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.
Lionel Messi has scored or assisted a goal once every 53 minutes on average this season.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 17, 2019
37 games. 39 goals. 18 assists.
Out of this world. pic.twitter.com/58vRzxw8DY
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.
#Zidane
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) March 16, 2019
150 matches
105 wins
29 draws
16 defeats
9 trophies#HalaMadrid https://t.co/hUHBvE23A4
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?
0 - Atletico de Madrid failed to register a single shot in a first half of a LaLiga game for the first time under Diego Simeone. Fall. pic.twitter.com/ne8khDkalJ
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 16, 2019
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. | Equipo | PJ | G | E | P | GF | GC | DIF | P | Racha | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |