Barcelona went to Atlético Madrid with the La Liga lead under threat and left with a bigger cushion. Their 2-1 comeback win keeps them three points clear of Real Madrid and five ahead of Atlético. But with 26 games still to play, the title race is only beginning to take shape.

La Liga table: the top three

After Matchweek 12, all three contenders have played 12 league matches:

Club Won Drawn Lost Goals for Points
Barcelona 11 0 1 48 33
Real Madrid 10 0 2 31 30
Atlético Madrid 9 1 2 23 28

Barcelona's 48 goals stand out, but their advantage over Real Madrid is just one win. Check the live La Liga table as the positions change.

Barcelona: goals and a big comeback

Fermín López scored twice after Giuliano Simeone put Atlético ahead at the Metropolitano. Barcelona had 19 shots to Atlético's nine, although both sides managed four on target. Explore the goals and statistics in our Atlético 1-2 Barcelona match centre.

It was an important response to Barcelona's only league defeat so far: Real Madrid's 2-1 Clásico win in October. Barcelona have won both league games since, scoring eight and conceding twice.

Real Madrid: the closest challengers

Real Madrid followed the Clásico with back-to-back 3-0 away wins at Racing Santander and Valencia. At Valencia, Federico Valverde, Arda Güler and Kylian Mbappé scored as Madrid registered 19 shots to four. The full breakdown is in our Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid match centre.

Madrid have scored fewer league goals than Barcelona, but have conceded 10 to the leaders' 13. That balance gives them a different route into the race, even if the gap remains three points.

Atlético: five points back, still in touch

Losing to Barcelona ended Atlético's five-match league winning run. Yet they have already shown they can beat a direct rival, having won 2-1 at home to Real Madrid in September. Atlético have also conceded 10 league goals, the same as Madrid.

All three have therefore taken points from one another: Atlético beat Madrid, Madrid beat Barcelona, and Barcelona beat Atlético. The return fixtures can still change the picture, but there are plenty of points to contest elsewhere too.

What happens next?

After the international break, Real Madrid host Celta Vigo on 21 November. Barcelona host Villarreal and Atlético travel to Getafe on 22 November. See the Matchweek 13 fixtures and the Barcelona v Villarreal and Getafe v Atlético match pages for the latest details.

Our Matchweek 12 round-up also explains the pre-match betting markets behind the weekend's results. Those prices were snapshots, and past results cannot guarantee what happens next.

Photo: Markus Unger / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Cropped, darkened and text added. The file photograph shows El Clásico in 2010.