Temas: La Liga, Real Madrid, Celta Vigo, Real Betis, Barcelona, Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi
Another hat-trick by the Argentine cemented his spot as the best striker in Europe, but that was not the only thing to talk about during the weekend.

This weekend in La Liga brought several talking points for fans around the world, most of them surrounding the so called "Big Three".

Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga, thanks to Atlético's 2-0 slip up against Athletic and yet another scintillating performance by Lionel Messi. The Argentine ace scored his 33rd hat-trick in history to earn a double-digit lead over Los Colchoneros with just ten games to go.

Speaking about Messi, the man seems to be living one of the best seasons of his already impressive career. He has a massive lead in the Golden Boot race, and his assist rate is also something else. Here's a look at some of his numbers considering all competitions.

With no trophies to fight for, Zidane's appointment as coach surprised quite a few fans and experts. Nevertheless, the French boss is already making waves at Real Madrid, and a second-place finish does not seem far-fetched after this weekend's match. Zidane had a nice return to the Bernabeu and earned himself a piece of history with Los Blancos.

Saturday also brought us a confirmation of the woeful form shown by Atlético, which ended their Champions League run and practically killed their title hopes. How can a team with some of the most talented strikers go over 130 minutes without a shot on goal?

Pichichi race

As mentioned before, Messi extended his lead at the top of La Liga's goalscoring charts. His closest rival is none other than Luis Suárez, who is nine goals behind him in this department. Should the Pichichi be renamed once Messi calls it quits?

La Liga standings after Matchday 28

It seems that only a tragedy would take the title away from Barcelona at this point. Atlético's loss re-opened the battle for the second place between Los Colchoneros and Real Madrid, and for those trying to avoid relegation, Valladolid and Villarreal earned some breathing space with their wins this weekend.

Pos.EquipoPJGEPGFGCDIFPRacha
1 Real Madrid 31 24 6 1 67 20 +47 78 GGGGE
2 Barcelona 31 21 7 3 62 34 +28 70 GGGGE
3 Girona 31 20 5 6 63 39 +24 65 PGPGP
4 Atlético Madrid 31 19 4 8 59 36 +23 61 GGPPG
5 Athletic Club 31 16 9 6 51 29 +22 57 EPGGE
6 Real Sociedad 31 13 11 7 45 33 +12 50 EGGGP
7 Valencia 31 13 8 10 34 32 +2 47 GGEPG
8 Real Betis 31 11 12 8 38 37 +1 45 GPPPP
9 Villarreal 31 10 9 12 49 54 -5 39 EPGGG
10 Getafe 31 9 12 10 37 43 -6 39 EPGPE
11 Osasuna 31 11 6 14 36 44 -8 39 PGPPG
12 Las Palmas 31 10 7 14 29 35 -6 37 PPPPE
13 Sevilla 31 8 10 13 39 44 -5 34 GGPEG
14 Deportivo Alavés 31 8 8 15 26 38 -12 32 PPPGP
15 Mallorca 31 6 13 12 25 36 -11 31 PEGPG
16 Rayo Vallecano 31 6 13 12 25 38 -13 31 EEGPE
17 Celta de Vigo 31 6 10 15 33 46 -13 28 PEGPG
18 Cádiz 31 4 13 14 21 41 -20 25 PGPGE
19 Granada 31 3 8 20 32 60 -28 17 GPPPP
20 Almería 31 1 11 19 30 62 -32 14 EPGEP

Champions League, Fase de Grupos
Europa League, Fase de Grupos
Promotion - Europa Conference League (Qualification: )
Relegation - LaLiga2