La Liga Team Of The Week: Round 13

Formation: 4-3-3

Goalkeeper

Diego Alves (Almeria)

He may have conceded four goals against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, but he constantly frustrated the Merengue strikeforce with a staggering ten saves in total, one of which was to deny Cristiano Ronaldo from the penalty spot. Almeria would have lost the game in the first 30 minutes if it wasn’t for the Brazilian.

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Defenders

Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

The right-back may have caused his team to concede two goals but neither were directly his fault. Considering how much time he has to spend in the attacking half to keep his Blancos side balanced, he backtracked when required and also scored the team’s vital breakthrough goal.

Henrique (Racing Santander)

On loan from Barcelona, the Brazilian is picking up valuable experience with a defensive-minded Racing outfit. Scoring goals certainly doesn’t harm his chances of eventually breaking into the Barca first team and he showed his aerial prowess in the attacking end by heading in a freekick against Espanyol.  

Carlos Marchena (Valencia)

Played as a defensive midfielder against Athletic Bilbao, but that just demonstrates his incredible versatility. He controlled the game and showed his ability to distribute the ball forward, but he also stamped his authority defensively. Unquestionably one of the unsung heroes in Los Che’s current resurgence.

Joan Capdevila (Villarreal)

The veteran left-back is consistently one the best players in his position, but he’s also one of the most unheralded. He is usually more renowned for his assists but on Sunday night against Getafe, he became El Submarino’s hero after netting two goals; his first was a screamer – with his right foot – and his second was the winning goal.

Midfielders

Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Goal.com’s Player of the Week and the newly crowned Ballon d’Or winner proved just why he is the best in the world at present. He scored two goals of the highest quality and terrorised the Deportivo defence to no end as he rattled in nine shot in total, almost half his team’s entire tally at the Riazor.

Sergio Canales (Racing Santander)

The youngster is bound to become the next big midfield genius to emerge out of Spain. After a barnstorming substitute’s appearance against Real Madrid a few weeks back when he was denied a legitimate goal by an offside call, the 18-year-old has finally broken the duck after scoring twice against Espanyol and in true playmaker fashion, also made one assist. 

Jeremy Mathieu (Valencia)

Would have occupied the left-back slot had it not been for Capdevila’s heroics. But Los Che’s French wing-back, who can also play in midfield, is quickly becoming one of the best purchases of the summer and he’s not only in the best XI of the week because of his brilliant winning goal for Valencia, but also because of his defensive work.

Forwards

Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)

The Argentine, like the rest of the team, was unable to maintain a consistent level throughout the game against Almeria, but such is El Pipita’s priceless value to Madrid these days that even without being at his best for the full 90 minutes, he was able to score his side’s equaliser before setting up the fourth goal to kill off the contest.  

Aritz Aduriz (Mallorca)

After a spell on the sidelines, the Basque-born hitman has returned to scoring form after opening the floodgates in the 4-1 win over Real Zaragoza by netting the first two goals to help his Mallorca side retain their 100% home record in the league. 

Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)

El Kun is really starting to hit form and this could be the season he elevates himself to another level. He was a constant menace in the win over Xerez and not only did he score his side’s second goal with clinical aplomb, but he carved out a number of openings for his team-mates.

                                  Diego Alves

         S. Ramos - Henrique - Marchena - Capdevila

                        Messi - Canales - Mathieu

                        Higuain - Aduriz - Aguero

Honourable Mentions

Daniel Aranzubia (Deportivo La Coruna)
Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Gerard Pique (Barcelona)
Pablo Hernandez (Valencia)
Santi Cazorla (Villarreal)
David Villa (Valencia)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)

KS Leong, Goal.com