La Liga Team of the Week Round 37: Messi claims 16th appearance as Montoya debuts

May 7, 2012 8:55:00 AM

Goal.com picks the best from Spain's top flight in the most recent round of action

La Liga

Team Of The Week:

Round 37

Table/Results

GOALKEEPER

Diego LOPEZ
Villarreal
TOTW Apps: 2

Villarreal went down 1-0 to Valencia at Mestalla and piled more relegation pressure upon themselves. But Diego Lopez could not be blamed for the defeat as he kept the Yellow Submarine in the game until injury time. The Spaniard twice denied Pablo Piatti and Aritz Aduriz, making a total of six saves in the match.

DEFENDERS

Martin MONTOYA
Barcelona
TOTW Apps: 1

Carles PUYOL
Barcelona
TOTW Apps: 6

Borja GOMEZ
Granada
TOTW Apps: 1

Jordi ALBA
Valencia
TOTW Apps: 3

Lionel Messi stole the headlines for his record-breaking four-goal tally against Espanyol in the Catalan derby, but praise should be reserved for full-back Martin Montoya and central defender Carles Puyol. Montoya was strong at the back and made intelligent forays down his flank, while Puyol kept the Espanyol attackers in check in the Blaugrana’s 4-0 victory at Camp Nou.

Borja Gomez ended up on the losing side as Granada suffered a 2-1 reverse to Real Madrid at home, but the centre-back was one of better performers in the game, making a number of important interventions. Jordi Alba was the best left-back in La Liga this weekend, as he exhibited a confident showing in defence against Villarreal and made also important runs forward.

MIDFIELDERS

Jesus NAVAS
Sevilla
TOTW Apps: 3

Raul GARCIA
Osasuna
TOTW Apps: 6

Angel LAFITA
Real Zaragoza
TOTW Apps: 2

Sevilla destroyed Rayo Vallecano 5-2 at home and the man pulling the strings from midfield for the Rojiblancos was a certain Jesus Navas. The Spain international winger provided assists for four of the five goals as he had one of his best games in La Liga this season, terrorising the clueless Rayo defence.

Raul Garcia continued his impressive season for Osasuna in midfield, helping the Pamplona outfit to a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad and keeping their hopes of European football alive for next campaign.

Angel Lafita was the hero for Real Zaragoza against Racing Santander as they kept alive their chances of Liga survival with a 2-1 home win. The Spanish winger scored the winner from close range in the 78th minute.

FORWARDS

Lionel MESSI Barcelona TOTW Apps: 16	Gaston SANGOY Sporting Gijon TOTW Apps: 1	Papa Babacar DIAWARA Sevilla TOTW Apps: 1
Lionel Messi, who netted all four goals in Barcelona’s derby triumph over Espanyol, wrote his name into the history books yet again. The Argentina international has now scored 50 La Liga goals this campaign, setting a new all-time record in a single European league season. Papa Babacar Diawara turned on the style for Sevilla in their hammering of Rayo Vallecano, scoring twice in their 5-2 victory. Gaston Sangoy also netted twice, as Sporting Gijon got the better of Real Betis 2-1 at home to maintain their ambitions of retaining their Primera Division status.