La Liga roundup: Happy and unhappy

Matchday 18 in the Spanish Liga Santander saw plenty of goals and a vital game between Sevilla and Real Madrid. Here is what we learned from the past weekend in Spain.

GAME ON IN THE THTLE RACE

Fans in the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium went wild when Stefan Jovetic scored a 91st minute winner for Sevilla to bring Real Madrid's 40-game unbeaten run to an end, but the goal wasn't just cheered by Sevilla fans, it was also celebrated by supporters of FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, whose sides are once again in the race for the league title.

Had Madrid held on to the lead given to them by Cristiano Ronaldo's second half penalty they would have had a seven point lead over Sevilla, five points on Barca and nine on Atletico Madrid and with a game in hand, all but ending the title race before the halfway point of the season. Now the gap is just one, two and six points, although Madrid do still have to play in Valencia, a game they will be favorites to win.

The football they are playing means despite Sunday's defeat Real Madrid are still favorites, especially as they have already played away to Barca, Atletico, Sevilla and Real Sociedad in the first half of the campaign, but Sunday's defeat will at least give their rivals a glimmer of hope and that is good for a competition which was in danger of becoming a one-horse race.

MESSI IS STILL THE MAN

Cristiano Ronaldo was named as The Best Player of 2016 by FIFA a week ago at a ceremony not attended by Barcelona's Leo Messi, who obviously prefers to do his talking on the pitch.

While the pro-Madrid press criticized Messi for staying at home, he responded with a free kick which took Barcelona into the quarter-finals of the King's Cup and then produced a stellar display as Barcelona brushed past Las Palmas 5-0 on Saturday.

Once again the question over whether or not he will sign a new contract with Barcelona is high on the agenda at his club, but Messi doesn't seem to let it bother him. He has been vital for Barca at the start of 2017 with 4 goals in four games and on Saturday his ability to control, turn and tee up his companions showing that while Ronaldo scores goals, Messi does so much more and that is why despite the FIFA vote, he is the best player in the world.

GRANADA AND OSASUNA: ADIOS AMIGO

There was high drama in Granada on Sunday as the home side, second from bottom of the league with 9 points entertained bottom of the table Osasuna, who had just 8. With Valencia's win over Espanyol lifting them to 16 points both sides needed a win in order to maintain their survival hopes. The resulting 1-1 draw helps neither Granada nor Osasuna, who are seven and six points from safety with just two wins between them all season.

There is still have half of the season ahead of them, but with 38-40 points probably needed to survive, it's clear to see both sides need a miracle to survive and a quick look at their squads is enough to say that is not going to happen. So rather than spending January buying players in a vain hope of surviving, maybe they would be better preparing for life in the second division.

LEGANES NEED GOALS TO AVOID A LONG WINTER

Leganes striker Darwin Machis had five excellent chances to open the scoring at home to Athletic Club Bilbao on Saturday and he missed all of them, with visiting keeper Gorka Iraizoz only called into action once. Later in the game, Leganes would hit the post and see Victor Diaz head wide when well placed. The game summed up Leganes' season to date: they are well-organized and hard-working, but lack the ability to score goals.

Machis has failed to hit the target in 14 appearances, while the club's recognized strikers have netted just 3 goals between them in 18 matches. It is obvious that in order to win matches you need to score goals and unless Leganes start doing that soon, it could be a long winter at the wrong end of the table. Enditem