Barcelona's anticipated win against Deportivo left La Liga in red alert, as next week's Clásico could be the final nail on the coffin of Real Madrid's hopes. Los Blaugranas scored four times against the blue-and-white side, even with Lionel Messi having a day to forget with three shots hitting the posts and one more penalty miss.
Their lead atop of the league stretched to six points, considering that Valencia lost for the second time in three games. Now, Atlético Madrid sit six points behind the league leaders. Meanwhile, Real Madrid is 11 points behind Valverde's men since their match against Leganés got re-scheduled. Have a look at La Liga's standings.
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 31 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 67 | 20 | +47 | 78 | WWWWD | |
| 2 | Barcelona | 31 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 62 | 34 | +28 | 70 | WWWWD | |
| 3 | Girona | 31 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 63 | 39 | +24 | 65 | LWLWL | |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 31 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 59 | 36 | +23 | 61 | WWLLW | |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 32 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 58 | DDLWW | |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 31 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 50 | DWWWL | |
| 7 | Valencia | 31 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 47 | WWDLW | |
| 8 | Real Betis | 31 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 45 | WLLLL | |
| 9 | Villarreal | 31 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 49 | 54 | -5 | 39 | DLWWW | |
| 10 | Getafe | 31 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 37 | 43 | -6 | 39 | DLWLD | |
| 11 | Osasuna | 31 | 11 | 6 | 14 | 36 | 44 | -8 | 39 | LWLLW | |
| 12 | Las Palmas | 31 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 29 | 35 | -6 | 37 | LLLLD | |
| 13 | Sevilla | 31 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 44 | -5 | 34 | WWLDW | |
| 14 | Deportivo Alavés | 31 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 32 | LLLWL | |
| 15 | Mallorca | 31 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 36 | -11 | 31 | LDWLW | |
| 16 | Rayo Vallecano | 31 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 38 | -13 | 31 | DDWLD | |
| 17 | Celta de Vigo | 31 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 46 | -13 | 28 | LDWLW | |
| 18 | Cádiz | 31 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 41 | -20 | 25 | LWLWD | |
| 19 | Granada | 32 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 33 | 61 | -28 | 18 | DWLLL | |
| 20 | Almería | 31 | 1 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 62 | -32 | 14 | DLWDL |
Regarding the league's top scorers' chart Lionel Messi kept his lead intact despite his baffling display at home. Luis Suárez's brace got him to nine goals, but he's still out of the top five spots.
The leading scorers in #LaLigaSantander!
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) December 17, 2017
Welcome to @GironaFC's @CristhianStuani! pic.twitter.com/RIkF6skdIv
One more Barcelona player made headlines this weekend, and it was none other than Paulinho. As of now, and with the posts as his "partners in crime", the Brazilian leads the goalscoring charts for players in his position. And to think Barça fans doubted him as a good reinforcement for the team's midfield.
6 - Paulinho has scored more goals than any other midfielder in La Liga this season. Predatory. pic.twitter.com/tqPUjZXkyo
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 17, 2017
La Liga will scatter the rest of their games this week, with Matchday 17 starting on Tuesday and concluding next Saturday, hours after El Clásico is played at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
