What an exciting week of soccer it was in Spain.

Fans couldn't ask for much more as the drama is higher than ever. It all began with first place Barcelona against Deportivo at home on Saturday. What looked to be an easy 2-0 home victory soon turned into a stunner. Deportivo evened up the game with goals in the 77th and 86th minute thanks to Lucas and Alex Bergantinos. Barcelona has still yet to lose a game at the Camp Nou this year, but this one is going to sting for a while.

Lionel Messi shined once again. The Argentine superstar now has five goals and four assists in just eight league games this year. It appears as if that leg injury is just a thing of the past. Neymar and Luis Suarez were both held scoreless this week for the first time in a while, but a point is still a point. Barcelona is tied for first place in the La Liga standings.

With Barcelona suffering a one point draw, Real Madrid had the perfect opportunity to seize the moment and take advantage.

But they didn't.

Real Madrid lost to Villarreal, 1-0. Not only did Real Madrid's offense not put a single goal on the board, they only managed to put one shot on goal all game. Cristiano Ronaldo was help in check all game long. With that draw, Real Madrid now has three league losses giving them 30 points. There's still a long way to go in the season, but Real Madrid has to start playing better against top competition. That 4-0 loss to Barcelona is still in the back of minds of Real Madrid fans everywhere.

Real Madrid will take on Rayo Vallecano next week. Real Madrid plays at home in four of their next five league games, and this will be their most crucial part of the season yet.

Atletico Madrid was by far the biggest winner of Week 15. They beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 to tie Barcelona for first place in the standings. Atletico Madrid hasn't lost a single league game since Week 6 against Villarreal. Barcelona still has the upper hand however because they defeated Atletico Madrid in Week 3, 2-1. Atletico Madrid takes on Malaga next week.

Celta Vigo and Villarreal are hanging around in the top five of the standings, but it looks like this is a three team race. As expected, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be fighting for the championship. We haven't seen a team win the Spanish title other than one of those three squads since Valencia did so in the 2003-04 season.

La Liga Standings

1. Barcelona: 11-2-2, 35 points

2. Atletico Madrid: 11-2-2, 35 points

3. Real Madrid: 9-3-3, 30 points

4. Celta Vigo: 8-4-3, 28 points

5. Villarreal: 8-3-4, 27 points

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1