Finally in Spain we have an entertaining denouement beginning to unfold before our football eyes. Sunday's duo match up of Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid vs Barcelona has placed all three hands onto the La Liga title. Atletico Madrid knew leaving Andalusia with a win would project them into first place of Spain. Simeone's men also knew that if Barcelona came out of el Classico with a win, Atleti would sit atop of the totem pole. In the capital of Madrid the Catalan giants knew that a win here would also put them back into the title race.

Los Colchoneros traveled to Andalusia to take on Real Betis in the afternoon game in Seville. Real Betis was entertaining Atletico Madrid, Betis needed to refocus their efforts immediately on the league since their exit from the Europa League on Thursday. Real Betis who are in last place in the league had to put on an effective display to save their La Liga hopes. Diego Simeone's men were ready for any onslaught sent their way, in what was a very physical display. The first half was ferocious with the Red and Whites having a very difficult time against Betis. Two opportunities fell to Diego Costa in the opening ten minutes along with chances to JuanFran and Juan Carlos for Betis, but none were converted.

The second half began with quick drama as Juan Carlos struck the Atletico Madrid post in the 48th minute. The game unraveled for Betis in the 56th minute when Braian Rodriguez picked up his second yellow card for an obvious handball. The offense for the handball was justified when looking at the slow motion and at a different angle, as Braian Rodriguez handles the ball in a method of a point guard in the NBA. Barely three minutes after the sending off for Betis the wheels would soon fall of the tracks for Betis. In the 58th minute Gabi drilled a shot into the keepers left post to make it 1-0 to the visitors. The deficit would mount up larger in the 64th minute when a cross into the Betis penalty area was poorly cleared. Koke was able to get a little flick with his head for the ball to fall into the path of the trailing Diego Costa to make it 2-0 to Atleti.

 The match ended in a 2-0 win to the Rojiblancos and depending on the result of El Classico they climbed to first place. After the match the next move was in the hands of Carlo Ancelotti and Tata Martino. El Classico this year not only means do or die for Real Madrid or Barcelona but affects a third team in the race for the La Liga title. A win for Real Madrid meant the title was in the hands of the Merengues. A draw gave the edge merely to Real Madrid, but a lost would place Atletico Madrid in first and Barcelona trailing the two Madrid outfits by a lone point.

Stating that this year's El Classico was a high-octane affair would be a massive understatement. The hype behind games at times usually tends to subsidize quick or never live to what the hype built up. El Classico this year was the exact opposite; for once the hype not only sold the game but also did so with pessimistic anticipation. The prestige of the name "El Classico" serves itself, but the seven-goal thriller in Madrid served up a journalist smorgasbord of topics. Here at World Football Daily we will do our utmost best to serve you a portion of that feast.

The early stages of the match can be described simply as "box to box” play from both sides. The football public was awarded early in the sixth minute of the game. Messi coasted a beautiful pass to Andres Iniesta who was bombing down the left flank and the Spaniard lashed his shot into the back of the net 0-1. Six minutes after the goal in the 12th minute Real Madrid should of equalized through Karim Benzema. Angel Di Maria made a fantastic run to the Barcelona byline teeing up Karim Benzema, but Karim sent his shot flying over the bar. Madrid would even the score line in the 20th minute, Di Maria looped a wonderful cross in for Benzema to rocket a header past Valdez, 1-1.

Los Merengues would soon take the lead through a link up play again by Di Maria and Benzema. Four minutes after the tying goal from the Frenchman, Di Maria whipped another cross into the box and it found Karim Benzema. After taking a touch, the ball was placed in the air enough for Karim to volley a shot into the back of the net to make it 2-1 to the hosts. Benzema could of scored four times inside 26 minutes. Another attempt from the French number nine in the 26th minute was cleared off the line by Gerard Pique. The Blaugrana would equalize three minutes from the break. A quick play between Neymar and Lionel Messi inside the Madrid box led to the Messi's first goal of the night and tied the match at 2-2. In the celebration of the second goal for the Catalans, Cesc Fabregas and Pepe were caught in a tussle amongst themselves. Contact between the two saw them both on the Santiago Bernabeau grass and in the referee's book for playacting right before halftime.

Once the break was over El Classico immediately picked up where they left off. The best effort after the restart came to the former Lyon striker in the 52nd minute, Benzema and Bale linked up for Karim to fire his shot at Valdez. Real would soon, after that miss would take the lead again. Dani Alves who brought down the Portuguese winger met Cristiano Ronaldo’s drive into the Barcelona box. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and Cristiano stepped up to the spot and buried his shot to make it 3-2 to Los Blancos. The wheels would fall off for Real Madrid in the 63rd minute of El Classico. Neymar was played in behind the Real Madrid defense and Sergio Ramos was judged to have brought the young Brazilian down inside the box. Sergio Ramos was the last man in that particular challenge so the referee didn't hesitate to show Ramos the red card and pointed to the exit.

The man to take the penalty was none other than la Pulga himself. The Argentinean machine smacked the ball into the top right hand corner of the net and it was level again, 3-3. Immediately after the goal Carlo Ancelotti made a tactical change, which he was forced to bring off Benzema for Varane to slot into the empty spot in the center defense. The game came to a final head in the 82nd minute when tackles from both Xabi Alonso and Daniel Carvahal brought down Iniesta in the box for another penalty to Barcelona. Messi would also take Barcelona's second penalty and again he buried his penalty and the game swung back in favor of the Catalans, 4-3. At the full time whistle the Blaugrana emerged victorious from El Classico with a 4-3 win in Madrid.

The result from both games this weekend has definitely sculpted a rather entertaining ending to the La Liga season this campaign. As opposed to last season at this time the title race was a run away by Barcelona. Today the difference between the top three is a mere point. Barcelona sits in third place with 69 points, behind both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid by one point. Barcelona still have a Catalan derby to play in come saturday the 29th of March, a tough match against Villarreal at the el Madrigal they have to entertain both Bilbao and Atletico at the end of the season. Real Madrid lies in second in the La Liga race and will encounter a form of resistance come the end of their season. Real Madrid still have to travel to Andalusia to take on Sevilla Wednesday the 26th of March, a Madrid derby against Rayo, they travel to the Basque country against Sociedad. Towards the end Los Merengues have to entertain Valencia and Espanyol on the final day. Atletico Madrid sits on top of the pile will also have to endure a degree of resistance from their remaining fixtures. Simeone's side travel to Bilbao Saturday the 29th, entertain Villarreal, travel to Valencia April the 27th, entertain Malaga the 11th of May and end their campaign at the Camp Nou against Barcelona.

The title race at this point and time in La Liga has been all but defined yet. All three sides have at least one hand firmly on the league trophy. The difference between the league today, from where it was last year, where Barcelona was running away with the league title. The football public and neutral will finally get to enjoy the competition in Spain to a degree, which it deserves. At this present stage in the quest for the La Liga title only time will tell, who among the three will emerge victorious in the domestic league in Spain.