Four things we learned from matchday 31 in Spain

Matchday 31 saw Real Madrid drop points in the Madrid derby but still extend their lead at the top of the Spanish Liga Santander as Barcelona were beaten in Malaga. These are some of the things we learned in what could have been a decisive weekend in Spain.

1) Barca slip up once again

Twice in less than a month, FC Barcelona have travelled to face a side battling to avoid relegation and on both occasions they have lost, with defeats to Deportivo la Coruna and Malaga, which at the end of the season could make the difference between winning or losing the title.

When Barca stepped onto the pitch in Malaga on Saturday night, they held the destiny of the league in their hands. However, perhaps with an eye on next week's Champions League tie against Juventus, Barca boss Luis Enrique again rotated his squad with players such as Jeremy Matthieu, Denis Suarez and the eternally disappointing Andre Gomes coming into the side. The result was another performance that not even Leo Messi could save and with Neymar losing his nerve and earning a red card.

Frustration? Perhaps, because twice Barca have had the title in their grasp and twice it has slipped away from them.

2) The title is Real Madrid's to lose

If Barca were the big losers at the weekend, despite only drawing at home to Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid were the winners as their lead at the top of the table extended to three points following Barca's defeat.

The Madrid derby was one of the few games between now and the end of the season where Madrid could have been expected to drop points, with the other stand out match being the 'Classico' against Barca in just under a fortnight. There are other rivals, such as Valencia and Sevilla, who could make Madrid suffer, but they play them in the Bernabeu and the only likely banana skin on the road is a trip to face Celta Vigo, who could have their attention focused on the Europa League.

Before Barca's defeat in Malaga, the title was in the balance, now it is Real Madrid's to lose.

3) Chaotic Granada bottle it

Granada coach Lucas Alcaraz issued a public apology to Granada supporters following his side's 3-1 home defeat to Valencia on Sunday, saying neither he nor the players had been at the level of the fans.

The defeat leaves Granada with just 20 points from 31 matches and although they still have a mathematical chance of avoiding relegation, Granada's performance implies it won't happen. Alcaraz's side on Sunday had players from 10 different countries, many of whom are on loan at the club and the sad fact is they played like they don't speak the same language.

The root of Granada's problem is their chaotic summer in the transfer market which brought together a group of strangers with nothing to form them into a unit. In the past three years, they have got lucky at the end of the season, this time it needs more than luck, it needs a miracle.

4) Eibar's Euro dream is very real

What a week it was for Eibar, the side from a town of less than 30,000 inhabitants in the north of Spain, whose ground has a capacity for just over 6,000 fans. After three wins from three games, including direct rivals for Europe, Villarreal and Celta Vigo, Eibar are currently sixth in the Liga Santander and a place in Europe beckons for next season.

Coach Jose Luis Mendilibar has put together a low-cost side and drilled them into a fearsome footballing unit in which everyone knows exactly what they are doing and where striker Sergi Enrich and Kike and midfielder Pedro Leon make the difference.

Sunday saw them face a Celta side who made wholescale changes ahead of a European game and it was no contest as Eibar did their job, took their chances, shot their rivals out and took another step towards making history at the club. Endit