La Liga, Week 21: Ronaldo gets a hat-trick, so Messi scores four

Sevilla moves up to 11th place with the win while Granada remain out of the drop zone thanks to poor results from the three teams below them.

It took awhile for Sevilla to get their second and put the game to bed.

Javier Saviola put the visitors ahead in the 10th minute, jumping on a loose ball in the Mallorca box off a set piece and beating Juan Calatayud with a shot in the bottom right corner. Isco added a second just six minutes later, hammering in a volley at the far post off a cross from Nacho Monreal.

Mallorca clawed back in the game right before half time when Victor Casadesus got off a shot from the center of the Malaga box, beating Wilfredo Caballero and reducing Malaga’s lead to 2-1. struck to reduce the deficit.

The aforementioned Thibaut Courtois kept Athletic off the board in the first half making several outstanding saves, but even the greatest goalkeeper in the world couldn’t stop the chances that Athletic generated in the second half.

In the 50th minute Mikel San José got loose in front of the Atletico goal and headed in a cross from Markel Susaeta that put the home side ahead at last 1-0.

Barcelona got started early in the 11th minute when Xavi provided ones of his trademark beautiful passes to Messi in the Osasuna box. The Argentine went right around Osasuna goalkeeper Andrés Fernández and put Barca in the lead 1-0.

Osasuna answered back though, finding an eqaulizer in the 23rd minute. A clearance attempt by the Barcelona defense fell to Raoul Loe on the edge of the box and he fired a low shot past Victor Valdés in the bottom left corner of the goal.

Real Madrid came out immediately on the front foot and looking hungry, although a spirited display by Getafe was to keep them out in the opening stages. Some superb play from Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria early on was to herald a warning for the rest of the match, but Miguel Angel Moya made a fine save from the Portuguese forward’s fierce shot.

Gonzalo Higuain should have made it 2-0 immediately afterwards, but the Argentinian striker was suffering from a poor game all afternoon, not involved in any of Madrid’s best passages of play, and he showed his poor form by sending a poor header over the bar after being teed up perfectly by Mesut Ozil’s cross.

A year ago Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao were playing for the Europa League title. Now these two teams meet in much different circumstances with both sides trying to accomplish entirely different agendas.

Athletic Bilbao injuries and suspensions

Osasuna boss Jose Luis Mendilibar could debut his latest signing midfielder Francisco Silva, who joined the club from Universidad Catolica in Chile this week.

Barcelona injuries and suspensions

Real Madrid injuries and suspensions

Getafe injuries and suspensions

Here’s a wrap up of today’s action from La Liga.

I’ll be honest they’re not really any great match-ups on the schedule this week but you can’t get juicy games every time out. The most interesting game might end up being Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid simply because Atleti are trying to stay in second place and Atheltic are just plain awful right now.

(16:00 CET, 10:00AM ET)