Steve Bruce. Ronald Koeman. Leighton Baines. John Terry. Sergio Ramos. As roles on a pitch become more and more defined, the goal-scoring defender has become a rarity, almost extinct but one man has been re-defining the norm in this season’s La Liga.

Always one to pop up with late goals via headers and a scourge for teams looking to hold on or protect a lead late on in a game, Ramos has taken his game to the next level this season. The Madrid defender has scored seven goals in the league, level with the likes of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema and only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (19) and Alvaro Morata (8).

Real overcome stubborn Betis

Also having scored the decisive equaliser in the El Classico and another which was a late winner against Deportivo La Coruna, the centre-back got in on the act, netting with ten minutes to go ensuring that Real Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona’s slip up, a 2-1 loss earlier on in the day.

Madrid went on to notch up their 19th victory of the season, going on to 62 points from 26 games, Barcelona having played one more game than Zidane’s men.

With their Portuguese superstar the only one of their forwards netting in double figures so far, the capital outfit have had to look elsewhere for inspiration. They have found out in Toni Kroos, whose seven assists from set-pieces is the highest in the league as well as Marcelo, the Brazilian having the highest assists of any defender in Europe’s top five leagues with seven.

Ronaldo opened the scoring before Matteo Piccinini was sent off for the visitors, with the Portuguese now ahead of Aritz Aduriz as the man with the most number of headed goals in La Liga (46). He also broke his Bernabeu duck against Betis, now having netted against 28 of the 30 opposition teams he has played against at Real’s home ground.

Barcelona lose ground

Home table for La Liga, courtesy whoscored.com

On a day when they were still in hangover mode after an exhilarating 6-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona’s 19-game unbeaten run in the league came to a grinding halt as they lost to Deportivo away from home, only their second loss on the road this season.

Luis Enrique’s 3-4-3 setup has proved beneficial in recent weeks, but the Blaugrana had one of their off-days as the Catalans opted to rest the in-form Neymar. There is a growing suspicion that the team is becoming more reliant on the Brazilian with him netting a double and providing an assist for Sergi Roberto’s goal in the last six minutes of their Champions League win.

So it proved here as Lionel Messi was ineffective for large spells of the game and Arda Turan, coming back from an injury, struggled on the left. Luis Suarez notched a goal but for the first time in 73 games, Barcelona lost with the Uruguayan on the scoresheet.

Enrique’s men have been patchy at home but they have won their last six games at the Camp Nou. Nonetheless, Real, Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla are all above Barca in the home table.

Sevilla and other factors

Jorge Sampaoli’s men have been superb in La Liga, doing really well to cling on to the coat-tails of the front runners for most of the season. Their recent form has been a blip however, with four points dropped in their last two matches spelling the end of their title ambitions.

They, along with Atletico Madrid in fourth, must now concentrate on cementing a Champions League place, keeping the chasing pack, Villareal and Real Sociedad at bay and ensuring that they also beat Leicester City to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.

Madrid have 12 games left, but they have to play the rest of the top four at home. Their other tough games include an away trip to seventh-placed Bilbao next up, the first of their six remaining away games against opposition currently ranked 17th (Leganes), 19th (Gijon), 15th (Deportivo), 18th (Granada) and 16th (Malaga).

Barcelona, with 11 games remaining, have to play each of the top six barring Atletico Madrid. They have to play two derbies on the road, against Madrid and the Catalan derby against Espanyol.

They will now hope that the leaders can drop some points. Keylor Navas, who scored an own goal this weekend, continues to be Madrid’s weak link and Barcelona’s biggest hope. Luis Enrique, in his last season at the club, will hope that Navas continues his less-than-stellar work between the sticks.