La Liga Team of the Week – Week 14

Karim Benzema of Real Madrid celebrates after scoring his team's opening goal during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Getafe CF at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 5, 2015
© Getty Images
Sports Mole picks its latest La Liga Team of the Week following another pulsating round of action in Spain's top flight.

Real Madrid have moved to within four points of La Liga leaders Barcelona at the top of the table, but Atletico Madrid remain the team closest to the current champions after another pulsating round of action in Spain's top flight.

Real Madrid put their Copa del Rey problems aside by recording a comfortable 4-1 win over Getafe on Saturday, before Atletico continued their excellent run of form with a 2-0 success at Granada, who remain in the relegation zone.

Barcelona took the lead in the Saturday night clash at Valencia, but a late Santi Mina equaliser meant that the points were shared in a 1-1 draw as new Los Che boss Gary Neville watched on from the stands.

Also on Saturday, Deportivo La Coruna continued their strong start to the season with a 1-1 draw at home to Sevilla, before 10-man Celta Vigo held on for a point at Real Betis, who dominated the clash on home soil.

On Sunday, Real Sociedad picked up their second win in three matches with a 2-1 success over Eibar, before Villarreal came from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 at El Madrigal.

There was also a big three points for Sporting Gijon, who beat Las Palmas 3-1 to move four points clear of the relegation zone and drop their opponents to the bottom of the table in the process.

Malaga have still only won twice in the league this season, but a 0-0 draw at Athletic Bilbao in Sunday's final fixture moved Javi Gracia's side out of the bottom three.

Week 14's action drew to a close on Monday evening as Levante managed a point in a 1-1 draw with Espanyol, but the former remain inside the relegation zone.

Here, Sports Mole runs through the facts and figures to pick out its star XI from the latest round of matches in Spain's top flight.

Sergio Alvarez (Celta Vigo)
Betis will certainly feel that they deserved to beat Celta on Saturday, having had seven shots to the away side's one. The points were shared in a 1-1 draw, however, and Alvarez's performance between the sticks was key for Celta, who remain inside the Champions League positions. Down to 10 men, Celta faced a host of pressure and when their defence was breached, Alvarez was firmly in the way.

Xabier Etxeita (Athletic Bilbao)
Having been reduced to 10 men in the early stages of their clash at home to Malaga, Bilbao had to face a host of pressure. An excellent rear-guard performance kept the scores level, however, and it was Etxeita that shone for the Basque club. The 28-year-old's form this season has elevated him into the Spain set-up and more performances of this ilk will give him a real chance of travelling to Euro 2016.
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico have only conceded once in their last five league matches and four straight wins have seen them move to within two points of Barcelona at the summit. As expected, Godin has been an absolute mountain in defence, but he also made a serious impression down the other end at the weekend. It was the 29-year-old that opened the scoring in his team's 2-0 win over struggling Granada.
Marcos Angeleri (Malaga)
Etxeita makes this team following his performance against Malaga, but Angeleri also deserves a spot from the same match. Bilbao still had plenty of the ball despite being reduced to 10 men and Malaga had to be at their best to secure a point and move out of the bottom three in the process. Angeleri was a tower of strength in the air and was also prepared to put his foot on the ball and play when possible.

Jonathan Rodriguez (Sporting Gijon)
Antonio Sanabria will take the plaudits for scoring a treble in Sporting's 3-1 win over Las Palmas on Sunday, but Rodriguez's performance cannot be overlooked. The 24-year-old was selected in an advanced midfield position and he caused devastation in the final third. Both of Sanabria's last two goals in the final 15 minutes were set up by Rodriguez, who made a real impression at El Molinon.
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
The German's form this season has been questioned in various quarters, but he was back to somewhere near his best against Getafe at the weekend. Kroos played a beautiful pass in to Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid's fourth of the afternoon and that one piece of play alone makes him deserving of a spot in this XI. He was excellent throughout the match, however, as Los Blancos secured the points.
Jefferson Lerma (Levante)
Levante have really struggled in the opening months of the La Liga season, but they managed to move off the bottom of the table with a 1-1 draw at Espanyol on Monday. It was Lerma that sent the visitors ahead in the sixth minute of the clash in Barcelona and the Colombian proved a threat throughout the contest. The 21-year-old was always a threat when he drove forward from midfield.
Antonio Sanabria (Sporting Gijon)
Roma supporters would have been drooling as they watched on-loan attacker Sanabria score a wonderful hat-trick for Sporting at the weekend. The 19-year-old, who has formerly represented Barcelona, scored all three goals as his loan team recorded a 3-1 win over Las Palmas on home soil. The visitors just could not live with Sanabria's movement and pace in the final third of the field.

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Injury and off-the-field problems have made it a difficult season for the Frenchman to date, but he showed no sign of being affected on the field of play at the weekend. The striker scored twice in Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Getafe – opening the scoring in the fourth minute, before doubling the home side's lead 12 minutes later. The 27-year-old was back to his very best as he put in a clinical performance in attack.
Imanol Agirretxe (Real Sociedad)
Only Barcelona pair Neymar and Luis Suarez have scored more league goals than Agirretxe this season after the striker continued his fine form at the weekend. Sociedad fell 1-0 behind to Eibar in their clash on Sunday, but Agirretxe netted twice, including a last-minute winner, to secure all the points for his team. The 28-year-old has now netted 11 times in Spain's top flight this season.
Cedric Bakambu (Villarreal)
It appeared that Villarreal were heading for a fourth league game without a win when they fell behind to Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, but Bakambu had other ideas. The 24-year-old, who how has six league goals this season, netted twice in the final 20 minutes at El Madrigal to turn the game on its head. The forward's pace and power in the final third proved vital when Rayo legs started to tire late on.

Aritz Aduriz of Athletic Club Bilbao reacts during the La Liga match between Athletic Club and Levante UD at San Mames Stadium on August 30, 2014
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona362745104297585
2Atletico MadridAtletico36274560164485
3Real Madrid362664105327384
4Villarreal361810844311364
5Athletic Bilbao361771255441158
6Celta Vigo36169115057-757
7Sevilla361410124943652
8Malaga361112133433145
9Valencia361111144444044
10Las PalmasLas Palmas36127174449-543
11Real Sociedad36119164247-542
12EibarEibar36119164656-1042
13Real Betis361011153150-1941
14Espanyol36117183667-3140
15Deportivo La CorunaDeportivo36718114359-1639
16Granada3699184265-2336
17Rayo Vallecano36811174870-2235
18Getafe3698193564-2935
19Sporting GijonSporting Gijon3698193761-2435
20Levante3678213466-3229