 18 |
Cordoba |
17 |
2 |
8 |
7 |
13 |
27 |
-14 |
14 |
| 19 |
Elche |
18 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
17 |
35 |
-18 |
14 |
| 20 |
Granada |
18 |
2 |
8 |
8 |
11 |
29 |
-18 |
14 |
- Top scorers:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 26 goals
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 16 goals
Neymar (Barcelona) 12 goals
- Next week's fixtures are as follows:
Friday
Cordoba vs Eibar
Saturday
Real Sociedad vs Rayo Vallecano
Valencia vs Almeria
Villarreal vs Athletic Bilbao
Espanyol vs Celta Vigo
Sunday
Getafe vs Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid vs Granada
Deportivo La Coruna vs Barcelona
Elche vs Levante
Sevilla vs Malaga
