Atletico Madrid move to the top of the La Liga table, as they beat Levante 1-0 at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday.
Club World Cup Champions Barcelona were guilty of being profligate in front of goals, as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw in the Catalan derby with Espanyol.
On Sunday, Real Madrid played out a classic La Liga encounter, drawing 2-2 in a thrilling game with Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium.
Villarreal stay just one point behind Real Madrid, as the Yellow Submarines won 2-1 against Deportivo.
Elsewhere, Malaga beat Celta Vigo 2-0, Sevilla suffered a 2-1 defeat against Granada, and Bilbao could only salvage a draw (2-2) against Las Palmas.
Here are all the results from Week 18 La Liga matches, followed by the updated standings, top scorers, and major talking points.
La Liga Week 18 Results
Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Levante
Malaga 2-0 Celta Vigo
Deportivo 1-2 Villarreal
Ath Bilbao 2-2 Las Palmas
Real Betis 0-4 Eibar
Granda CF 2-1 Sevilla
Rayo Vallecano 2-2 Real Sociedad
Valencia 2-2 Real Madrid
Sporting de Gijon vs Getafe
La Liga Table Week 18
La Liga Top Scorers After Week 18
Luis Suarez – 15
Cristiano Ronaldo – 14
Neymar – 14
Imanol Agirretxe – 12
Karim Benzema – 12
Lucas Martinez – 12
Aritz Aduriz – 11
Gareth Bale – 9
Borja Gonzales – 9
Antoine Griezmann – 9
La Liga Major Talking Points From Week 18
Atletico top of the league – Goals have been hard to come by for Atletico in recent weeks, but Diego Simeone’s side have somehow managed to grab wins and keep themselves in the title hunt.
Atletico 2015/16 dont look at all like a La Liga winning team, but super tight defence and knack of scoring useful late goals…
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) January 2, 2016
Atletico have now won seven La Liga games out of last eight, where they have amassed only 10 goals, and four of their victories have come with a 1-0 scoreline.
Love for Rafa Benitez at Mestalla – While Rafa Benitez hasn’t quite clearly won the hearts of the Madridistas, he is seen as a legend in Valencia. During his spell at Los Che, the Spaniard won two league titles with them, and the Valencia fans thanked him for his contribution to the club during their match against Real Madrid.
“Rafa. You gave us the best years of our lives thanks” – read one of the banners.
Barcelona struggled against physical Espanyol – As expected in a derby game, Espanyol played with more passion and energy, and were successful in preventing Barcelona from playing their natural game by adopting more physical approach.
The Blaugrana were equally culpable for being profligate in front of goals, although Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both rattled the woodwork.
Worrying stat – Real Madrid have now failed to beat Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Villarreal and Valencia this season.
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