Topics: La Liga, Barcelona, Girona, Lionel Messi, Espanyol, Real Madrid, Karim Benzema
Messi extended his dominance in La Liga with one more goal, while Benzema was Real Madrid's guiding light against Espanyol.

The Spanish top flight is well underway in the second round of games, and things are getting tougher as time goes by. 

Valencia was the main protagonist this weekend, as Los Naranjeros are now seventh thanks to a three-match streak without a loss. Marcelino García's men are two points behind Getafe, currently in sixth place, which will surely make the fight to enter European competitions a tad more exciting.

Regarding the league leaders, Barcelona defeated Girona for the second time this season, keeping their five-point advantage over Atlético. The red and white side also collected three points by beating Getafe, while Real Madrid kept up with the pace by beating Espanyol with a 4-2 score.

Have a look at La Liga's standings after 21 games.

Pos.TeamMPWDLGFGAGDPForm
1 Real Madrid 36 29 6 1 83 22 +61 93 WWWWW
2 Barcelona 36 24 7 5 74 43 +31 79 WWLWL
3 Girona 36 23 6 7 75 45 +30 75 LDWWW
4 Atlético Madrid 36 23 4 9 67 39 +28 73 WWWWL
5 Athletic Club 36 17 11 8 58 37 +21 62 LDWLD
6 Real Sociedad 36 15 12 9 49 37 +12 57 WLWLD
7 Real Betis 36 14 14 8 48 43 +5 56 DWWDW
8 Villarreal 36 14 9 13 60 60 0 51 WWLWW
9 Valencia 36 13 9 14 37 40 -3 48 LDLLL
10 Getafe 36 10 13 13 41 51 -10 43 LLLWD
11 Deportivo Alavés 36 11 9 16 34 45 -11 42 LDWWW
12 Sevilla 36 10 11 15 47 50 -3 41 LLWDW
13 Osasuna 36 11 8 17 40 54 -14 41 DDLLL
14 Las Palmas 36 10 8 18 32 46 -14 38 DLLLL
15 Rayo Vallecano 36 8 14 14 29 44 -15 38 WDLLW
16 Celta de Vigo 36 9 10 17 42 54 -12 37 WLWLW
17 Mallorca 36 7 15 14 29 41 -12 36 DWLDL
18 Cádiz 36 6 14 16 25 49 -24 32 WWLDL
19 Granada 36 4 9 23 37 70 -33 21 LLLWD
20 Almería 36 2 11 23 35 72 -37 17 LLWLL

Champions League (Group Stage)
Europa League (Group Stage)
Promotion - Europa Conference League (Qualification: )
Relegation - LaLiga2

Stats emerging from Matchday 21

Once again, Lionel Messi's name will be around to make waves, mainly due to his goal against Girona. The Argentine star has scored in each and every single La Liga venue he's played in after finding the back of the net against the red-and-white side.

Speaking about Real Madrid, two players scored goals that helped them feel proud. The first one of them was captain Sergio Ramos, who managed to reach quite a milestone before being subbed off.

Then, the over-criticized Karim Benzema reached quite a milestone in his career with his brace against Espanyol, in what has been deemed as one of his best performances when wearing a Real Madrid jersey.

Pichichi race

Lionel Messi added one more goal to his tally in the best scorer's race. It doesn't seem to be any player capable of matching his tally, so, should we give him the Golden boot right away?