La Liga Week 32 Standings & Table: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo Both Score, Barcelona Remains in First Place
The top two soccer powerhouses in the Spanish Premier League showed off their true talents in dominating fashion in Week 32.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid each won their games by a combined five-to-one score.
Barcelona defeated fourth place Valencia, 2-0, at home. Valencia is known for having one of the best defenses in the league, but Barcelona found a way to score two goals. Luis Suarez continued his hot streak when he scored in the very first minute of play, and Barcelona never looked back. The 28-year-old Uruguayan now has 11 goals, and with his late season consistency, Barcelona is nearly unbeatable.
Naturally, Lionel Messi scored, as well. Messi found the net in extra time to secure the deal on a breakaway against goalkeeper Diego Alves. With that goal, Messi now has 400 career goals for Barcelona, not including friendly exhibition games, of course. A total of 278 of those goals are La Liga, which is the most in soccer history. Messi has 35 La Liga goals this season.
Barcelona is now 25-3-4 with 78 points. They've been in first place over the last seven weeks ahead of their rival Real Madrid. Barcelona will play Espanyol next week on the road, who they beat in Week 14, 5-1.
As for Real Madrid, they're not giving Barcelona much breathing room.
Real Madrid picked up a 3-1 victory over Malaga. With that win, Real Madrid is now 25-1-6 with 76 points. Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the deal when he scored in extra time, just like Messi. Ronaldo now has an incredible 39 goals this season, the most of any player. If he is going to break Messi's single season record, he will have to score 12 goals in the final six games.
Gareth Bale suffered a calf injury, and he could miss up to three weeks. Fortunately for Real Madrid, Colombian superstar James Rodriguez is back in action for a late season run. Rodriguez scored against Malaga in the 69th minute for his 10th goal of the season.
Real Madrid will play Celta Vigo in their next game.
Atletico Madrid defeated Deportivo to get their 69th point of the season. It will be tough for them to repeat as champions, but they aren't giving up just yet. At this point, it's pretty obvious that Barcelona and Real Madrid are the heavy favorites with just six games remaining. The two teams have already played each other twice this season, so it will come down to how they perform against other squads down the stretch.
La Liga Week 32 Standings
1. Barcelona: 25-3-4, 78 points
2. Real Madrid: 25-1-6, 76 points
3. Atletico Madrid: 21-6-5, 69 points
4. Valencia: 19-8-5, 65 points
5. Sevilla: 19-6-7, 63 points
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