La Liga Lowdown

This weekend we saw yet another milestone in the extraordinary career of Lionel Messi. He's now reached 400 goals in LaLiga after scoring in Barcelona's 3-0 win over Eibar, as the champions take a five-point lead into the second half of the season. The performance of Philippe Coutinho has given Ernesto Valverde food for thought, so Román tells us what the future holds for him. With Atletico Madrid winning and Sevilla losing, maybe the title race is down to two horses - we're hearing from Euan on Atleti, while Sevilla have at least got some signings through the door including Barca forward Munir - Alex tells us a little bit about their new recruits. As for the relegation battle, big wins for Leganés, Rayo Vallecano and resurgent Athletic Club, but Villarreal have plumbed new depths - defeat to Getafe leaves them second-bottom. Tough times at Valencia too - Paco was at Mestalla as they drew yet again, against Real Valladolid.Don't forget to follow us on Twitter as well - our handle is @ La