La Liga Team of the Week: Cristiano Ronaldo Reaches 25 Goals for the Season
Gameweek 15 of the 2014-15 La Liga season has come to an end after Monday night's basement battle, with some big individual performances being spotted all over the country in the penultimate game before the winter break.
Real Madrid picked up their 20th consecutive win in all competitions and gained ground at the top of the table as Atletico Madrid and Barcelona failed to shine, while Valencia, Malaga and Villarreal all won in the chase for fourth. Elsewhere, the Basque derby ended in a draw and Eibar frustrated Sevilla with a 0-0 draw in Andalucia.
Here is our team of the week, unsurprisingly featuring a handful of Real players as they went four points clear at the top.
GK: Carlos Kameni, MGA
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Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni wins a place in our team of the week once again, after another weekend of making fine saves and showing his all-round athleticism.
He helped Malaga to a home 1-0 win over Celta Vigo, despite the northerners dominating possession and having double the amount of shots on target that Malaga themselves managed.
Another clean sheet for Kameni and he helps Malaga up to seventh.
DF: Aleix Vidal, SEV
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Although Sevilla couldn't find the breakthrough to take all three points at home to Eibar, a stubborn and resistant opponent for many sides this season already, they did dominate the match, create plenty of chances and had a few impressive performers on their team.
One came at right-back, with Aleix Vidal playing much further back than usual in an attempt to give Sevilla some cutting edge and drive from deep areas of the pitch.
The 25-year-old got forward to good effect, linking well in the final third as you'd expect, but also did his share of work defensively, pressing high to win the ball when he could and tracking back prodigiously against the Eibar threat on the counter.
DF: Emiliano Velazquez, GET
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Getafe aren't a terribly impressive side going forward, relying a lot on the likes of Karim Yoda, but in defence they have a resilience and doggedness about them which has seen young centre-back Emiliano Velazquez shine this season.
Just 20 years of age, the Uruguayan is composed and diligent in his defensive work, but also aggressive and alert to making clearances and challenges when needed.
Against Barcelona he was exactly on cue again, snuffing out danger around the edge of the box, holding a good line and preventing the opposition get many clear-cut chances. It wasn't always pretty, but it was highly effective.
DF: Nicolas Otamendi, VAL
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After a bit of a poor performance last week, Nico Otamendi returned in a big way this weekend for Valencia as they beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0.
Los Che certainly didn't have it all their own way; Rayo had the lion's share of chances and possession, but with Otamendi standing firm and tackling everything which came his way, the clean sheet was preserved.
Again he was far superior and more confident-looking than partner Shkodran Mustafi, making several interceptions on the stretch which could easily have led to shooting chances for Rayo's attackers.
DF: Jaume Costa, VIL
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Atletico Madrid vs. Villarreal was one of the most interesting games of the weekend, with the away side doing enough to nick a 1-0 win right near the end.
Atleti had plenty of the ball and, of course, sought to attack down the channels with their talented playmakers—and were duly stopped by left-back Jaume Costa, who was rock solid with his challenges, fast to get into position defensively after supporting the attack and, in the main, careful with his passing out of defence.
That Arda Turan wasn't able to have his usual big impact on the game was a credit to Costa's ability in the back line.
CM: Bruno, VIL
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In midfield, Villarreal had another big couple of performers in Bruno and Manu Trigueros, but we'll just give the nod to the captain this time.
Bruno challenged for everything; high balls, loose passes, second balls and open-play battles in the centre of the park, and invariably won the lot. He outshone both Gabi and Tiago and was tireless in his running, as well as using the ball well when his side moved forward.
It wasn't a game where Bruno's attacking talents came to the fore much, but defensively he protected his side and in fact produced a performance that Diego Simeone would have been proud of, tenacious, aggressive and non-stop.
CM: Isco, RMA
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Isco was back in the Real Madrid team after his suspension ended and due to the injury to James Rodriguez.
The Spanish midfielder picked up where he left off, showing good composure on the ball, driving forward from midfield and being a telling protagonist in the final third.
He scored a fine goal but was also constantly looking to play in his team-mates in good offensive positions to keep Real on the front foot.
AM: Sofiane Feghouli, VAL
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Valencia's chopping and changing of the attacking line led to a recall for Sofiane Feghouli this weekend in the win over Rayo and the Algerian responded with a lively performance and two goals.
Feghouli had been restricted to a sub role more often than not this season, but his impact down the right flank with his constant running past the defensive line, ability to break infield and link play—and of course his end product—could see him return as a regular starter past the winter break.
Movement and anticipation were key to his goals as Feghouli scored a header on the run and followed up a corner to net a close-range finish.
AM: Gareth Bale, RMA
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Playing from the right side of the Real Madrid attack, Gareth Bale constantly looked to drive infield and find space to get shots away against Almeria.
The Welshman's direct running and ability to take up good positions, unmarked, led to his fine headed goal which turned out to be the match-winner in the 4-1 victory.
Bale didn't always manage to find the best end product with his final pass, but he was a big danger throughout the game and played a big part in the win.
AM: Denis Cheryshev, VIL
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Denis Cheryshev is such an exciting player to watch, with his speed, direct play and willingness to run at defenders, that when he gets it right, he can look like a world beater at times. If he could find consistency in his end product and was a little less selfish at times, he'd be a regular starter instead of sharing game time with the likes of Cani, Moi Gomez and Jonathan dos Santos...or perhaps he would actually be used by his parent club, Real Madrid.
In any case, he certainly got it right against Atletico Madrid, showing great pace on the counter-attack in the second half and the ability to consistently time his runs into space.
Denis almost created the winner with a great low cross for Luciano Vietto, then almost netted a great goal himself with a run and shot past Diego Godin.
FW: Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
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In attack, Cristiano Ronaldo took himself to 25 goals for the season with a late brace in the 4-1 win over Almeria.
Ronaldo wasn't spectacular throughout the entire match but broke infield from the left, strayed into spaces down both channels and eventually moved central to impact the game—in any position, the home team couldn't get close to him and he rocked away shot after shot.
His relentlessness brought him two goals in the end to wrap up the win and his self-belief, consistency and end product sum up the best of Real Madrid on this tremendous run of form.
