La Liga Team for Week 18: Barcelona Front Three Dominate Atletico Madrid
La Liga's latest round of fixtures in Spain produced plenty of noteworthy performances, both on a team and individual player level.
Barcelona's 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid at the top of the table was obviously one of the big highlights, but at the other end of the table, both Cordoba and Elche picked up vital, and unexpected, victories away from home.
Here's our team of the week, incorporating all 10 matches played between Friday and Monday night.
GK: Beto, Sevilla
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Sevilla goalkeeper Beto just about gets our nod for No. 1 this time around, despite a late flurry of activity which almost cost him his clean sheet.
His team beat Almeria 2-0 away from home to move back into the top four of the table, with Beto called upon to make several routine, if important, saves in the first half with the scores still level. Powerful shots from close range were beaten away, and he made one much more impressive lunge out from his goal to parry away a dangerous low cross.
Late on, he and Aleix Vidal got in a mix-up off a throw-in which almost cost a goal, while he also lost an aerial challenge with Tomer Hemed which was cleared off the line. As it didn't cost his team, he'll keep his place here ahead of Sergio Asenjo and Diego Mariño, of Villarreal and Levante respectively.
RB: Dani Alves, Barcelona
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Dani Alves returned at right-back for Barcelona against Atletico Madrid after having missed the past two league starts, before and after the winter break.
The difference with him back in the team was highly noticeable, flying past Leo Messi on the outside to ensure Barcelona still had a presence and balance high up the field on the right flank, which was not always apparent with Martin Montoya in the role.
Alves also offers a lot more end product than his younger positional rival, while defensively he was assured and aggressive when needed.
DC: Raphael Varane, Real Madrid
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French centre-back Raphael Varane was back in the Real Madrid line-up for his team's routine 3-0 win over Espanyol, with Sergio Ramos absent.
While he didn't have a huge amount to do for the first hour against underwhelming opposition, Varane still read the game well, mopped up any semblance of danger in its formative stages and did make a couple of big challenges and interceptions later on.
Varane once more proved he is not only Real's best-performing defender when selected, but one of the top defenders in Spanish football. Why he doesn't start every game as first choice is something only Carlo Ancelotti can answer.
DC: Miguel Torres, Malaga
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Malaga missed a chance to close the gap on the top four when they could only draw 1-1 at home to Villarreal at the weekend, and indeed it was the opposition who made the better case to take all three points.
The home side had plenty of defending to do and centre-back Miguel Torres was robust, consistent and impressive in his work, especially compared to team-mate Marcos Angeleri, who merely looked lost, out of his depth and David Luiz-esque in his propensity to jump into challenges 30 yards out of position.
Torres kept Luciano Vietto quiet, didn't give Villarreal an easy route to goal and made several important clearances inside his own box.
LB: Antonio Rukavina, Villareal
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From the same game, Villarreal left-back Antonio Rukavina impressed in both his defensive work and his ability to get forward.
Naturally a right-sided player, the Serbian was out of position here and continually had to cut back inside on his favoured foot, but he kept the ball and used it well, provided an outlet for his team down the line when Denis Cheryshev cut infield and performed very well on a rare start.
Defensively, Rukavina was assured, stopping through-passes and cutting out promising attacks. He wasn't flashy, but he put in a strong performance.
CM: Fran Rico, Granada
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Into midfield now, and our first choice is Granada's industrious key-man Fran Rico, who impacted in both halves of the field as his team held Real Sociedad to a 1-1 draw, even as they sunk to the bottom of the table because of other results.
Naturally, his side came under plenty of pressure as La Real tried to make headway and pick up the win, but Rico was quick in on the challenge, tracked back against the rampant Sergio Canales plenty of times and put in many tackles to help his team under pressure.
At the other end, his set-piece delivery was good, he played passes into feet for the likes of Lass to get shots away and he (just about) scored the point-saving penalty late on.
CM: Vicente Iborra, Sevilla
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Sevilla's second player in our XI this week, Vicente Iborra had a strong all-round game, scoring a thunderous strike to put his team ahead, and he was dominant in the centre of the park throughout.
His goal was a driven, first-time strike from 20 yards which flew into the top corner and gave his team a deserved lead as they went on to beat Almeria 2-0.
Against the counter-attack threat of the home team, Iborra made regular clearances on the edge of his own box, he was strong in the air and he led the reply counter for his own team with his barnstorming runs toward the final third. A very good all-round display.
CM: James Rodriguez, Real Madrid
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James Rodriguez only played 55 minutes or so of his team's 3-0 win over Espanyol, but he was still the best player on the park and would have impressed even further had he not been sacrificed after his team went down to 10 men.
The Colombian was superb for Real Madrid, albeit against extremely disappointing opposition, spraying the ball around with confidence, driving forward from deep to score a well-taken effort early on in the game and really being aggressive with his attempts to win back the ball.
Espanyol were no doubt glad to see the back of him, but after a couple of low-key performances, this was James back to his scintillating best.
FW: Neymar, Barcelona
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Barcelona's front three won them the game against Atletico Madrid, no question about it.
The movement, pace and skill on the ball that they supplied was key to beating the league champions, with Neymar absolutely key to it all. His direct running, willingness to take on his man and ability to get up and keep taking the game to Atletico after some horrendous treatment by the Atleti defenders was as impressive as it was relentless.
Neymar scored the opening goal of the game, showing good anticipation and reactions to prod home from close range, but his effect on the game was much longer-lasting than just making it 1-0.
FW: Luis Suarez, Barcelona
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In the centre of that attack, Luis Suarez showed all of his best traits: aggressive pressing, working off the ball to create space, linking with fellow attackers and showing a keen eye for goal.
He inadvertently created the first goal by thighing the ball on to Neymar, but there was no mistaking his intent for the second as he guided home a fine finish, first time, to make it 2-0 to Barcelona.
Suarez gave compatriots Josema Gimenez and Diego Godin a really tough match, giving back as much as he took in challenges and showing the quick feet and movement which make him impossible to keep quiet.
FW: Lionel Messi, Barcelona
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And it was Lionel Messi who had the final say, scoring the last goal in the 3-1 win, a fitting end to the game which he had run and dictated from both his right-sided station in the attack and a much more central, roving role as he moved all over to pick up possession.
Messi had a hand, quite literally in the second goal, in both of Barcelona's openers and he was irrepressible in his intent to pick up the ball and dribble, dribble, dribble at the Atletico defence.
They couldn't get near him much of the time, he was always proactively looking to link with the other two and he got his rewards for repeated runs into the box from the second line of attack.
