The one who did advance was Futbol Club Barcelona, which this matchday added its second consecutive victory, after the 5-3 defeat against Villareal that made Xavi Hernandez declare that he would leave the club's technical direction at the end of the season.
But, let's see what happened and what constituted the most recent La Liga matchday for these four teams.
Real Madrid: Despite the draw and not being able to beat Atletico Madrid in the Derby of the Spanish capital, the current leader came out well because they played against the only team that has been able to beat them this season in a complicated situation because they did not have their starters in defense or their most important player, as both Vinicius Jr. and defenders Alaba, Militao and Rüdiguer were injured.
In this sense, this draw was a victory because it was achieved in the aforementioned conditions and maintained the differences against Girona and Atlético, two of the league's leaders.
Girona: For the second competitive date this team draws its match and does it without scoring goals. The hardest thing for them was to let two points slip away against Almeria, which is at the bottom of the league and has not won a single match. Girona knows that game was key in their aspirations to reach the league crown. If they are not further away from Real Madrid today, it was because they drew their corresponding match, otherwise they would be four points behind the leader right now.
Atletico: It was the big loser of these teams because the draw left them ten points behind the leader, with two teams ahead of them and with others coming from behind on their heels. The red and white team's manager was very conservative and did not go out looking for a victory that was sorely needed.
Barcelona: It was the big winner of the day and the only one that managed to get three points, among the 4 leaders of the league. After the defeat against Villarreal and Xavi's press conference announcing his departure from the club, the players have achieved two successive victories and scored five goals in those games. Hopefully this is the awakening of this team that has so many followers worldwide.
Barcelona closed the gap on Real Madrid and Girona and climbed alone to third place, after Cholo's men were unable to win their match against Real Madrid.
For now, the league is still dressed in white, but, new suits are entering this fashion catwalk or are coming from behind to try to remove the white tent from the top and put another one in its place. We'll see if they have the equipment for that.
A final conclusion
Each of these teams has a lot to improve if they want to win La Liga this season and here is what I think should be a priority for each team:
Real Madrid: They must work on having a viable alternative in the central defensive zone because their three starting center backs are injured. They are only playing with one player in this position which is Nacho and he is the fourth center back of the team. The opponents know this and, in the absence of these central defenders, the opponents play high, with crosses into the box and make their entire defense suffer. In addition, they have to improve their scoring capacity because their strikers have very few goals for the quality they possess.
Girona: They have to continue with the winning dynamic they had before the draw they had with Almeria first and Real Sociedad later. In that sense their strikers have to return those goals that put them ahead and defend these treasures with their lives. The next date will be crucial for them because they face the l'der of La Liga and the only team they have beaten in the competition.
Atlético de Madrid: This was a team that made defense an art, but, we are seeing how this season their defense has conceded a lot of goals. They should keep in mind that having a more offensive approach can counteract the serious defensive problem they have today.
Barcelona: Despite two consecutive victories, Barcelona is not showing the power that took them to the top of the world. This team has to understand that its philosophy is to dominate the midfield, as an essential element to achieve regularity in the game, its forwards must be finer in front of goal and its defense must work to prevent them from being vaccinated with many goals.
Key: I used the translator DeepL Translate.