MADRID - Matchday 24 in Spain's La Liga Santander saw FC Barcelona clip two points off Real Madrid's lead at the top of the table, while Atletico Madrid showed signs of life and the battle to avoid relegation continued with the teams near the bottom all battling to results. Here are some things we learned this weekend in Spain.

1. Angel a good fit for Barcelona

Getafe's Spanish forward Angel Rodriguez (R) shakes hands with Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi after the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on Feb 15, 2020. (LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Barcelona's search for a striker has dragged on since the start of the year, but the club has still failed to confirm a replacement for Luis Suarez. Getafe's Angel Rodriguez has been mentioned as a stopgap and the 32-year-old did his case no harm on Saturday when he scored Getafe's goal in the Camp Nou and was close to a second, which would have denied Barca a point.

A late developer in the top-flight, Angel has shown himself to be a consistent goal scorer over the past four years and this season averages roughly a goal every 90 minutes

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A late developer in the top-flight, Angel has shown himself to be a consistent goal scorer over the past four years and this season averages roughly a goal every 90 minutes. He's also shown he's happy to wait his turn from the subs' bench, all of which means he could be the perfect signing to cover until the end of the season.

2. Barca fans annoyed at passing game

One of the surprising things about Saturday's game in the Camp Nou Stadium was the lack of patience some Barca fans showed with their team, with a chorus of boos echoing round the stadium midway through the first half when Barca's defense opted to pass the ball to keeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen.

It's true that the tactic is not for the faint hearted and although Ter Stegen is arguably one of the best keepers with his feet in the world and was able to pass himself out of trouble, he has made errors in the past (such as in the recent Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Club). Barca ended up 2-1 winners at home to Getafe, but you get the feeling there is another defensive accident waiting to happen before too long.

3. Signs of life from Atletico Madrid

Although they were twice pegged back by a hard-working Valencia side in an entertaining game on Friday night, Atletico Madrid produced one of their best displays in a long time in the 2-2 draw.

Atletico Madrid's Argentinian coach Diego Simeone holds a press conference at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on Feb 17, 2020 on the eve of their Champions League football match against Liverpool FC. (JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)

The decision to push Marcos Llorente further forward paid off for Diego Simeone, while Thomas Partey and Koke were energetic in midfield and the return of Alvaro Morata also provided a timely boost ahead of this week's Champions League tie at home to Liverpool.

It wasn't all good news, however, as Renan Lodi had to leave injured in the first half and Santiago Arias still doesn't look good enough and those issues at full back are something Liverpool could look to exploit.

4. Not for the nervous at the bottom

The battle to avoid relegation is not for those of a nervous disposition as the bottom four sides all showed they are willing to dig deep to try and survive.

Espanyol's Chinese forward Wu Lei (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between Sevilla FC and RCD Espanyol at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville on Feb 16, 2020. (CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP)

Espanyol started the weekend with a 2-2 draw away to Sevilla, while Celta Vigo took a 2-2 draw away to Real Madrid to again show their squads should be too good to go down.

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Meanwhile Leganes battled to a 0-0 draw at home to Betis and Mallorca ended a run of just one win in 10 matches with a 1-0 win at home to Alaves.

Espanyol and Celta look better equipped  to survive than Leganes and Mallorca, but with nobody giving up, sides such as Eibar and Valladolid will not be looking nervously over their shoulders.