The penultimate week of La Liga saw all the matches played at the same time. Thank goodness for ESPN3/360 or a bar. Next week should be great. This is what you need to know. All the Champions League and Europa League slots are finalized. In terms of relegation, Hercules and Almeria are done for, but six other teams can fall into that third drop spot: Mallorca (44), Sociedad (44), Osasuna (44), Getafe (43), Deportivo (43), Zaragoza (42). I’m not going to do the math for you, but this makes a mighty good bit of drama for the last week. Half the matches will directly affect relegation. It’s probably safe to say that the Pichichi belongs to Ronaldo, but tying the La Liga recourd at 38 goals this week, makes Madrid’s matchup with Almeria next week another game with something at stake: La Liga single season scoring record. If he gets it, I say this swings open the greatest player in the world debate with him and Messi. Six games with major ramifications all to be played at the same time. Awh man!

Scores

Valencia 0-0 Levante | Nasty.
Almeria 3-1 Mallorca | Uche (5'), Ortiz (15'), Piatti (32'), Webo (42')
Getafe 1-0 Osasuna | Flano (og65')
R Zaragoza 1-0 Espanyol | Ponzio (55')
Sporting 2-1 Racing | de las Cuevas (45'), Novo (51'), Fernandez (32')
Sevilla 3-1 R Sociedad | Kanoute (54') & (60'), Negredo (85'), Agirretxe (72')
A Bilbao 1-1 Málaga | Lopez (p55'), Recio (42')
Atlético 2-1 Hercules | Soto (2'), Reyes (71'), Trezeguet (67')
Barcelona 0-0 Deportivo | This is not a typo.
Villarreal 1-2 Real Madrid  | Cani (51'), Marcelo (17), Ronaldo (22)

Table

1. Barçalona (93) | Barça B finished 5^th in the Segunda. We saw why this week.
2. Real Madrid (89) | Pichichi is not enough. Ronaldo wants the record for himself.
3. Valencia (68) | Next week is now meaningless. 3^rd spot wrapped-up.
4. Villarreal (62) | Time to play some of that Villarreal B next week.
5. Sevilla (55) | King Kanoute’s brace opens the Europa automatic bid race.
6. A Bilbao (55) | The automatic Europa league spots will go down the bitter end.
7. Atlético (55) | A predictable win at home against Hercules? Yes.
8. Espanyol (49) | Not much to play for but fun and experience.
9. Málaga (46) | Málaga draw at Bilbao is another strong result.
10. S. Gijón (46) | Gijón is safe!
11. Santander (46) | Did they help Sporing Gijón?. Nawh?
12. Levante (45) | Are they safe? I can’t do that much math. Wait they are safe.
13. Mallorca (44) | Loss at Almeria puts them in the relegation race.
14. Sociedad (44) | A result at Sevilla may have meant safety.
15. Osasuna (44) | Loss at Getafe keeps them in the relegation hunt.
16. Getafe (43) | Critical win over Osasuna breaths life into survival.
17. Deportivo (43) | Normal a point at Barçalona is good, but Depor is in dire straits.
18. Zaragoza (42) | A win at Levante in week 38 and Zaragoza lives.
19. Hercules (34) | At least they made it interesting at Atlético.
20. Almeria (30) | Great showing at home before relegation and roster pillaging.

Stephen Kuzner is a Baltimore-based Blogger for WorldFootballDaily.com who specializes in La Liga. You can reach him on Facebook at facebook.com/BarcaBlogger or Twitter at @twitter.com/BarcaBlogger.