With the World Cup coming up in the summer, games are being packed in thick and fast, week 30 squeezed in to three midweek days between Tuesday and Thursday. The top three all played on Wednesday though, Real Madrid losing 2-1 at Sevilla for a second defeat in only three days. Ronaldo did put them ahead early on, but a goal in each half by Bacca gave the Andalusians a win which keeps them in fifth place. Madrid drop to third, Atlético returning to the top after a 1-0 victory over Granada, Diego Costa coming to the rescue once again after the visitors had put up a good fight. Earlier in the evening Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 win over Celta which kept them a point behind Simeone’s side in the table, Messi getting his usual goal and Neymar finally coming alive to help himself to a brace. That last match of the season between Barça and Atleti in the Nou Camp may well be the decider this year?

Positions below the top three are becoming clearer though, with Athletic Bilbao currently favourites for the last Champions League spots, and Sevilla, Real Sociedad and Villarreal looking good for the Europa League places. Real Sociedad and Villarreal both won by a single goal on Thursday, Carlos Vela and Perbet the scorers to maintain an eight point gap over eighth place, currently occupied by Espanyol. They beat Málaga 1-2 on Tuesday, Sergio García scoring his twelfth of the season before setting up Pizzi for the winner. Further down the table Rayo Vallecano took a step closer to safety after a 1-0 victory over Osasuna, Larrivey converting a ninetieth minute penalty, and bottom club Betis have not given up just yet, Jorge Molina and Rubén Castro both scoring in a 1-3 win at Levante. (28.03.14)

Pichichi League Cup Europe Total (Penalties)
Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 27 3 13 43 (9)
Messi (Barcelona) 22 5 8 35 (6)
Diego Costa (Atlético) 24 1 7 32 (4)
Benzema (Real Madrid) 16 2 4 22 (0)
Alexis (Barcelona) 17 2 0 19 (0)
Griezmann (Real Sociedad) 15 3 1 19 (0)
Bacca (Sevilla) 14 0 5 19 (1)
Pedro (Barcelona) 14 3 1 18 (0)
Vela (Real Sociedad) 12 2 3 17 (1)
Villa (Atlético Madrid) 13 2 0 15 (1)
Raúl García (Atlético) 7 4 4 15 (0)
Javi Guerra (Valladolid) 13 1 0 14 (0)
Bale (Real Madrid) 10 0 4 14 (0)
Neymar (Barcelona) 9 2 3 14 (1)
Gameiro (Sevilla) 9 0 5 14 (1)
Aduríz Athletic) 11 2 0 13 (2)
Rakitic (Sevilla) 11 0 2 13 (4)
Fàbregas (Barcelona) 8 4 1 13 (3)
Uche (Villarreal) 12 0 0 12 (0)
Sergio García (Espanyol) 11 1 0 12 (4)
El-Arabi (Granada) 11 0 0 11 (1)
Giovani (Villarreal) 10 1 0 11 (1)
Jorge Molina (Betis) 8 1 2 11 (1)
Rubén Castro (Betis) 8 1 2 11 (0)
Paco Alcácer (Valencia) 6 1 4 11 (0)
Bueno (Rayo Vallecano) 9 1 0 10 (0)
Perbet (Villarreal) 9 0 1 10 (1)
Oriol Riera (Osasuna) 9 0 0 9 (0)
Larrivey (Rayo Vallecano) 9 0 0 9 (3)
Jonas (Valencia) 9 0 0 9 (1)
Isco (Real Madrid) 8 0 1 9 (0)
Di María (Real Madrid) 3 3 3 9 (1)