After another busy round of fixtures in Spain, here is a round-up of the league that includes 13 of the shortlist of players to win the Ballon D’or.

The Big Two

No La Liga conversation is complete without reference to Real Madrid and Barcelona, and this is where our review starts. Despite surprise package Levante topping the table for the first few rounds of La Liga, their bubble has now been burst somewhat and all attention is back on the top two. Real, under the Special One are in scintillating form, scoring for fun and managing to keep clean sheets to boot. Both Higuain and Benzema are on fire, giving Mourinho the dilemma of his life when picking his starting striker. Add to this the form of Ronaldo and the resurgence of one Kaka, and the fact that Real can now offer solutions when Xabi Alonso is effectively man marked during games, they are looking more than a match for Barca.

Of course they went into the first Classico and mauling one point ahead of their fierce rivals, so Barca will not be unduly worried. However, one thing that Real have in their locker this season is the ability to grind out a 1 – 0 win – something that was lacking last season during games where teams effectively parked the bus in front of their goal and closed down Alonso. This was shown on the weekend where Sociedad literally played with a back five at the Anoeta, yet Madrid scored early courtesy of Higuain and held on for a hard fought win. Not a vintage Madrid performance but one that shows how far they have come under Mourinho.

Regardless of Los Blancos topping the table by as point, most people’s favourites for the La Liga crown is reigning champions Barcelona, who looked back to their best at the Camp Nou, with Messi making a clear signal to fans and the media with his goal celebration after his hat trick – the prolific striker had failed to score in 3 games yet after being played in his preferred position down the centre not the dreaded wing for the game, with Barca putting a grand total of 5 past a hapless Mallorca.

The Surprise of the season

Most people thought that the team wearing blue and red stripes would be the ones to top la liga throughout the season, and they have been for the past few rounds – yet it was Levante not  Barcelona doing this. Levante have been everyone’s surprise of the season and have looked to be living some sort of footballing fairy tale thus far, before this weekend being unbeaten, even being able to claim a victory over Mourinho’s men at the Ciudad de Valencia.

In players such as Sergio Ballesteros, Valencia have a core of seasoned professionals who offer much more to the team than their average age would suggest, and new coach Martinez settling into life at Levante quicker than anyone could have expected.

However this weekend the bubble was somewhat burst with a 2 – 0 defeat at the hands of Osasuna. Several things were said after the game – Martinez praised his players for their unbeaten run, the media inevitably predicted a rapid slide down the table to mimic that of Espanyol last season and it was noted that due to their small squad who are mostly the wrong side of thirty, a couple of injuries and suspensions will have serious effects on the team from Valencia. Yet should they take the lead, especially at home, Levante are dogged in their defending and whilst they are probably not going to finish in the European places, they should manage to avoid the relegation fight they were involved in last tie round.

The best of the rest

Valencia – after a  slightly slow start, Valencia are picking up pace, and have been fast climbing the table. They now occupy 4^th place after the weekend’s victory and have their eye on the third place that is currently held by local rivals Levante. After losing their three best players – Villa, Silva and Mata over the last couple of seasons, huge amounts of credit has to be given to long-time coach – well for a league famous for waving white handkerchiefs at Managers, being at the helm since 2008 is a long time – Unai Emery, who has weathered all of this and still managed to keep Valencia widely viewed as the ‘best of the rest’.

Sevilla – Currently sitting in 5^th place, there is now a gap opening up between the top four and the rest after a shock victory for Granada at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. In a season full of surprises, this can be put down to a bad day at the office for Sevilla who next up face  a flailing Mallorca side and will expect to bounce back and take all three points.

Atletico Madrid – one side who expect to e doing much better are the second best team in Madrid, Atletico, who fully expect to be sat in the top four. However, after a poor start to the season they sit 10^th, with a sizeable gap between themselves and the champion’s league places. After a good victory against Zaragoza, Atletico will be looking to this as a kick-start to their season.  With few goals scored this season and fan protests calling for Aragonez to return, the pressure on Gregorio Manzano has been alleviated slightly, yet improvements are vital.

Malaga – the Andalucians were the team that, after a huge influx of money then players, not to mention coach Manuel Pellagrini were everyone’s favourites to break into the top four this season. However this, so far, has not come to pass, and Malaga have been struggling, and were so lucky against Espanyol receiving a penalty for a very dubious handball and do not seem to be gelling quite in the way they should be.

The relegation Battle

Getafe sit rock bottom and after a heavy loss last weekend things look no brighter with local rivals Atletico up next. A shock victory for Granada gave them much needed points, yet the newly promoted Andalucians need to improve their form and fast if they don’t want to go straight back down.  The final club to occupy a spot in the bottom 3 is Racing, and the victory by a single goal over Betis cannot be underestimated in importance. Hector Cuper and his team will be looking to now climb the table, starting with the away tie at Granada next round.

Whilst Betis and Rayo have made decent starts, only 4 points separate both these promoted sides from the relegation zones, and they are still in danger and will be looking over their shoulders until a real gap is formed.

Villarreal – after a vital 2 – 0 win over Rayo this weekend, despite the missed penalty from skipper Marcos Senna, the yellow submarines have shot up the table and out of the relegation zone to 13^th.  With an European campaign still to worry about, not to mention keeping their head above the relegation zone, Garrido has his work cut out for him.

The bottom half of the table is so tight, with only 5 points separating rock bottom Getafe and 11^th placed Rayo, so anyone who has a poor run of form or can piece together a run of victories can drastically change their fortunes so early on in the season.

Game of Next round –  Levante v Valencia

3^rd play host to 4^th in a real test of Levante’s credentials. A must see.

FREE football app that pays you to view ads

Promoted last season, Levante are six places and three points better off than Zaragoza, but are safe from the relegation mire.

But Mallorca, Real Sociedad, and Osasuna – 13th, 14th and 15th respectively – are all one point worse off than Levante.

They are level on 44 points, two points clear of the relegation zone.

Mallorca are at home to Atletico Madrid, who must win if they are to have a chance of finishing in a Europa League qualification spot.

Osasuna host Villarreal, a team already assured of fourth place and a route into the Champions League qualification rounds.

Sociedad are at home to Getafe, who are just one point clear of the relegation zone in 16th place.

Level with Getafe on 43 points, but beneath them in 17th place courtesy of an inferior goal difference, are Deportivo La Coruna.

Deportivo won the La Liga title in 2000 and reached the Champions League semi-finals as recently as 2004, but could find themselves in the second tier next season, unless they pick up points at home to third-placed Valencia.

In other matches, Real Madrid fans could be in for a goal glut when Cristiano Ronaldo, soon to be confirmed as winner of the Pichichi award for the league’s leading scorer, takes to the field against already-relegated Almeria.

Sporting Gijon travel to Hercules, who have also already been consigned to the Second Division, while champions Barcelona are away to Malaga.

In the fight to secure a Europa League berth, fifth-placed Sevilla are away to Espanyol, while sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao also away against Racing Santander.

Sevilla and Bilbao are level on 55 points and need to win if they are to keep ahead of Atletico.

But they went one better, with a goal in the 55th minute from Argentine midfielder Leonardo Ponzio securing three vital points that to move Zaragoza one point behind Deportivo.

Javier Aguirre’s Zaragoza are away to Levante on the last day of the season next Sunday, with Deportivo at home to Valencia.

Getafe are 16th and one point clear of the drop after they won 2-0 at home to Osasuna.

The defeat leaves Osasuna still in trouble at two points outside the bottom three, in 13th place.

Mallorca, in 14th, are another team that could go down on the final day after they lost 3-1 away to relegated Almeria.

Levante managed a point with a 0-0 draw away to third-placed Valencia.

In what makes for a nervy finish to the season, 12th-placed Levante are one of seven teams that could join Almeria and Hercules in the second tier next season.

In other matches, Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 3-1 away from home.

Real’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice in the victory to take his tally to 38 league goals for the season, equalling the all-time Spanish top-flight record.

He is now seven ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and on course to collect the Pichichi trophy for the La Liga top scorer.

Sevilla could yet secure Europa League qualification after beating Real Sociedad 3-1.

Former Tottenham striker Frederic Kanoute struck twice in the home win for Sevilla, which sees them join sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao and fifth-placed Atletico Madrid on 55 points.

Bilbao drew 1-1 at home to Malaga while Atletico won 2-1 at home to relegated Hercules, with ex-Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes scoring the winner.

Sporting Gijon came from a goal down to beat fellow mid-table side Racing Santander 2-1.

Real have second spot sewn up but they travel to meet fourth-placed Villarreal who need to claim full points if they are to have any chance of catching Valencia and securing automatic Champions League qualification.

Although Jose Mourinho’s team have little to play for but pride, they still want to finish the season with two more wins.

“The coach has asked us to finish the league by winning our games and we will try to do that,” said star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 36 goals for the season, just two behind the all-time record of 38 set by Athletico Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra in 1951 and Real’s Hugo Sanchez in 1990.

Villarreal are five points behind Valencia and are already guaranteed fourth spot and a place in the qualifiers, which looks like their most likely path to glory with Valencia needing only a point from their home clash with mid-table Levante to be sure of third.

Most of the action centres on the tussle for fifth and sixth place, and the Europa League places that go with them.

Athletic Bilbao are in fifth on 54 points, trailed by Sevilla (52), Atletico Madrid (52) while Espanyol (49) are also still in the mix.

Espanyol travel to Real Zaragoza, who need a win to escape the bottom three, while Bilbao will be looking to rebound from their 2-1 loss at Deportivo on Tuesday.

Atletico have the easiest match of all four Europa League contenders, taking on the already-relegated Hercules at home.

Getafe are just one point outside the drop zone, but will have to beat an Osasuna side who are riding a hot streak of form.

Osasuna have picked up three big wins in succession – posting a 1-0 win over Valencia on May 1 before thrashing Zaragoza 3-1 a week later and then coming from 2-0 down to beat Sevilla on Wednesday.

Sporting Gijon are still an outside chance to go down, and they play host to Racing Santander, while only pride will be on the line when Almeria – who are already relegated – tackle mid-table Mallorca.

Levante struck back in the 41st minute, when Felipe Caicedo got the better of Barca shot-stopper Victor Valdes.

Lionel Messi almost put the visitors ahead midway through the second half, but his shot rebounded back into play off the post.

That was as close as either side came to scoring in the closing stages, Barca doing enough to seal thei 21st La Liga title and third in succession.

The final whistle sparked jubilant scenes from the all-conquerin Barcelona outfit, which can go on to claim a trophy double if they beat Manchester United in the Champions League final later at Wembley Stadium in London later this month.

Elsewhere in Spain, Real Zaragoza’s hopes of escaping the relegation zone were dealt a serious blow after they went down 2-1 to fellow strugglers Real Sociedad.

Tamuda gave Sociedad the lead after 24 minutes at the Estadio Municipal de Anoeta, but Gabi looked to have given Zaragoza a share of the points when he equalised on 54 minutes.

But Aranburu broke Zaragoza hearts when he netted in the 88th minute, sending Sociedad five points clear of the drop zone, while Zaragoza remain one point from safety.

Almeria snapped a seven game losing run when they held on for a 0-0 draw against fourth-placed Villarreal.

It took 29 minutes for Iniesta to break the deadlock after he cut inside from the left and buried his shot into the bottom corner.

Pique doubled their advantage three minutes into the second half when he headed in a corner from Xavi at the near post.

Espanyol sit in eighth, four points from sixth-placed Atletico Madrid.

Osasuna scored three times in the last 30 minutes to move out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza.

Camunas, Sergio and Kike Sola struck in the second half after Lafita had given Zaragoza a 15th-minute lead.

The win moved Osasuna into 14th, two points clear of relegation, while Real Zaragoza slipped to 17th, only out of the drop zone on goal difference.

In Sunday’s other game, Mallorca and Villarreal played out a 0-0 draw.

Villarreal remain fourth on the table with Mallorca sitting in 11th.

In an ill-tempered affair, Madrid defender Pepe was sent off in the 61st minute, and Barcelona substitute goalkeeper Joes Pinto was also sent off after an ugly fracas at half-time.

The Pepe dismissal also resulted in Real coach Jose Mourinho being sent to the stands, and the post-match fallout was extensive – centring on Mourinho’s outspoken criticism of referee Wolfgang Stark, who he accused of favouring Barcelona.

Both teams enter the clash on the back of some poor league form, with Barca suffering a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad on Saturday, while Mourinho’s men all but handed their fierce rivals the title with their 3-2 loss at home to Real Zaragoza the same day.

Barca have an eight-point lead in the league with four games to play, meaning the Champions League is likely to be Real’s last chance of securing any more silverware this season after their victory in last month’s Copa Del Rey.

Tuesday’s game will be the fourth El Clasico encounter in 18 days.

The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu in La Liga action on April 16, before Cristiano Ronaldo scored an extra-time winner to hand Real the Copa Del Rey four days later.

Both managers have selection dilemmas ahead of the match, with Pep Guardiola’s Barca side particularly hard hit by injuries.

Skipper Carles Puyol is out, Andres Iniesta is in doubt, while French left-back Eric Abidal is still recovering from surgery to remove a tumour from his liver.

Defenders Maxwell and Adriano are both injured, and to further stretch Guardiola’s reserves at the back, Gabriel Milito and Martin Montoya will both miss out after they were hurt in the match with Real Sociedad.

Milito suffered a calf strain while Montoya – in his full match for the club – suffered a broken collarbone.

Mourinho has defensive headaches of his own, with Sergio Ramos and Pepe both suspended, but central defender Ricardo Carvalho should be back after his one-match ban.

Midfielder Sami Khedira is out through injury, but Mourinho could inject Kaka into the fray with the need for goals paramount, after the influential Brazilian was conspicuous by his absence in the first leg.

“Our rivals fought hard. It was a decisive game for them to stay in the Primera (Liga) and that is what happens when a team goes into a game well and the other side doesn’t,” Mourinho said.

“Today the coach was not able to motivate his players in the first half. The second half was good, but we gifted them three goals. They played with time on their side and had some luck.”

The former Chelsea and Inter boss rested Cristiano Ronaldo for the clash against the relegation-threatened Zaragoza, who were fourth from bottom before the start of the match.

“This team won in Valencia and in Bilbao, which are two difficult grounds. I have a clean conscience about that and I didn’t want to gift anything to Zaragoza or any of the other sides fighting to avoid relegation.”

And he defended his decision not to field his strongest eleven, which resulted in the side contriving to concede two first-half goals which was to be the foundation of their 3-2 defeat.

“This was a good day to gain confidence and for the players to show they can be first choice. It was my decision to leave Ronaldo out, I have (Gonzalo) Higuain and (Karim) Benzema and I saw them looking very motivated.”

Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who enjoyed a rare start for Real, accused his side of nonchalance.

“I think that we were really lazy in the first-half and showed a lack of spirit. We were slack. It cannot happen again this season,” Kaka told AS.

“You can lose points but not with the attitude we showed in the first-half. No matter what happens, you have to change that, as we did in the second-half.”

But despite the points disparity with table-topping Barcelona, who also happened to drop points in their encounter with Real Sociedad, the former World Player of the Year remains optimistic Madrid are still a chance for both the title and the Champions League.

“We believe in the comeback in Europe and in the league. As long as it is not beyond us mathematically, Madrid cannot stop fighting. We cannot go wrong the way we did today on Tuesday (for the second leg against Barcelona),” he said.

Defender Sergio Ramos echoed Kaka’s sentiments, insisting Madrid were not resigned to losing the Champions League semi-final tie as projected by Jose Mourinho in the post-game press conference.

“We have to change our mentality now to concentrate on the Champions League. It’s obviously difficult, but we will try to turn the score around. We wouldn’t even travel to Barcelona if we thought there was no chance,” the World Cup winner said.

However, the gap between second placed Real Madrid and Barca remains eight points after Pep Guadiola’s side was also defeated 2-1 by Real Sociedad.

At the Bernabeu, Jose Mourinho’s side were without key players Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Oezil, Angel Di Maria and Emmanuel Adebayor, and went two goals behind thanks to strikes from Lafita and Gabi on either side of half time.

Defender Sergio Ramos grabbed one back for Real, only for Lafita to double his tally on 77 mnutes and restore Zaragoza’s two-goal buffer.

French striker Karim Benzema again reduced the margin with five minutes remaining, but Ricardo Carvalho’s dismissal a minute later ended any hopes of a comeback.

Barcelona failed to take advantage of Real’s slip up, however Guardiola also took the chance to rest some of his stars.

Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, Victor Valdes and David Villa were all rested, but Argentine superstar Lionel Messi did start, and it was he who provided the assist for Thiago Alcantara to score the opener on 29 minutes.

Barcelona had a second goal ruled out for offside early in the second half, and lowly Sociedad stunned the visitors on 71 minutes when Diego Ifran pounced on a loose ball in the six yard box and poked the ball past goalkeeper Jose Pinto.

Xabi Prieto then converted from the penalty spot with seven minutes remaining in regular time after Javier Mascherano brought down Antoine Griezmann in the area, and the hosts clung on to a memorable three points.

It was the first time the two Spanish powerhouses lost on the same weekend of league football since May 23-24 2009, when Barcelona lost 1-0 to Osasuna and Real lost to Mallorca 3-1.

Atletico Madrid consolidated fifth spot and the Europa League berth that goes with it following a 1-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna.

Neither side made much of an impact going forward in the first period, but Deportivo defender Alberto Lopo’s dismissal on the hour mark turned the match, with Sergio Aguero breaking through for the winner on 80 minutes.

The result leaves Deportivo just three points clear of the relegation zone in 14th.

Real finished the match with 10 men after Pepe was sent off for a tackle on Dani Alves in the 61st minute.

It was the fifth time in the last five matches a team coached by Mourinho had a player dismissed against Barcelona.

The Portuguese manager believes video and picture evidence show Pepe winning the ball cleanly.

“An image is worth more than a thousand words, and they have all circled the Earth,” Mourinho said.

“I said what I said and I have nothing to add. Whoever criticises my words must criticise the images and think that the photos have been edited by Photoshop and that the video was staged. That is not the case. They are real photos and images.”

“I asked a question. I didn’t make accusations. I asked, ‘Why?’ Perhaps I will die without knowing the answer.”

Barca have formally requested UEFA investigate and sanction Real over the accusations of bias.

In response, the club from the Spanish capital have lodged their own complaint with the European governing body, asking UEFA to look into Barca’s alleged tactic of simulation.

Mourinho has no intention of allowing the controversy surrounding his comments to force him out of the Bernabeu.

“I now have even more desire to continue coaching Real Madrid because of what this club represents,” he said.

“The shirt is white and white has a meaning.”

Mourinho’s side visit Real Zaragoza in La Liga on Saturday, with Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo to be rested ahead of the second leg against Barca.

“Lass and Xabi Alonso are physically exhausted because they spent too much time playing 11 on 10,” Mourinho said.

“We don’t have many midfielders and they need to be fit to play next Tuesday.”

“Cristiano will not suit up because we have enough options in attack with (Gonzalo) Higuian, (Karim) Benzema and (Emmanuel) Adebayor.”