La Liga Week 28 Standings & Table: Barcelona & Lionel Messi Defeat Real Madrid & Cristiano Ronaldo to Stay in First Place in Spanish League Standings

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Mar 24, 2015 05:00 AM EDT

What was called the "biggest week of the 2014-15 La Liga season" did not disappoint fans at all.

Real Madrid and Barcelona met for the second time this season, this time at the Camp Nou at Barcelona. Barcelona had a one point advantage in the standings, but it was Real Madrid who won this match-up back in Week 9.

Jérémy Mathieu put Barcelona on the board first with his goal in the 19th minute of play just after Cristiano Ronaldo hit the crossbar against Claudio Bravo. That goal came from a Lionel Messi free kick that Mathieu headed in right in front of the net. With that exceptional pass, Messi now has a league-leading 15 assists this season.

Ronaldo would soon get revenge. In the 31st minute of play, Ronaldo received an excellent behind the back pass from Karim Benzema right in front of the net. Ronaldo then connected on the one-timer to tie the game, 1-1. That was the 31st La Liga goal for Ronaldo this season, and 15th El Clasico goal of his career.

Neymar (who showed up wearing a mohawk) didn't have a great game by his standards. As usual he showed great dribbling skills but unfortunately missed a few opportunities to score. This game was very physical from the beginning with 11 yellow cards being issued, five for Barcelona and six for Real Madrid.

With the score tied 1-1 at halftime, many felt Barcelona was lucky to be tied because they had lost the time of possession battle and a Ronaldo goal had been disallowed because of an offside penalty. In the 51st minute, the former Liverpool forward broke the tie. Suarez received a half field pass along the right side of the field and just snuck the ball past Iker Casillas to make the score 2-1. That was Suarez's first career El Clasico goal, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Barcelona would hold on to that lead and never look back.

With that win, Barcelona is now 22-2-4 with 68 points. They will play Celta Vigo in their next game on the road. Over the last two and a half months, Barcelona has won 10 of their last 11 games. They know a 23rd Spanish League Championship is within their grasp if they just play well down the home stretch.

As for Real Madrid, a disappointing loss, but they're still not out of it. Real Madrid is now 21-1-6 with 64 points. It will be very difficult to overcome a Barcelona team that has won 10 of their last 11 games, especially considering the fact that they won't be playing each other against this season. Real Madrid will play Granada next week at home.

Valencia continued their winning ways, this time against Elche in a 4-0 route. Valencia has just one loss in their last 15 games, and are quietly climbing up the standings. Not only have they overtaken Atletico Madrid for third place, but they are now just four points behind Real Madrid for second place. Valencia still gets to play both Real Madrid and Barcelona once more this season. They will take on Villarreal next week.