Themenbereiche: La Liga, Levante, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema
There were no changes among the top four teams this weekend, but that was irrelevant as soon as Messi stepped in to dazzle fans.

Another week has gone by in La Liga and Barcelona seems to be en route to defend their title properly.

The slow start of the season has not deterred Valverde's men from their goal, and with a brilliant Lionel Messi leading the pack, it's hard to see them not ending the season as the best team in Spain.

This week, Messi's hat-trick stole a number of headlines, especially since he became the most-winning player in Barcelona's history, with his 323 wins surpassing those accomplished by former team-mate Xavi. Furthermore, the Argentine ace scored his 50th goal in 2018, which means that he's repeated that feat in eight of the last nine years.

Speaking about Barcelona's bitter rivals, Real Madrid earned a hard-fought win against Rayo Vallecano, who made Los Blancos battle for a 1-0 victory. During that game, Karim Benzema managed to silence a few of his critics with the game-winning goal for one interesting reason.

Pichichi race

Once again, Messi extended his lead as the best striker in the Spanish top flight, with Cristiano Stuani and Luis Suárez a few goals behind.

La Liga standings after 16 games

At the moment this article is being written, there is only one game left to be played in Matchday 16. How will it change the landscape of the Spanish top flight?

Pos.MannschaftASSUVTEGTTDPLetzte 5
1 Real Madrid 33 26 6 1 71 22 +49 84 SSSSS
2 Barcelona 32 21 7 4 64 37 +27 70 VSSSS
3 Girona 32 21 5 6 67 40 +27 68 SVSVS
4 Atlético Madrid 32 19 4 9 59 38 +21 61 VSSVV
5 Athletic Club 32 16 10 6 52 30 +22 58 UUVSS
6 Real Sociedad 33 13 12 8 46 35 +11 51 VUUSS
7 Real Betis 32 12 12 8 40 38 +2 48 SSVVV
8 Valencia 32 13 8 11 35 34 +1 47 VSSUV
9 Villarreal 32 11 9 12 51 55 -4 42 SUVSS
10 Getafe 32 9 13 10 38 44 -6 40 UUVSV
11 Osasuna 32 11 6 15 37 46 -9 39 VVSVV
12 Sevilla 32 9 10 13 41 45 -4 37 SSSVU
13 Las Palmas 32 10 7 15 30 39 -9 37 VVVVV
14 Deportivo Alavés 32 9 8 15 28 38 -10 35 SVVVS
15 Rayo Vallecano 32 7 13 12 27 39 -12 34 SUUSV
16 Mallorca 32 6 13 13 26 38 -12 31 VVUSV
17 Celta de Vigo 32 7 10 15 37 47 -10 31 SVUSV
18 Cádiz 32 4 13 15 22 45 -23 25 VVSVS
19 Granada 32 3 9 20 33 61 -28 18 USVVV
20 Almería 32 1 11 20 31 64 -33 14 VUVSU

Champions League (Gruppenphase)
Europa League (Gruppenphase)
Promotion - Europa Conference League (Qualification: )
Relegation - LaLiga2