La Liga Team for Weekend of November 1-3
Jornada 10 of La Liga saw a few surprise results, a managerial casualty in Real Sociedad's Jagoba Arrasate and a change in leader as Spain's top flight continued to impress and entertain.
We've sorted through each of the fixtures from Friday night to Monday, including wins for Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao, and we judged which of the individuals within those fixtures put in the top performances.
The result is our latest team of the weekend for La Liga, lining up in a 4-3-3 and contributing a fairly hefty eight goals between them for good measure.
GK: Sergio Alvarez, CEL
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Celta Vigo goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez had the game of his life against Barcelona.
He and his team might have rode their luck at times—certainly a handful of interventions by the woodwork helped them on their way—but he still made several top-drawer saves during the game, particularly from a top corner-bound Lionel Messi shot.
Alvarez kept a clean sheet, which not too many visiting keepers will be able to say at the Camp Nou this term, as his side won 1-0.
DR: Juanfran, ATM
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Atletico Madrid picked up a positive result at home to newcomers Cordoba, winning 4-2 at the Vicente Calderon. They had a number of good performers in attack, as the scoreline indicates, but the performance of Juanfran at right-back shouldn't be overlooked either.
The Spanish international was his usual solid self in the back four, closing down crossing opportunities quickly and aggressively and seeing off the dribbling threat of Fidel. Going forward, Juanfran supported the attack well and claimed himself an assist.
DC: Shkodran Mustafi, VAL
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Shkodran Mustafi has had some criticism from some of his early matches in a Valencia shirt, so it's right that he be acknowledged for a particularly effective performance this time around.
Los Che beat Villarreal 3-1 away from home, a great scoreline despite an underwhelming performance at times, with the centre-back scoring twice; that's three in the last two games for the German defender.
He also made a handful of good tackles defensively and looked much more the part alongside Nicolas Otamendi.
DC: Sergi Gomez, CEL
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Two parts of Celta Vigo's back line make up the rest of our defence, starting with central defender Sergi Gomez.
While he left the aerial threat for team-mate Cabral to deal with, on the deck, Gomez was nigh unpassable, launching himself into blocks and tackles with gusto and proving to read the game very well as Barcelona searched for a way through.
It was a massive performance at the heart of Celta's defence, and he was one of the biggest reasons that Neymar and Luis Suarez didn't have more shooting chances than they did.
DL: Jonny, CEL
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Left-back Jonny also takes his place in our team, for both showing great defensive commitment and also the willingness and the ability to get forward quickly on the break, at least in the first half.
His pace saw him support further forward when Celta countered in fours and fives, though of course he had to be alert to the threat behind him of Suarez and Messi, who in the second half dovetailed neatly down the right channel and central lines.
Jonny won his share of challenges and held a good line, as well as making a spectacular lunging block on a goal-bound shot, diverting it onto the crossbar and away.
He and Celta certainly rode their luck, but they earned it with their positive approach and conviction in their tactical plan.
RM: James Rodriguez, RMA
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James Rodriguez continued his recent excellent run of form with a top-class display for Real Madrid against Granada at the weekend.
Real were relentless in their early attacking of the Andalusian side, with James at the heart of much of their best work with his ability to find space infield from the right flank, play in his attacking team-mates and get in the box himself.
Two goals of different kinds—a spectacular volley and a determined run to the far post to finish off a move he started himself—were just reward for his endeavour in the final third.
MC: Grzegorz Krychowiak, SEV
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Sevilla’s central midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak might have ended on the losing side this weekend, Athletic Bilbao winning the match 1-0, but he can still be satisfied at having put in a big display of his own once more.
In form and strong in his holding role, Krychowiak dominated play for long spells, outworking and outrunning even Ander Iturraspe in the game and winning countless challenges in the centre of the park to try and keep his team on top.
Sevilla won the battle in the middle of the park, though it didn’t translate to three points on this occasion.
LM: Samu Castillejo, MGA
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Samu Castillejo was one of the weekend’s top performers, with a telling display from the youngster coming in Malaga’s 1-0 win away at Real Sociedad.
The youngster doesn’t have blinding pace or immense trickery, but his running, positivity and work rate were all top class for the side from the south. He hit Sociedad on the break down the left side time after time and pinned his opposition full-back high up the pitch.
Defensively, he worked extremely hard, doubling up with his left-back when needed. It wasn't the flashiest display of the week, but it was certainly one of the most important; he helped his team in a big way.
FW: Karim Benzema, RMA
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To the forwards now, and we start with the best of them from the weekend: Karim Benzema.
The Real Madrid striker tore into Granada with his excellent movement inside the penalty box in a match when all his best traits—link play, finishing, selfless running and ability to use space—came together perfectly.
Benzema claimed an assist inside two minutes, added another for James’ volley and then scored the third goal himself with another clever run and poked finish—a superb display all-round.
FW: Antoine Griezmann, ATM
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Antoine Griezmann was handed a starting role just off the striker for Atletico Madrid against Cordoba, and he took his chance well: two goals and plenty of chances for the Frenchman to get shots away.
His pace and running down the channels gave Cordoba too much to deal with, and they were largely unable to pin Griezmann down; getting tight left room in behind when he came deep, while he could run at them directly or pass through if they stood off.
Atleti’s 4-2 win put them up to third.
FW: Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
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We finish with our third forward and third Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored two minutes into the 4-0 win over Granada and played a key role throughout the win.
The move to centre-forward in a two-man attack has suited him immensely; the Portuguese forward is finding more space in central areas, is able to drop off and take a touch, link the attack, play in team-mates and even dribble at the defence more often.
His backheeled assist for Benzema’s goal showed his great awareness and technique, as Real went top of La Liga.
