MADRID, Jan. 8 -- League football returned to Spain at the weekend with the 18th round of matches in the Liga Santander and here are a few things we learned.

1. It continues to look good for Barca

Leo Messi pulled the strings once again in Barca's 3-0 win at home to Levante as Barca remain nine points clear at the top of the table.

Luis Suarez and Paulinho also scored, and coach Ernesto Valverde was able to rest Sergio Busquets who was serving a suspension, and Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano got some much-needed game time. The only slight worry for Valverde would have been that Ousmane Dembele had a disappointing return to the Camp Nou after returning from injury, and seemed to be trying too hard to impress.

If you bear in mind that Saturday saw Barca complete the signing of Phillipe Coutinho for around 160 million euros (the club's record signing), and that Real Madrid dropped two more points, it's been a good weekend for Barca, who look stronger than ever.

2. Bale is back, but Real Madrid are not

Gareth Bale has now scored four league goals this season for Real Madrid; the same as Cristiano Ronaldo. The Welshman scored his four goals in just under 500 minutes of playing time, but Ronaldo needed 1,150 minutes to accomplish the same feat.

Bale was the standout player as Madrid dropped two more points away to Celta Vigo and they could easily have dropped all three had his two moments of magic not put some shine an otherwise undisciplined performance . The 2-2 draw not only leaves Madrid 16 points behind Barca, but also leaves the Catalans five points behind third placed Valencia.

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