They've been upsetting the apple cart way too many times over the past few months, but on Sunday, it was their turn to be felled as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the Spanish La Liga title race. Lowly Levante UD, who are bottom of the table and have already been relegated, broke Atletico's title dreams with a come-from-behind 1-2 victory.

And while one part of Madrid mourned, the other celebrated after a narrow triumph. Real Madrid doggedly remained in the title race with a 3-2 victory over fierce rivals Valencia. It was their 11th straight win on the trot and they had their talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo to thank for it. He scored twice and was in scintillating form throughout the game.

Of course, the sheer scale of the challenge that lies in front of Real became apparent once the dust around the Camp Nou settled. Barcelona shook off all talk of faltering by thrashing Espanyol 5-0. All their biggest stars showed that it will take a lot to topple the Catalan giants this season. Lionel Messi kicked off the party, Luis Suarez scored a couple, Rafinha cashed in on a goalkeeping error, and Neymar finished it off with a goal in the 83rd minute from a glorious Suarez pass.

As the table stands now with one game to go, Barcelona are on top with 88 points, followed by Real Madrid (87) and Atletico Madrid (85 points). Even if Barcelona finish level on points with any of the teams, they will still win the league thanks to a superior head-to-head record. So, Real Madrid has to win next Sunday against Deportivo de La Coruna, and hope that Barcelona slips up against Granada. It is all set to be a thrilling finish to the season – but unfortunately for Atletico, they've dropped out just before the climax.