Gonzalo Higuaín celebrates after Arbeloa's goal vs. Atlético Madrid (AP)

Things remain the same in La Liga as Real Madrid answered Barcelona by winning the capital derby 3-2 against Atlético Madrid. After falling behind in the first half courtesy of a goal by José Antonio Reyes, Los Merengues settled down and were able to answer back with goals by Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Gonzalo Higuaín.

The Argentine international scored the eventual game-winner after Tiago made a terrible blunder and the bounce fell in front of the Madrid forward and slotted it past David De Gea. Forlán's penalty kick made it 3-2 but that would be as close as Los Colchoneros would get and their winless streak against their city rivals would reach 11 years; 20 years since they last beat Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Barcelona in the meantime won in Mallorca as they beat the islanders 1-0. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the hero offensively as he pounced on a rebound from Dudu Aouate to score the only goal of the match.

Zaragoza scored the biggest upset of the week trouncing third-place Valencia at La Rosaleda 3-0. Carlos Diogo scored the first goal of the match hitting a scorcher from outside the box beating César Sánchez. Javier Arizmendi and Jiri Jarosik would round out the scoring for Los Maños.

Zaragoza would also get some help as Valladolid lost to an inspired cellar-dweller Xerez and Tenerife snuck out a point from Málaga.

Meanwhile, in some Monday Night Fútbol action, Athletic came out of San Mamés with a big win against Racing Santander in the most exciting match of the round. Fernando Llorente earned a brace and increase his season tally to 12. Racing would fight back but it would not be enough as the Basques now find themselves just two points from a spot in the Champions League and will have to look for more points at the Nou Camp against historic rivals Barcelona.

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La Liga Week 29 Wrap

For those ney-sayers trying to find a reason to knock the league leaders, the game against Racing on Sunday was the ammo that they needed. Their ability to diagnose the Barcelona attack with a chronic case of "Messi-dependency" became obvious as Pep Guardiola's lead over Real Madrid was about to be trimmed to nine.

Enter Messi.

With Racing ahead 1-0 and Messi coming off the bench, the dynamic of the match changed. Nikola Zigic put the boys from Santander ahead in the 56th minute courtesy of a penalty kick that opened up the scoring in a match that was quite tight. Barcelona was not able to move with their usual fluidity especially when they were facing such a hard-nosed side at El Sardinero. Messi came in and gave them also the scoring punch and openness they needed in front of the Racing goal. Messi gave that to them and 65th minute equalized. In the 81st he would score the game-winner and he etched himself in the Barcelona history books. His second goal was the club's 5,000th. So 492 games after Guillermo Amor scored the club's 4,00th, Messi joined him in blaugrana lore.

But Barca would pay for their defensive sins of the first 59 minutes eventually. eventually came at a price. Both Rafa Márquez and Gerard Piqué would be sent off leaving Barcelona with nine men on the pitch in the final minutes of the match, but that would not be enough for the home side as they were already fatigued and lacked ideas with the ball. Yes, the blaugrana achieved their ultimate objective- the three points; but it came at a very important price. Barca's backline suffered a huge blow when both Rafa Márquez and Gerard Piqué were sent off in a span of two minutes and left the middle with a huge hole in the middle and they held on for the bumpy ride.

For Barca now their mission will be to continue their streak against a hapless Sporting Gijón defense. They will have to do it with only one central defender with experience in Martín Cáceres. Diego Milito is still recovering from his knee injury while Carles Puyol will most likely be unavailable after the injury he suffered against Espanyol at midweek. That will all depend on his recovery during the next few days. It would be wise to save him for this match as they will have to face Betis at the Ruiz de Lopera de following week. An injury to Puyol would be risky especially with their knockout stage clash with Lyon drawing closer.

Piqué and Márquez will be serving a one-match suspension as well as Dani Alves. The Brazilian international was shown his fifth yellow card and will have to sit out against Sporting. The good news is that they will face Sporting and Messi will mostly likely play prior to joining the Argentine national in France. So there could be a great possibility of seeing a shootout. Barca looks right now to have to play a 2-6-2, but that would trump any defensive scheme that Sporting would throw at them. To be more realistic, expect to play with a patched up backline consisting of Sylvinho, Abidal, Cáceres, and possibly Barca youngster Victor Sánchez. Guardiola will also have to delve into his youth system to maybe have one of his diamonds on the bench ready for action just in case.

We will talk about these options as the week match draws nearer.

So is there such a thing as Messi-dependency? I guess you can say so. But to be honest, which team wouldn't want to be dependent of the world's best player?

Messi Saves Barca And Scores 5000th Goal

As and Marca already started to salivate at the beginning of an impending Barcelona collapse. Barca captain Carles Puyol will be out for ten days as he suffered a slight muscle tear in his left thigh.

According to sources, Puyol will be out for Barcelona's next three matches against Racing, Sporting Gijón, and the first leg of the Copa del Rey semis against Mallorca.

Puyol could be replaced by either Uruguayan Martín Cáceres or Mexican international Rafa Márquez. Márquez was supposed to be a question mark for the next few weeks, which would have forced him to see the upcoming US-Mexico match from the sidelines with a calf strain. He has recovered quite well and will be most likely partner up with Gerard Piqué in the middle of the blaugrana backline and will also be at Sven-Göran Eriksson's disposal on February 11th.

Puyol On The Shelf For Ten Days

Nikola Zigic will make a second stint in Santander after becoming one of the most promising forwards in La Liga last season. Racing president Nicolás Pernía was able to get his man back on a six-month loan basis. He will once again wear the green and white until June 30th. He will once again unite with Pedro Munitis to make up the other part of the duo sacapuntos (The Point-Taking Duo) that wasone of the most feared in all of La Liga in 2006-07.

Zigic Returns To Racing