Barcelona won its sixth consecutive La Liga game with a Week 23 win over Levante.

Lionel Messi continued his hot scoring streak with an impressive hat trick. With that hat trick, Messi has tied Cristiano Ronaldo for the most three-goal games in La Liga history with 23. Messi has scored an incredible 11 goals over his last six games and now has 26 for the season. Messi also leads the league in assists with 13.

With that lopsided 5-0 victory over Levante, Barcelona improved their record to 18-2-4, giving them 56 points. In that win, Neymar scored his 17th goal of the season, and Luis Suarez made an amazing bicycle kick that found the net in the 73rd minute. Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was once again perfect. The Chilean netminder got another shutout, proving to be by far the best goalie this season thus far.

Barcelona will play Malaga next week.

A huge win, but Barcelona remains in second place behind its rivals.

Real Madrid got a much-needed win against Deportivo. Last week, Real Madrid suffered a terrible defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Madrid Derby, 4-0. This week, the team turned things around with a 2-0 win at home. Despite the win, Cristiano Ronaldo was held scoreless yet again. The two-time Ballon d'Or winner appears to be in the middle of a little slump over the last month and a half. Ronaldo still leads all of La Liga with 28 goals, but Messi is catching up.

A shutout is just what Iker Casillas needed to quiet his critics. With that crucial win, Real Madrid has a league-high 19 wins, giving the team 57 points. This is an interesting time for Real Madrid and head coach Carlo Ancelotti because James Rodriguez is sidelined and Ronaldo is struggling to find the net. Rodriguez is still recovering from a broken foot, and his exact return is not yet known.

Real Madrid will play Elche next week.

As for the defending champion, it was a disappointing week. There's no doubt about it: Atletico Madrid was the biggest loser this week, after being the biggest winner last week. Last week Atletico Madrid dominated Real Madrid but fell flat on Sunday. Atletico Madrid lost to Celta Vigo, 2-0.

Atletico Madrid has 50 points, and the team is still far from out of a second consecutive Spanish League title. The problem with Atletico Madrid this season has been consistency. Despite sweeping and beating Real Madrid in both of its games this season, the team continues to lose to lower seeded teams. If Atletico Madrid doesn't clean up its act, this could become a two-team race.

Atletico Madrid plays Almeria next week.

We still have 15 weeks of exciting La Liga soccer remaining. Barcelona is on a hot streak thanks to its Argentinian superstar, and Real Madrid is still on top of the standings. Only time will tell who finishes on top.

La Liga Standings, Top 5 Teams

1. Real Madrid: 19-0-4, 57 points

2. Barcelona: 18-2-4, 56 points

3. Atletico Madrid: 16-2-5, 50 points

4. Valencia: 14-5-4, 47 points

5. Sevilla: 14-3-6, 45 points

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