La Liga Team Of The Week – Big Boys Dominate The Gameweek
Another exciting and exhilarating week of the La Liga unfolded before us as top sides grew from strength to strength whereas the battle in the basement just got tougher. Runaway leaders Barcelona made it look like just another day at the office when they thrashed Girona 6-1, riding on a hat-trick from Luis Suarez and a brace from Lionel Messi.
The Galacticos continued their unbeaten, resurgent run as they wrapped up a convincing performance with a 4-0 victory over Alaves. Second-placed Atletico Madrid struck 5 past Sevilla whereas Valencia needed a Santi Mina brace to earn a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.
Villarreal climbed up a spot by getting the better of Getafe. Elsewhere, Athletic Club dented Malaga’s hopes of survival even further, and Celta Vigo put up a neat display at home against Eibar, winning the game 2-0. Deportivo La Corúna vs Espanyol and Leganes v Las Palmas turned out as stalemates. Overall, it was a week full of clean sheets, namely seven of them. At the same time, star strikers stamped their authority all over the place by shining bright.
La Liga Team of the Week
Formation: 4-2-2-2
GK: Keylor Navas
Navas is back in form on a complete note. He made two sharp, stunning saves along with three others to keep a vital clean sheet in an important home game. He never looked out of sorts and was confident throughout. The Costa Rican has played a major part in Real Madrid’s recent success, which includes four wins in a row, in the league.
RB: Martin Montoya
The 26-year-old was an absolute beast for Valencia in this outing. He hardly left any space behind him and always stuck to his assigned marker. Going forward, Montoya put in some classy deliveries and deservedly, bagged the assist for the first goal with a pinpoint, teasing cross.
CB: Raphael Varane
Varane was simply substantial, rock hard and incessant at the back. A well-deserved clean sheet to his name.
CB: Sergi Gomez
Gomez made a handful of tackles and kept check of all movements in the box. He covered the ground well, left no gap between himself and the fullbacks and added his bit in the opposition penalty area too.
LB: Jordi Alba
Alba’s clever and fearless overlapping runs were a highlight of Barcelona’s performance. He drove forward, provided the right deliveries and enjoyed many touches in the box, which piled more misery on the opponents.
RW: Lionel Messi
Messi was, as usual, a synonym of perfect football. He made defenders look like practice cones, set up key passes for his teammates and injected pace along with innovation, all over the pitch. His goals were full of efficacy. Tidy finishing, indeed.
CM: Koke
As strong and productive as ever, Koke finds a place in the star-studded XI due to his change of pace and that fine finish for the goal. He was excellent with his vision and defensive work too.
CM: Manu Trigueros
Trigueros boasted of a pass completion above 86% and established total control of the midfield. He led Villarreal to a crucial win with his presence and ability to predict passes.
LW: Cristiano Ronaldo
Another Matchday, another brace for Ronaldo. He was creative in picking his passes and never looked like he would stop. The Portuguese won all take-ons and yet again, his trickery and link-up play with Benzema in the box worked so well.
ST: Luis Suarez
As easy as you like! Luis Suarez was super smooth on the ball, held it well, showed extremely good awareness to find Coutinho and Messi and finished thrice without any fuss. He completed four dribbles and could have scored a couple more. Sadly, was denied by the woodwork on one occasion.
ST: Antoine Griezmann
Griezmann was on top of his game this weekend. The highly-rated Frenchman’s movement was unmatched. His dribbling and finishing were both on point yet again. He conquered the pitch completely.