La Liga Team of the Week: Karim Benzema Fires for Real, Godin Shines for Atleti
Jornada 14 in La Liga saw Barcelona drop late points at the top of the table, another managerial change and both Madrid clubs in winning form—and both supplying names to our team of the week, too.
Our team of the week takes those individual displays from Spain's top flight and combines the best player from each position into a viable formation, with our selection process seeing us analyse every game to pick out a star XI from the weekend's fixtures.
This week, it's a 4-4-2 system, incorporating two strikers hitting vital goals for their respective teams. Only the best players in each position from the action are included here, leading—as always—to several tough decisions along the way. In addition to individual form, we take into account such factors as opposition quality and overall contribution to the team's display.
GK: Jan Oblak, ATM
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Atletico Madrid stopper Jan Oblak has been in imperious form over the last month or so, not conceding a single goal during November and starting December in the same fashion.
He hasn't always been overworked during matches but impressively retains concentration and comes up big for his side at key moments—exactly as he did against Granada this week. Atleti led 1-0 for much of the game, and Oblak had to make important interventions, both saves and aerial claims, to preserve the lead until his team doubled it late on.
The Slovenian isn't flashy, doesn't play on the halfway line or risk dribbles around players, but he's undeniably one of La Liga's best nonetheless.
RB: Lucas Vazquez, RMA
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Injury issues in defence meant an unfamiliar back line for Real Madrid: Lucas Vazquez, Pepe, Nacho and Danilo.
The right-back slot, filled by Vazquez, was more than adequately taken care of; the hard-working Spaniard did his job well in terms of getting into position, but he was hardly tested in a defensive sense by a very poor Getafe team.
Instead, Vazquez was able to surge forward on the overlap at will, provided plenty of passes in toward the attacking third and was quick to make challenges high upfield in the first half to keep the team's tempo up.
CB: Diego Godin, ATM
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In front of Oblak, Diego Godin has been a real rock over the past month or more for Atletico, and with those two in good form, it's no surprise Atleti's results have been consistently good.
The Uruguayan centre-back was immense against Granada, stopping no end of balls toward his penalty area and then having a decisive impact at the other, powering in the opening goal of the game with a stunning header from a corner.
Godin has already been in our player rankings top 20 for a couple of weeks, and his appearance here in the team of the week shows that his form isn't dipping in the slightest.
CB: Inigo Martinez, RSO
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Real Sociedad have experienced a quick bounce in fortunes since David Moyes departed the scene, with a 2-1 win over Eibar this weekend the latest result to shoot them up the table.
While a late winner at the other end clinched the three points, it was Inigo Martinez in defence who impressed for La Real, keeping a vibrant and dangerous Eibar attack at bay with a series of interceptions, headed clearances under pressure and strong challenges.
Martinez has been inconsistent this term, but his top form places him among the league's better defenders—Vicente del Bosque will want to see more of these performances from Martinez over the remainder of the campaign if he's to crash the Euro 2016 squad.
LB: Filipe Luis, ATM
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Another who has been disappointingly inconsistent at times, relative to his great quality, is Filipe Luis—but the Atletico Madrid left-back was in fine form this weekend against Granada.
Aggressive and skilful going forward, Luis consistently looked to dribble at the Granada defence, linking well with those in front of him and putting in several telling passes toward the penalty box.
Defensively, he did what work was required of him, covering across a couple of times and making challenges in his own half, though much of the home team's attack came down the opposite flank. The Brazilian was aware of the danger, though, and he intervened when he could, played at a higher tempo than usual and was key to the win.
CM: Petros, BET
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Into midfield, Real Betis' Petros is the first choice on our teamsheet after a dominant display in his side's 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo.
Playing at the heart of the team, the feisty Brazilian was involved heavily in both the defensive and offensive aspects of his side's game, winning back the ball with regularity against Celta's first-half passing and second-half counter-attacking approach and distributing it well to his team-mates.
Petros also created chances going forward, delivered his set pieces well and set the tone for his team's late fightback and equaliser.
CM: Jefferson Lerma, LEV
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It's another appearance in our team of the week for Levante's young all-round midfielder Jefferson Lerma.
The 21-year-old starred on Monday night in an eventual 1-1 draw with Espanyol, putting his athletic frame to good use to maraud around the middle third and win back possession countless times, before also surging forward to support the attack.
His goal early on was the perfect representation of his abilities: a quick press to close down, a tackle to win the ball and then the speed and composure to beat the defence and finish past the 'keeper.
He's one to keep an eye on in 2016.
W: Jonathan dos Santos, VIL
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Wide midfield brings us a nice balance of ball retention, skill and creativity, starting with Villarreal's Jonathan dos Santos.
Playing from the right side as usual, Dos Santos was one of the key players as the Yellow Submarine came from behind to win 2-1 over Rayo Vallecano late in the game.
He rarely wasted possession, contributed enormously to the build-up in the second half and was vital in quickly winning back the ball against the counter-attack as Rayo looked to snatch the points themselves after the break.
W: Neymar, FCB
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Once more in exciting form for Barcelona was Neymar, from the left.
While he didn't quite play at 100 per cent on this occasion, his showing in the first hour of the game was one of the most one-sided duels seen in La Liga this term as he tormented and twisted an out-of-position Ruben Vezo.
Neymar perhaps cooled off in the second half, and his shooting wasn't up to scratch as it usually is—he wasted two good chances to score—but he was still arguably he best on the park, and Valencia had no answer to his touch and pace.
CF: Karim Benzema, RMA
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In our attack, it's no surprise to see Karim Benzema, after two early goals lifted spirits for Real Madrid and no doubt his own confidence after a tough few weeks on and off the field.
The Frenchman showed his usual good movement inside the penalty box and finishing instincts to rattle in close-range strikes, while also putting in the standard selfless play thereafter. He created space for others, laid off shooting chances and generally made life difficult for the opposition defence.
There's little doubt he helps the Real attack amount to more than the sum of its parts when he's in the side, and they could do with him finding consistency now to close the gap at the top of La Liga. Benzema scored the opening two goals in an eventual 4-1 win over Getafe.
CF: Antonio Sanabria, SPO
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Our final choice is young forward Tonny Sanabria, on loan from AS Roma at Sporting Gijon.
The Paraguayan 19-year-old has had a fine start to the season and scored his first hat-trick in La Liga as Sporting defeated Las Palmas 3-1 in a battle of the promoted sides, lifting Sporting four points clear of the drop zone.
His goals showed different sides to his game: good finishing on the run, the strength to win aerial battles and pace to get ahead of his marker, highlighting his potential for the future and how he can help his team survive this term.
