FC Barcelona’s victory against Betis made more important by their fellow title contenders both collecting three points from their Saturday fixtures as well

There is no change at the top of the table after not only Barça beat Betis 2-0, but Real Madrid and Atléticoalso won their games on Saturday. But instead of three, there are now just two games left to play – so it’s Barça that can most afford to smile at the end of an intense of football..

Gareth Bale came to the rescue for a Real Madrid team missing both Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, and who simply could not find a way past a stubborn Real Sociedad until the 80th minute. It was then that the Welshman’s header finally won them three points to temporarily go top of the table.

Atlético Madrid replaced them in pole position two hours later after also winning their game 1-0. With a Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich to come midweek, manager Diego Simeone opted to leave both Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres on the bench for the local derby with Rayo Vallecano. It was big gamble, and after 55 minutes there was still no score. On went the two strikers, and with his first touch of the ball, Griezmann found the net.

The results leave Barça top with 85 points, the same as Atlético who have an inferior head-to-head record, and Real down in third with 84.