The title race in La liga got closer over the weekend with Barcelona squeezing out a result away at Granada, and Real Madrid having to settle for a draw at home against Europa League hopefuls Villareal.
Villarreal have goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo to thank for the one point they earned away at the Santiago Bernabeu. The former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper showed he’s still one of the best goalkeepers in the league as he time and again denied the league leaders. Cristiano Ronaldo was especially a victim of Asenjo’s heroics, and the Portugese could only get past him with a penalty.
In defence, Celta Vigo fullback Jonny was on top of his game, and popped-up at the right time with great pace and vision to pick out Danish midfielder Krohn-Dehli who scored his side’s opener in a 1-1 draw against Elche on Monday.
Despite ending on the losing team, Getafe’s 20-year-old defender Emiliano Velázquez makes the defence after putting up a commendable performance for the Madrid based side. Velazquez’s was near faultless, defensively and offensively putting in a shift. He’s joined in the heart of defence by Athletic Club’s match-winner Carlos Gurpegi. The 34-year-old’s headed goal nine minutes before half time was enough to lift Valverde’s men to 10th on the league table.
Completing the defence for this round’s best XI is Roberto Rosales, who makes it back to back appearances in the team. The Malaga defender who was arguably the star of the game as Malaga held on to beat Barcelona in the previous round, was yet again at his defensive best, putting in a game-high seven tackles in Malaga’s explosive 3-2 scoreline win over Getafe.
Barcelona’s summer signing Ivan Rakitic is finally showing why the Catalans doled-out so much for his services. His performance – and goal – for Barca away at Granada was huge evidence of how important he is to Luis Enrique’s side.
Yet another Malaga player, Sergi Darder makes the team, slotting alongside Rakitic in midfield. The 21-year-old central midfielder scored one of the best goals of the weekend across Spain – and maybe even Europe.
Valencia’s Argentine winger Pablo Piatti is becoming a regular feature in our Team of the week, and he makes the cut yet again after he single-handedly won Los Che all three points against Real Sociedad with a well taken brace in the space of three second half minutes.
Despite not doing enough to hand Los Blancos all three points against Villareal, Portugese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the players who distinguished themselves over the last round of games. The 30-year-old scored the only goal of the game for Ancelotti’s team, and he also amassed an amazing 13 shots in the game.
Rayo Vallecano’s Alberto Bueno makes the team (No prizes for guessing this correctly) after hitting an amazing four goals past Levante at Vallecas in a 4-2 Rayo victory. Even more amazing was the fact that he got all four goals within 15 first half minutes, and with only five shots!
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez completes the team after putting up yet again a display which mirrored his current form for Barcelona. After his Champions League brace against Manchester City, the Uruguayan turned up with a goal and an assist for the Blaugrana as they beat their hosts Granada 3-1.
