It’s time again for us at La liga blog to celebrate those Liga players who impressed after match week 13.
In goal for this round, Almeria goal keeper, Estaban wins our hearts after taking charge in his side’s 1-0 away win against Osasuna in Pamplona. Estaban was full of life and made 7 crucial saves as Almeria surprisingly increased their winning streak to 3 after being winless in their previous 10 games.
This round’s defence is led by Rayo Vallecano right-back Tito who shone like a million stars in Rayo’s 2-0 win away against Celta Vigo. The former Alcorcón man proved a real threat to the Celta defence whenever he bumped forward from his right-back position, and he capped his performance off with an assist to his name.
Joining the defence in the centre back position is Sevilla’s Federico Fazio who was in top form and showed authority in defence for his side in their 3-1 away win against Espanyol. Fazio gave his side the lead as early as the 3rd minute of the game, and laid the platform on which they romped to all three points. Valladolid defender Alcatraz fills in at centre back alongside Fazio after also putting in a fantastic display for his side in their visit to Valencia. Alcatraz was the star man on the night on both sides as his goal and assist ensured he had a hand in his side’s two goals in their 2-2 result.
Rounding off the defence is Real Madrid full-back, Alvaro Arbeloa who was deployed at left-back by Los Blancos due to the absence of their regular left-backs through injury. The former Liverpool man did not disappoint as he gave one of his best performances in a Madrid shirt in months. He was effective in defence as he had a game-high 6 tackles, but his ability offensively was even more surprising as he regularly bumped down the left flank, creating chances as well. His pass accuracy of 92% also depicted his neatness and calmness on the ball.
In Midfield, Athletic Bilbao Mikel Rico edges the likes of Alexander Song after his match changing performance and influence in his side’s 2-1 win over Levante at the San Mames. It’s hard to understand why he was asked to start from the bench, Rico was absolutely fantastic as he came on and changed the game from half-time. The 29 year-old was tidy with his passes in midfield as he managed a 93% completion rate, but his goal to draw his side level was the peak of his performance on the night.
Sami Khedira wins the spot alongside Rico in the heart of midfield after his performance and goal for Real Madrid in their commanding 5-1 routing of Real Sociedad, whilst Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas rounds off our pick for this round. The former Arsenal man was a one-man army as he almost single-handedly took the home side Real Betis to the cleaners. Cesc was involved in three of Barca’s four goals scoring two and assisting one, and was a tormentor all throughout as he barely put a foot wrong in his man-of-the-match showing.
The forward line for this week is led by Granada’s Yossuf El Arabi who took the laws into his own hands, and scored a superb hat-trick, the first by a Granada player in about 30 years to give Granada all three points at home against Malaga. His gesture to hand over his jersey and match-ball to a blind Granada fan was a testament to how great the Moroccan striker was on the night.
Also up front in our three-pronged attack is El Arabi’s team mate, Yacine Brahimi who was influential, grabbing two assists and managing a game high six shots in Granada’s 3-1 win. Completing the forward line is Real Madrid’s hot-shot Cristiano Ronaldo who continued his streak, scoring a hat-trick, with one goal from a tight angle, a free kick and a penalty as Real comfortably saw off the challenge from Real Sociedad.
The international break takes centre stage before the resumption of the league next weekend. What do you think about our picks for Round 13? Have your say below.
