5 Key Stats from La Liga Week 26

Other than one team struggling on their own at the bottom, there are very few spoilers as to what will happen in the title race or the relegation battle in Spain yet.

This weekend the top three were drawn closer together again—although gone are the days of the three-way tie—while there isn’t a team in the bottom half of the table who will be taking their survival for granted.

With just 12 matches left to play, here are the talking points from Jornada 26 in Spain’s top flight.

Costa flops, Madrid stay top

Hours before the Oscars it was Diego Costa’s acting—with cameos from Pepe and others—which scripted the Madrid derby at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday afternoon.

The Atletico Madrid forward suffered four fouls according to Squawka’s stats, none of which were the two he so desperately sought when tumbling in the box though—in the first half under challenge from Sergio Ramos and in the second from Alvaro Arbeloa.

Still, Costa could have written the headlines through other means had he not been so wasteful.

He wasted six chances in total. The one-on-one he dragged wide and an air kick inside the penalty box will be the ones to have kept him awake Sunday night.

One man who didn’t fluff his lines was Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward slammed home a late equaliser after Koke and Gabi had responded to Karim Benzema’s opener.

The draw means Atletico stay three points behind their city neighbours.

Barcelona cut the gap by two

Late goals from veterans Carles Puyol and Xavi eventually saw off a resilient Almeria at Camp Nou on Sunday evening and moved Barcelona to within point of the top spot.

Despite the fact that the night saw Lionel Messi score for the sixth consecutive game – this one a fine free-kick – it was Xavi who was the catalyst for the Catalan side. And not because he curled home a fine fourth goal during the win, but because he was allowed to dictate the game in a way which has been so beautifully common over the past decade.

His passing and control of of the match – he completed 96 percent of his 126 passes – was the platform for Barca to rack up an astonishing 29 shots throughout the game.

Alexis Sanchez scored the host’s other goal.

Aduriz treble gives Athletic air

Athletic Bilbao look more and more like claiming La Liga’s fourth and final Champions League spot, much to the disappointment of their challengers Villarreal and Real Sociedad—neither of whom could muster a win this weekend.

Aritz Aduriz struck a treble to steal the show in the Basque side’s latest win, as Ernesto Valverde’s men impressively saw off Granada 4-0 at the new San Mames.

His first goal was a header and his third a penalty, but it was his second, a rocket from the edge of the box, which he will have particularly enjoyed. It’s a good job they went in though, because his link up play (64 percent pass completion) and his work rate (0 tackles) wasn’t particularly effective.

Captain Carlos Gurpegi scored the final goal late on, as Athletic opened up a six point cushion on fifth place.

Valencia chopped down by desperate Rayo

Whenever Valencia look like they’ve turned a corner and are ready to kick on, it’s almost as if they intentionally remind us not to get too carried away.

They lost 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano this weekend, but this result was less about Los Che and more about the home side.

Joaquin Larrivey scored the only goal of the game in the second half, elevating Rayo onto 23 points in the process—level with the team, Real Valladolid, immediately above them—and eight points ahead of bottom of the table Betis.

Up the other end Valencia were wasteful—Paco Alcacer, who wasted three chances, in particular—but it is increasingly about getting into shape for next season now for them and their new manager Pizzi.

This defeat will not define their season.

Best of the rest

While Betis look increasingly doomed after their 1-1 draw with Villarreal, Rayo’s important win means there are plenty of clubs who are still battling to avoid joining the green half of Seville in La Segunda.

Villarreal’s midfielder Bruno Soriano celebrates his goal during the Spanish league football match Villarreal CF vs Real Betis Balompie at El Madrigal stadium

Malaga’s 1-1 draw with Rayo Valladolid - who currently occupy the third relegation spot – does little for either teams’ survival hopes, and the same can be said for goal-shy Getafe, who were held 0-0 by Espanyol.

Osasuna will still be looking over their shoulder too after they lost 2-0 at Levantes, while Elche scored a hugely important 1-0 win over the recently improved Celta Vigo.