La Liga Team of the Week: Cristiano Ronaldo Stars, Suarez Keeps Barcelona Top
Jornada 22 saw Barcelona win the big match at the top to put themselves in pole position to retain the Liga title, in an incident-packed game which featured a couple of the star performers from this weekend.
For our Team of the Week, we take the best individual displays from Spain's top flight and combine the most impressive 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 4-3-3, with only the best players in each position 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: Andres Fernandez, GRA
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Granada were on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline as they lost at Villarreal, but the game could have been over much earlier—or the result more a reflection of the chances in the 90 minutes—had it not been for Andres Fernandez and his heroics.
In the first half, the goalkeeper pulled off three saves that were particularly impressive, coming out on top against Roberto Soldado on numerous occasions and showing good reflexes to divert a number of close-range efforts over the crossbar.
Fernandez was eventually beaten by a penalty, but his overall game was excellent.
RB: Dani Carvajal, RMA
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A dominant Real Madrid won 6-0 against Espanyol—to no one's surprise—and four of their players win spots in our team, beginning with right-back Dani Carvajal.
Of Real's full-backs, Marcelo was arguably the better, but Carvajal again showed why he is the more complete option on the right side for his team.
The Spaniard was fantastic in his link play high upfield as Real bossed the first 45 minutes. He overlapped well to provide ammunition to the front men and showed good pace to open the game up.
Defensively, he was more called upon in the second half and did his job well, showing why he merits his spot in the side since Zinedine Zidane's appointment.
CB: Jorge Mere, SPO
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If you're not already aware of the talents of Jorge Mere, the chances are he'll star in a game against your club soon.
The Sporting Gijon centre-back is just 18 years old and has been given his chance in the team due to injuries, and he has taken the opportunity superbly.
A mature performance for the relegation strugglers helped his team record an unlikely 1-0 win at Valencia, a first clean sheet in La Liga in three months and a move out of the bottom three thanks to back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Mere kept his game simple, defended the second ball well and was always on hand to help his team out against Los Che, who had enough possession in attacking areas to create chances but couldn't find a way through.
CB: Mateo Musacchio, VIL
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The form of Villarreal centre-back Mateo Musacchio since his return from injury has just been incredible.
Out for many months with a terrible ankle injury, the Argentinian could have been forgiven had he taken another month or two to hit his stride—but instead he has returned right at the top of his game, showing his own trademark blend of composure in possession and aggression in defensive work.
Villarreal were the better side against Granada and deserved their 1-0 win, but Musacchio still had plenty to do throughout the game and didn't put a foot wrong—yet again.
LB: Benoit Tremoulinas, SEV
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Marcelo was excellent for Real Madrid, but Benoit Tremoulinas proved even better for Sevilla.
The Frenchman suffered a run of games out of the side earlier in the campaign, but he is now back to first choice under Unai Emery.
Tremoulinas put in a complete display against Levante, defending well but also offering a reliable threat going forward which started to yield dividends from the very first minute.
It was his run and cross in the opening 60 seconds which led to Sevilla taking the lead, and he constantly drove forward after the break to beat his man, open up the pitch and either pass short infield or look for a dangerous cross.
He did get an assist for the last goal, but even without that, he was a superb performer as Sevilla won 3-1.
CM: Bruno Soriano, VIL
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Villarreal's win over Granada took a while to arrive, though there's no doubting they deserved it.
Bruno Soriano eventually netted the winning goal from the penalty spot, but quite aside from his nerveless finish, it was his all-round display and dominance from the centre of the park which saw him impress again as one of the most complete players in La Liga.
The Spanish midfielder won the ball back with his physical prowess as much as timing, surged forward to good effect to use space on the counter and, in periods of sustained possession in the final third, he was one of the more creative and incisive players on the team.
CM: Saul, ATM
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Atletico Madrid lost the battle at the top to Barcelona, 2-1, but there's certainly lots to suggest Diego Simeone's side had the better approach to the game and deserved something—at least until they suffered two red cards and were unable to break down their opponents further.
In the middle of the park, Saul typified the overall excellent approach from Los Rojiblancos, starting wide right and then dominating centrally after a tactical reshuffle post-red cards.
He was ferocious in the challenge, closed down at the right times and stayed compact in his position to make it hard for Barca to play through, but there was far more to his game than hard work.
Early on, he was one of the most progressive players on the field, showing great footwork and an offensive mindset to create chances for his team—including the opening goal, netted by Koke.
CM: Isco, RMA
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All three of Real Madrid's central midfielders put in good performances against Espanyol, but for Isco, it was a first real display of non-stop dominance and dynamism since Zinedine Zidane put him back in the team, so he gets the nod ahead of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, who were both subbed off.
Isco was one of the Real players to take the game to Espanyol, driving forward with the ball at his feet and getting shots away from the edge of the box as soon as possible.
His creativity was pleasing as he continually fed in passes through the gaps in Espanyol's back line, showing a good understanding with the movement of Cristiano Ronaldo in particular ahead of him.
More of the same is needed from Isco if he's to nail down the central-midfield role regularly.
FW: James Rodriguez, RMA
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Often it has been either Isco or James Rodriguez for Real Madrid, but this week—with Gareth Bale out injured—it was the two of them, and both managed to impress.
James played on the right of the front three and continually found himself able to cut back inside and send over crosses or play low passes into the area for others to shoot from. He also created the game's opening goal in such a fashion.
The Colombian netted a deflected goal and, importantly, played the full 90 minutes and looked much closer to his true form than he has recently.
FW: Luis Suarez, FCB
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Luis Suarez again proved the match-winner for Barcelona in a crucial match, with his movement behind the Atletico Madrid defence and ability to steer a shot into the net from a narrow angle ending up being too much for the visitors to handle.
The Uruguayan was a complete menace throughout the match, continually closing down Atleti's defence high upfield and linking brilliantly with the rest of the Barcelona attack with clever one-touch passes, incisive runs and the willingness to swap passes as readily as shoot on goal.
Suarez scored the goal to settle the game and also won enough free-kicks to keep the referee busy—both Diego Godin's bookings came for fouls on the former Liverpool man, resulting in a red for the defender and a win for Barca.
FW: Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
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Luis Suarez moved to the top of the goalscoring charts in La Liga with his match-winner, but Cristiano Ronaldo later joined him on 19 for the season after netting a hat-trick against Espanyol.
It wasn't just goalscoring where Ronaldo impressed this time, though; this was as complete a performance as he has given all season, linking play and running the channels, working off the ball and being a threat inside the penalty box—this is how he won multiple Ballon d'Or awards, not just by putting the ball in the net.
As it was, the all-round display was rewarded with arguably his best goal of the season as he hit his second, showing great footwork and power as well as a clinical edge in his shot. A penalty and diving header completed his treble and gave Real Madrid the 6-0 win.
