La Liga Team for Week 24: Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann the Stars in Madrid
Another full weekend of La Liga action saw valuable points gained, and indeed dropped, at both the top and the bottom of the table, as both Madrid teams took advantage of Barcelona's defeat at home to Malaga.
Elsewhere, Real Sociedad impressed against Sevilla in a crazy game, Celta Vigo continued their return to form and in the relegation battle, Levante came from a goal down in the final two minutes of their game against Granada to take a priceless 2-1 victory.
We've analysed each of the matches in turn from Spain's top flight and picked out the top individual performers as usual, to bring you our team of the week—featuring no less than five stars from Atletico and Real, showcasing how they rose to the challenge of making the most of Barca's loss.
GK: Sergio Alvarez, CEL
1 of 11
There weren't too many candidates for goalkeeper of the weekend, so Sergio Alvarez is our comfortable pick for a string of important saves in Celta Vigo's 2-0 win away to Deportivo La Coruna.
Chief amongst them was an impressive double stop in the second half with Depor on top and the score only at 1-0 to Celta, parrying away two efforts in quick succession including one necessitating some lightning reflexes. He earned his luck, as the third effort in that move was shot onto the crossbar and over from close range.
Alvarez has now kept three clean sheets in the last four games, moving Celta up to eighth in the process.
DF: Andreu Fontas, CEL
2 of 11
Right in front of Alvarez, centre-back Andreu Fontas was also impressive, repelling plenty of Depor attacks in the second half as the home team tried to get back into the match.
The former Barcelona B man was strong in the air, making several clearances on the stretch inside his own penalty box to stop the opposition forwards getting clear chances on goal, and was also quick to make challenges on the ground outside the area.
As usual, his passing out from the back was assured and concise, and the team's improvement of late has mirrored his own.
DF: Marcos Angeleri, MGA
3 of 11
Barcelona's much-vaunted attacking troika of Neymar, Leo Messi and Luis Suarez were kept blunted and quiet at the weekend, with the Camp Nou silenced by an unexpected 1-0 defeat by Malaga.
The star of the show in defence for the away team was Marcos Angeleri, with his rugged form of defending perfectly suiting the flow of the game—he was very quick to make aggressive, but fair, challenges in the air and on the deck.
There wasn't really the tempo in Barcelona's passing or the movement to get in behind him, and Angeleri saw out most of the match quite comfortably—an indication of how well he read play and acted to nullify danger.
DF: Xabier Etxeita, ATH
4 of 11
An important 1-0 win for Athletic Bilbao at the weekend over Rayo Vallecano has helped the Basque club up to 12th place, not exactly free and clear of relegation worries just yet but certainly with a buffer of less-than-consistent clubs now below them.
The winner came late on in the match; before then, Athletic had to do plenty of their own defending just to stay in the contest, with Xabier Etxeita proving again he has likely been the best defender in the side this term.
Etxeita was alert to danger, quick to jump in and make challenges to stop play developing and provided a solid partner to the more agile and composed Aymeric Laporte, who was also largely impressive on the day.
MD: Saul, ATM
5 of 11
One of the most impressive performers in Atletico Madrid's 3-0 win over Almeria, Saul Niguez played from the left of midfield in the continued absence of Koke and put in a great display full of inventive passing and bustling work rate.
Indeed, it was a fairly Koke-esque performance in terms of the positions taken up and his manner of trying to get the ball forward quickly.
Saul went close in the second half with a drive from range but it was his industry, running of the game and quick exchanges of passes which really made him stand out in a game where the forwards took most of the headlines.
MD: Ever Banega, SEV
6 of 11
The game of the weekend was undoubtedly that at Anoeta, where Real Sociedad and Sevilla fought out an eventual 4-3 game. The home side led, trailed and eventually came back in the final minutes to take the last-ditch win.
In such an open and end-to-end game, we certainly couldn't pick any defensive-minded players out for controlling things—but in midfield, those with vision and technique made great use of the pace of the game and the space on the pitch.
Ever Banega did it for Sevilla, spraying passes into gaps and letting his team attack almost non-stop at times during the second half, also running forward himself to commit defenders and delivering some good set pieces. He claimed one assist during the game but it could have been more with better finishing.
MD: Xabi Prieto, RSO
7 of 11
Opposite Banega, Xabi Prieto ran the show as far as La Real were concerned.
The veteran attacker was superb at times, using space on the pitch extremely well, counter-attacking with invention and anticipation and making a huge telling impact inside the penalty area, scoring twice to help his side win the game.
Prieto netted a penalty when the game was still only considering becoming a crazy spectacle, before nodding in a near-post header to clinch the points at the death. Elsewhere he was combative, quick to release team-mates into space and worked tremendously hard for his side.
MD: Isco, RMA
8 of 11
One of the best performers of the weekend, Real Madrid's Isco once more stepped up to drag his team toward victory against a stubborn opponent who they initially struggled to break down.
Isco's footwork, invention and athleticism all combine to make him a standout performer at present, never giving up the chase of the ball and finding a route to goal or a team-mate in the box when it looks as though all options have been exhausted.
His assist for Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in the 2-0 win over Elche was a perfect example of his qualities, but he offered plenty to the game besides that one instant.
FW: Antoine Griezmann, ATM
9 of 11
French forward Antoine Griezmann scored another two goals to take himself to within touching distance of his best-ever season for scoring league goals—just three more over the rest of the season will break his personal best, a sure-fire thing on current form.
Griezmann's pace and willingness to make runs in behind the defence caused the problems for Almeria, being alert enough to react to a defensive mistake which he had forced with his pressing to then race through and finish his first goal, before crashing in a second from close-range after a knock-down.
Griezmann played little over an hour as Cholo Simeone opted to rest his stars, but he had already more than made his mark.
FW: Karim Benzema, RMA
10 of 11
With Real Madrid reverting to a two-man attack for most of this match, Karim Benzema's qualities were on full view as he ran the Elche defence ragged with his movement, selfless link play and willingness to open space for others.
A number of times he was purposely linking with Ronaldo to create space and play for a one-two, running in on goal as a result, and probably should have scored earlier than he did only to pass up more than one chance by looking for another pass.
Benzema did eventually score the game's opener from close range after following the ball into the area, deserving his 13th league strike of the season for industry and relentless belief.
FW: Mario Mandzukic, ATM
11 of 11
Our final striking place goes to Griezmann's partner in crime, Mario Mandzukic who was unstoppable in the first half for his side.
His movement caused lots of problems for Almeria, but it was actually his link play and awareness which undone them—twice he set up Griezmann for the Frenchman's brace, firstly with a clever first-time through pass after the defensive error and then with a towering header across goal.
Mandzukic also netted a penalty as Atletico stayed in the title race.
.jpg?w=600 "Nearly 130 Arrests During PSG Celebrations")
