La Liga Team of the Week for September 12-15
La Liga returned after the international break with a bang last weekend, with Atletico Madrid's derby victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu standing out for numerous reasons.
Elsewhere, Barcelona eked out a home win over Athletic Bilbao, while there were also encouraging wins for both Sevilla and Valencia.
Opting for a 4-3-3 formation this time around, click on for our selection of the latest La Liga team of the week.
GK: Jesus (Levante)
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Only Jesus could save Levante at the weekend, as the goalkeeper repelled Malaga time and time again on the way to a valuable 0-0 away draw.
The 26-year-old made seven saves over the course of the game, but just as significantly, he won all of his aerial duels, per Whoscored.com, to relieve the pressure on his embattled defence.
It already looks like Jesus is in for a long, busy season between the sticks, but Levante at least have their first point of the campaign on the board thanks to their goalkeeper.
DF: Allan Nyom (Granada)
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We are not going to say Allan Nyom makes this list solely based on the following moment of genius, but we wouldn't begrudge you thinking that was definitely the case.
"Allan Nyom tops off a brilliant weekend of football in style. http://t.co/FL3VpiXlXh
— Football__Tweet (@Football__Tweet) September 14, 2014"
The Cameroon international caused a stir on social media in the game against Villarreal after he absolutely obliterated an opposition player, before running away as the referee tried to give him a yellow card (the referee got to him eventually).
That was the highlight of the match for Nyom, but he did have an impressive all-round game as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw. Although this dive did nearly get him scrubbed from the list:
"It must have been very windy out. Right, Allan Nyom? https://t.co/butFBAMJLm
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) September 15, 2014"
DF: Juanfran (Atletico Madrid)
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So much of Atletico Madrid's attitude and success is best on teamwork, the collective above the individual, that it often seems unfair to single out individual performances. Saturday's derby victory over Real Madrid was a triumph of such cohesion and spirit, as exemplified by Arda Turan's winning goal.
That strike was assisted by Juanfran (with Mario Mandzukic's dummy also playing a significant role), as the full-back showed brilliant stamina to get down the pitch so late in the game to provide the decisive through ball.
But the experienced Spaniard also did his job defensively, clearing time and time again as Real Madrid's starry front line were denied the time and space they wanted to create a clear chance.
DF: Alberto Lopo (Deportivo La Coruna)
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The 34-year-old Alberto Lopo was the cornerstone of the Deportivo La Coruna defence on Monday night, as they held on to snag a valuable 1-0 away win at Eibar.
Dominant in the air and organised on the ground, Lopo's experience and understanding helped Depor come away unscathed from a unique ground that is surely going to catch a lot of teams by surprise this season.
DF: Jeremy Mathieu (Barcelona)
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Credit where credit is due. Some observers were skeptical about what Jeremy Mathieu would actually bring to Barcelona when he signed from Valencia in the summer. But the Frenchman showcased his potential worth in the weekend victory over Athletic Bilbao, sitting in the heart of defence and helping to preserve the clean sheet, even as his centre-back partner changed at half-time.
Mathieu touched the ball 90 times, completing 91 percent of his passes as he kept the home side in possession and gave his more illustrious team-mates further up the pitch the chance to attack with greater and greater intensity.
MF: Tiago (Atletico Madrid)
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Not only did he take advantage of Real Madrid's frailty from set pieces to open the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, Tiago was a constant menace in the heart of the Atletico midfield as he prevented the home side from unleashing the full weight of its attacking talents.
The Portuguese was linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer, as per AS (h/t Sky Sports), but after not following the path taken by Diego Costa and Filipe Luis, he underlined his value to any side with a brilliant all-round display in an impressive victory.
MF: Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla)
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Sevilla's Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak was another battling midfielder who made his presence known over the weekend, dominating the midfield battle alongside team-mate Vicente Iborra as the home side secured a 2-0 win over Getafe.
Krychowiak made a number of crucial interventions and tackles to prevent Getafe from getting into dangerous attacking positions, while he also distributed the ball intelligently and sensibly to allow the likes of Aleix Vidal and Denis Suarez the chance to create chances at the other end of the pitch.
MF: Esteban Granero (Real Sociedad)
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He perhaps could have done better to prevent Celta Vigo's opening goal—track your man all the way to goal, Esteban!—but Granero rebounded from that momentary lapse in concentration to help his side come from 2-0 down to grab a 2-2 draw at the weekend.
Often characterised as a ball-playing, lightweight midfielder, Granero showed a little bite in his tackle as Sociedad eventually turned the tide; the former QPR (and Real Madrid) player won all of his aerial challenges and passed the ball wisely as Sociedad finished strongly.
FW: Paco Alcacer (Valencia)
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After exposing himself to a wider audience with his performances for Spain on the international break, Paco Alcacer built upon that momentum with another good performance—and a goal—in Valencia's 3-1 victory over Espanyol.
The 21-year-old might have been quiet for long parts of the match (he touched the ball just 22 times in total), but he made an impact when it counted, beating Kiko Casilla with just over 15 minutes remaining to wrap up the points.
With Alcacer in such form and Alvaro Negredo soon to return from injury, Valencia may have a prolific strike force on its hands this term.
FW: Joaquin Larrivey (Celta Vigo)
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Joaquin Larrivey might be on of the most underrated players in La Liga. A summer acquisition from Rayo Vallecano (for whom he was a pivotal presence), the Celta Vigo forward is a physical presence at the head of the attack. He also has deceptively good technique and an eye for goal.
Those attributes were firmly on display at the weekend, as he helped Celta to a 2-0 lead over Real Sociedad, scoring the second goal himself with a close-range finish. Sociedad eventually roared back to grab a point, but that should not detract from Larrivey's valuable display.
FW: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
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Lionel Messi might as well have a position in this team reserved for him, such is his constant influence on this new Barcelona setup that Luis Enrique is implementing.
Messi and his team-mates were made to work to finally break down an Athletic Bilbao side that gave as good as they got. But the introduction of Neymar would prove the difference, as Messi laid on two assists for his Brazilian team-mate.
Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.
