Nicholas Mendola
What happens if Barcelona and Real Madrid tie atop La Liga’s table after 38 matches?
Real Madrid’s title hopes are under its complete control after Barcelona dropped points at Sevilla on Friday.
Lionel Messi’s Man of the Match performance couldn’t provide his 700th career goal in a scoreless draw against Julen Lopetegui’s third-place side
Messi, who has 629 goals for Barcelona and 70 for Argentina, had three shots on goal, recorded a key pass, and completed five dribbles, but could not beat Tomas Vacl.
Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made three saves including a key late stop.
The draw means Barca has 65 points. The Blaugranas could win out and not win La Liga if Real Madrid, currently on 62 points, also wins out. The first tiebreaker in La Liga is head-to-head, and Real took four of six points from Barca.
Who has the easier run-in? We’ll let you decide.
Barcelona remaining schedule
Tuesday v. Athletic Bilbao (10th)
June 27 at Celta Vigo (17th)
July 1 v. Atletico Madrid (4th)
July 5 at Villarreal (7th)
July 8 v. Espanyol (19th)
July 12 at Valladolid (15th)
July 15 v. Osasuna (13th)
July 19 at Alaves (12th)
Real Madrid remaining schedule
Sunday at Real Sociedad (6th)
Wednesday v. Mallorca (18th)
June 28 at Espanyol (19th)
July 1 v. Getafe (5th)
July 5 at Athletic Bilbao (10th)
July 8 v. Alaves (12th)
July 12 at Granada (9th)
July 15 v. Villarreal (7th)
July 19 v. Leganes (20th)
Elsewhere on Friday
Granada 0-1 Villarreal
Mallorca 1-1 Leganes
STANDINGS
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Barcelona | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 69 | 31 | 38 | 14-1-0 | 6-4-5 | 65 |
| Real Madrid | 29 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 55 | 20 | 35 | 11-4-0 | 7-4-3 | 62 |
| Sevilla | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 42 | 30 | 12 | 7-6-2 | 7-4-4 | 52 |
| Atlético Madrid | 29 | 12 | 13 | 4 | 37 | 22 | 15 | 8-5-1 | 4-8-3 | 49 |
| Getafe | 29 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 38 | 27 | 11 | 7-5-3 | 6-3-5 | 47 |
| Real Sociedad | 29 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 46 | 36 | 10 | 8-3-3 | 6-2-7 | 47 |
| Villarreal | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 47 | 38 | 9 | 7-4-3 | 7-1-8 | 47 |
| València | 29 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 39 | 43 | -4 | 8-7-0 | 3-3-8 | 43 |
| Granada | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 37 | 36 | 1 | 9-2-4 | 3-4-8 | 42 |
| Athletic Club | 29 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 32 | 26 | 6 | 7-4-3 | 2-8-5 | 39 |
| Levante | 29 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 34 | 42 | -8 | 7-4-3 | 3-1-11 | 35 |
| Alavés | 29 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 31 | 39 | -8 | 7-5-3 | 2-3-9 | 35 |
| Osasuna | 29 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 5-5-5 | 3-6-5 | 35 |
| Betis | 29 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 40 | 47 | -7 | 7-4-4 | 1-6-7 | 34 |
| Valladolid | 29 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 25 | 34 | -9 | 3-8-3 | 4-4-7 | 33 |
| Eibar | 29 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 46 | -16 | 6-2-7 | 1-5-8 | 28 |
| Celta Vigo | 29 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 35 | -13 | 4-5-5 | 1-7-7 | 27 |
| Mallorca | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 29 | 50 | -21 | 6-3-7 | 1-2-11 | 26 |
| Espanyol | 29 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 25 | 46 | -21 | 2-5-7 | 3-4-8 | 24 |
| Leganés | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 23 | 44 | -21 | 4-3-8 | 1-6-8 | 24 |
Barcelona draw at Sevilla gives title control to Real Madrid originally appeared on NBCSports.com
