Barcelona looked to end a run of three successive defeats on Sunday when the Spanish Champions took on Athletic Bilbao. The La Liga title is the only glory left to grab for Barca, who had been kicked out of the UEFA Champions League before losing to rivals Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final midweek.

In front of a crowd of just over 30,000, Barca's players would struggle to settle into their usually dominant game.

On the half-hour mark, Bilbao's Aritz Aduriz threatens with a fantastic overhead strike which hits the post. Markel Susaeta's effort is then parried away by Jose Manuel Pinto. Bilbao just about opening the scoring there.

The visitors would go ahead five minutes into the second half. Marc Bartra mis-controls in front of the area, and Aduriz is there to seize control before slotting into the far corner. Barca on the brink of being squeezed out of another trophy race.

The hosts laid siege to Bilbao's defence and almost got an equalizer when Pedro Rodriguez was sent clear. But the Spainsh winger fails to finish. The fortunes of Barca would change though...and they draw level in the 72nd minute. Alexis Sanchez's shot is turned in by Pedro from close range. Gerardo Martino, hoping his side would complete the comeback.

And they would. only two minutes later thanks to Lionel Messi. The Argentine star scores with a direct free-kick, that would hold up as the winnr. 2-1 the final as they win, which lifted them two points ahead of Real.

Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano hosted bottom-placed Real Betis with both teams looking to avoid relegation from La Liga. The home fans would see their Rayo side open the scoring in the 14th.

Betis defender Paulao would leave a back pass woefully short of reaching the keeper. Rochina Raixes rolls it in for the opener, the start of a nightmare game for Paulao.

Just before the half-hour mark, the Brazilian sees his clearance float straight into his own net. Paulao immediately asked to be substituted and was replaced five minutes later.

However, the visitors still struggled with their poor defence in the second half. Joaquin Larrivey taps in a rebound in the 52nd to make it 3-nil and although Javier Chica scored a consolation for Betis late on, Vallecano won it 3-1 and have surged out of the drop zone to the middle of the table. Betis are now on the brink of relegation, 10 points from safety with four games to go.

We now take a look at the standings in La Liga. Atletico Madrid keep their run going with 85 points atop of the standings. Barcelona are four points behind. Real are now six points away from the leaders, but do have a game in hand. Bilbao are looking to seal a final Champions League spot as they have three points ahead of fifth Sevilla.