La Liga Round-up: 10-man Barca sink Atletico to climb into top-four

Topics: La Liga, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Real Sociedad, Athletic Club

Another excellent weekend of football action concluded with interesting results emerging from the 10 match centers.

This weekend's La Liga action provided yet another spectacle for fans to relish as clubs went at it once more to determine their respective fate. The eye-catching match-up of the round between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid did well to live up to expectations with the level of entertainment it served. At the end, it was Barca who emerged on top with what was arguably their best attacking performance of the season. Los Bluagrana managed to climb into the top-four for the first time since September, securing a 4-2 win even after Dani Alves was sent-off against the capital club.

Elsewhere, Sevilla took a massive hit in their charge to chase down leaders Real Madrid after being held to a goalless draw in their trip to Osasuna. It was not for the lack of trying as after squandering several goalscoring chances that came their way, Ivan Ratikic missed a 93rd-minute penalty to sum up the frustrating night. Real Madrid subsequently benefited from the slip-up, winning 1-0 against Granada to increase the point difference between them and Sevilla to six.

Third-place Real Betis also failed to consolidate their status among the top three by picking up a 2-0 defeat when they hosted Villarreal. Find out all you need to know in relation to La Liga after matchday 23 below:

Top five teams in La Liga

La Liga top 3 goalscorers

Top La Liga headlines, key stats, and facts

Unai Emery tips Barcelona as favorites in race for top-four: Villarreal boss Emery believes Barcelona are favourites in the race to secure a Champions League qualification spot for next season. The former Arsenal boss opined the the Catalans have the upper hand now following their recent transfer activity.
Dani Alves landed triple milestones as Barca thump Atleti: Dani Alves became the first Barca player to score, assist and see a red card in a single La Liga game since, at least, 2004/05 season.
Real Madrid hierarchy unbothered by Mbappe's admission: Real Madrid are said to be calm over the Kylian Mbappe situation despite some concerning words from the Frenchman. Mbappe remains a Real Madrid target ahead of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expiring this summer but the Frenchman has stated that playing against Los Blancos in the Champions League changes everything and that he has yet to make a decision.
Atletico Madrid land unwanted record with Barcelona defeat: Against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid conceded 4+ goals for the third time in a single league game under Diego Pablo Simeone. It was the first one since December 2012 also against Barcelona in the first game under the Argentinian at Camp Nou (4-1).