Temas: La Liga, Barcelona, Girona, Lionel Messi, Espanyol, Real Madrid, Karim Benzema
Messi extended his dominance in La Liga with one more goal, while Benzema was Real Madrid's guiding light against Espanyol.

The Spanish top flight is well underway in the second round of games, and things are getting tougher as time goes by. 

Valencia was the main protagonist this weekend, as Los Naranjeros are now seventh thanks to a three-match streak without a loss. Marcelino García's men are two points behind Getafe, currently in sixth place, which will surely make the fight to enter European competitions a tad more exciting.

Regarding the league leaders, Barcelona defeated Girona for the second time this season, keeping their five-point advantage over Atlético. The red and white side also collected three points by beating Getafe, while Real Madrid kept up with the pace by beating Espanyol with a 4-2 score.

Have a look at La Liga's standings after 21 games.

Pos.EquipoPJGEPGFGCDIFPRacha
1 Real Madrid 33 26 6 1 71 22 +49 84 GGGGG
2 Barcelona 33 22 7 4 68 39 +29 73 GPGGG
3 Girona 33 22 5 6 69 40 +29 71 GGPGP
4 Atlético Madrid 33 20 4 9 62 39 +23 64 GPGGP
5 Athletic Club 33 16 10 7 53 33 +20 58 PEEPG
6 Real Sociedad 33 13 12 8 46 35 +11 51 PEEGG
7 Real Betis 33 12 13 8 41 39 +2 49 EGGPP
8 Valencia 33 13 8 12 37 38 -1 47 PPGGE
9 Villarreal 33 12 9 12 54 55 -1 45 GGEPG
10 Getafe 33 10 13 10 41 45 -4 43 GEEPG
11 Osasuna 33 11 6 16 37 49 -12 39 PPPGP
12 Deportivo Alavés 33 10 8 15 31 38 -7 38 GGPPP
13 Sevilla 33 9 11 13 42 46 -4 38 EGGGP
14 Las Palmas 33 10 7 16 30 41 -11 37 PPPPP
15 Rayo Vallecano 33 7 13 13 27 42 -15 34 PGEEG
16 Mallorca 33 6 14 13 27 39 -12 32 EPPEG
17 Celta de Vigo 33 7 10 16 37 50 -13 31 PGPEG
18 Cádiz 33 4 14 15 23 46 -23 26 EPPGP
19 Granada 33 4 9 20 36 61 -25 21 GEGPP
20 Almería 33 1 11 21 32 67 -35 14 PPEPG

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

Stats emerging from Matchday 21

Once again, Lionel Messi's name will be around to make waves, mainly due to his goal against Girona. The Argentine star has scored in each and every single La Liga venue he's played in after finding the back of the net against the red-and-white side.

Speaking about Real Madrid, two players scored goals that helped them feel proud. The first one of them was captain Sergio Ramos, who managed to reach quite a milestone before being subbed off.

Then, the over-criticized Karim Benzema reached quite a milestone in his career with his brace against Espanyol, in what has been deemed as one of his best performances when wearing a Real Madrid jersey.

Pichichi race

Lionel Messi added one more goal to his tally in the best scorer's race. It doesn't seem to be any player capable of matching his tally, so, should we give him the Golden boot right away?