Big games, especially derbies, don't always live up to the hype but Sunday's Madrid Derby was one of those matches that did. Atlético Madrid will be disappointed to have let three points slip away late but a draw wasn't the worst result for them. They remained within three points of Real Madrid and secured the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over their rivals which could be important if they were to end up tied at the end of the season.
La Liga, Round 26 review: Athletic Bilbao were the big winners this round
Barcelona took advantage of a draw in the Madrid Derby to close within a point of Real Madrid but it was Atheltic Bilbao who benefited the most from the weekend’s results.
Barcelona pulled away late from Almeria with four different Blaugrana players scoring goals. The result allowed Barca to remain in second place and close to the gap on Real Madrid to just a single point.
Athletic Bilbao were big winners both in terms of scoreline and results. Their 4-0 win over Granda combined with Villarreal's surprising draw against Real Betis and Real Sociedad's loss against Sevilla have Athletic comfortably in control of fourth place.
Málaga's draw against Real Valladolid means that while the Anchovies remain on the cusp of the drop zone, they prevented a team behind them in the standings from gaining any ground on them. Málaga remained three points clear of Valladolid and ahead of Almeria -- who are 17th -- on goal differential.
Rayo Vallecano shocked Valencia 1-0 to pull even on points with Real Valladolid.
Here’s a recap of all the results from round 26 in Spain.
Athletic Bilbao 4-0 Granada
Málaga 1-1 Real Valladolid
Elche 1-0 Celta Vigo
Villarreal 1-1 Real Betis
Atlético Madrid 2-2 Real Madrid
Sevilla 1-0 Real Sociedad
Barcelona 4-1 Almeria
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