Topics: 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.TeamMPWDLGFGAGDPForm
1 Real Madrid 34 27 6 1 74 22 +52 87 WWWWW
2 Girona 35 23 6 6 75 44 +31 75 DWWWL
3 Barcelona 34 22 7 5 70 43 +27 73 LWLWW
4 Atlético Madrid 34 21 4 9 63 39 +24 67 WWLWW
5 Athletic Club 34 17 10 7 55 33 +22 61 WLDDL
6 Real Sociedad 34 14 12 8 48 35 +13 54 WLDDW
7 Real Betis 34 13 13 8 43 39 +4 52 WDWWL
8 Valencia 34 13 8 13 37 39 -2 47 LLLWW
9 Villarreal 34 12 9 13 56 58 -2 45 LWWDL
10 Getafe 34 10 13 11 41 47 -6 43 LWDDL
11 Deportivo Alavés 35 11 9 15 34 40 -6 42 DWWWL
12 Sevilla 34 10 11 13 45 46 -1 41 WDWWW
13 Osasuna 34 11 6 17 37 51 -14 39 LLLLW
14 Las Palmas 34 10 7 17 30 43 -13 37 LLLLL
15 Celta de Vigo 34 8 10 16 40 52 -12 34 WLWLD
16 Rayo Vallecano 34 7 13 14 27 43 -16 34 LLWDD
17 Mallorca 34 6 14 14 27 40 -13 32 LDLLD
18 Cádiz 34 4 14 16 23 49 -26 26 LDLLW
19 Granada 34 4 9 21 36 64 -28 21 LWDWL
20 Almería 34 2 11 21 33 67 -34 17 WLLDL

Champions League (Group Stage)
Europa League (Group Stage)
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?