European Team of the Week: Cristiano Ronaldo and Theo Walcott Shine Brightly
Napoli’s win following the winter break was made possible by the performance of midfielder Dries Mertens.
The Belgian bagged a brace to help the Partenopei close the gap between themselves and Roma to two points.
Brazilian Kaka, who like Mertens netted twice, partners him in the middle of the park in WhoScored.com's Team of the Week following his display in Milan’s 3-0 win over Atalanta.
The victory helped ease the pressure on Massimiliano Allegri as the Rossoneri secured only their second league win in their last 10 games.
Cristiano Ronaldo also scored twice, doing so in Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Celta Vigo to take his league total for the season to 20, a figure that is bettered by no other player in Europe’s top five leagues.
The goal was a personal landmark for the Portuguese, as he reached 400 career goals.
On the right, Arsenal's Theo Walcott makes up the midfield after his Man of the Match display against Cardiff on New Year’s Day.
The wide man netted late in the 2-0 win and executed six key passes and completed three dribbles in the encounter, before his season-ending knee injury in The FA Cup win over Tottenham on Saturday.
Wilfried Bony was unfortunate to be on the losing side having netted twice in Swansea’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester City last week.
The Ivorian has now scored six times in the Premier League since signing in the summer, three of which have come against opposition from Manchester.
Colombian Carlos Bacca joins him in attack after scoring once and registering two assists for Sevilla as they secured victory over Getafe at the weekend.
At centre-back, Gonzalo Rodriguez made the difference for Fiorentina in their win against Livorno, netting the only goal of the game and making an impressive five interceptions and 10 clearances.
Daniel Agger partners him in the heart of the back line after the Dane opened the scoring in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Hull, while his 13 clearances helped to ensure the Tigers failed to register a shot on target.
Almeria secured their fifth La Liga victory of the season with the help of Sebastian Dubarbier, the left-back netting the opener in a 3-0 win over Granada, while the Argentine also made four interceptions and three clearances.
Dani Carvajal provided an assist in Real’s win on Monday, while his three tackles and four clearances sees him take the place at right-back.
In goal, Jussi Jaaskelainen completes the XI, despite conceding twice in West Ham’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
The Finn was forced into nine saves in the encounter, while registering the assist for Mohamed Diame’s opener, becoming the third goalkeeper this season to provide a Premier League assist.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.
