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Sports Mole's La Liga Team of the Week

Sports Mole picks out its 11 star performers from another pulsating round of La Liga fixtures.

Barcelona remain four points clear at the top of La Liga following another pulsating round of fixtures in Spain's top flight.

Real Madrid had cut the gap to one point with an incredible 9-1 win at home to Granada in Sunday's early start, but Barca's 1-0 victory at Celta Vigo ensured that the Catalan outfit regained their healthy lead at the summit.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, regained third position in the table with a 2-0 victory at basement side Cordoba, who have now lost their last 10 in the league.

Valencia had the chance to return to third on Sunday afternoon, but Nuno's side were held at home by Villarreal, who remain sixth in the table.

Week 29's action opened from Eibar on Friday evening and it was Rayo Vallecano that recorded their third straight league victory to move into ninth position, while Eibar are now just three points outside of the relegation zone.

Sevilla kept their top-four hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, before Levante eased their relegation fears with a 4-1 win at Almeria, who sacked head coach Juan Ignacio Martinez off the back of the heavy home defeat.

Saturday's action ended from La Rosaleda as Real Sociedad continued their impressive run of form with a 1-1 draw at seventh-placed Malaga.

As mentioned, Real Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona were all in action on Sunday, while Getafe moved seven points clear of the drop zone with a 2-1 win at home to struggling Deportivo La Coruna.

The week's action concluded from Barcelona on Monday evening, where Espanyol were held to a 1-1 draw by Elche.

Here, Sports Mole has picked out its 11 star performers.

Geronimo Rulli (Sociedad)
The 22-year-old has quickly emerged into one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga and had to be in fine form at the weekend to help Sociedad claim a point at Malaga. The hosts had six attempts on target, but managed just one goal following a host of smart saves from the Argentine stopper.

Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid)
It has been a real breakthrough season for the 20-year-old and he continued his fine run of form against Cordoba on Saturday. The centre-back set up Atletico's second of the match in their 2-0 victory, but it was his solid and composed defensive display that impressed the most.
Gerard Pique (Barcelona)
Heavily criticised earlier in the season, Pique is now La Liga's in-form centre-back. The Spaniard made a host of excellent blocks in his side's 1-0 win at Celta on Sunday, while he was a real tower of strength in the air. He has been a big part of their wonderful run of form in 2015.
Eric Bailly (Villarreal)
The Ivorian is still very raw and indeed inexperienced at this level of football, but he has all the attributes to become a top centre-back. Valencia's Paco Alcacer and later Alvaro Negredo both really struggled against the youngster, who played a key role in Villarreal's clean sheet.

Andreas Ivanschitz (Levante)
David Barral will get the plaudits for his hat-trick in Levante's 4-1 win at Almeria, but Ivanschitz also played a key role. The 31-year-old set up two of Barral's goals and radiated class each time he had possession of the ball. Almeria just found the midfielder too tricky in forward positions.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
The Croatian absolutely ran the show as Real Madrid thumped Granada 9-1 on Sunday. It wasn't the most difficult game for the midfielder, but he dictated play from a deep area and set up a number of his team's best moments. His return to fitness has come at the perfect time for the capital club.
Ruben Pardo (Real Sociedad)
Pardo was only given the final 25 minutes against Malaga on Sunday, but he completely turned the game for Sociedad. The 22-year-old immediately made his team more of an attacking threat and scored a stunning equaliser late on. The Basque outfit are one of the league's form teams at the moment.
James Rodriguez (Real Madrid)
The Colombian capped his return to the team with a wonderful performance against Granada. Rodriguez, who had been on the sidelines since early February with a broken foot, provided two assists at the Bernabeu and might have had more but for some wayward finishing. He was just excellent in Madrid.

David Barral (Levante)
The Spanish attacker scored his second La Liga hat-trick of the season in Saturday's 4-1 win at Almeria. The hosts just could not live with the pace and movement of the forward, who now has nine league goals for the season. In this sort of form, few defences can deal with the tricky attacker.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Ronaldo has faced some criticism in recent weeks, but the Portuguese responded with five goals in Real Madrid's 9-1 win over Granada. On another day, he could have had nine himself, but it was still a game to remember for the attacker, who has moved clear at the top of the league scoring charts.
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
The Welshman opened the scoring as Real Madrid thumped Granada on Sunday, before providing two assists at the Bernabeu. There were no whistles for Bale this time around as he absolutely tore Granada to pieces in Madrid. Despite the speculation, surely Los Blancos will not sell the attacker this summer.

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Barcelona's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez celebrates his goal during the 'clasico' Spanish league football match FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid CF at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on March 22, 2015
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La Liga Team of the Week
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid31246167204778
2Barcelona31217362342870
3GironaGirona31205663392465
4Atletico MadridAtletico31194859362361
5Athletic Bilbao31169651292257
6Real Sociedad311311745331250
7Valencia31138103432247
8Real BetisBetis31111283837145
9Villarreal31109124954-539
10Getafe31912103743-639
11Osasuna31116143644-839
12Las PalmasLas Palmas31107142935-637
13Sevilla31810133944-534
14AlavesAlaves3188152638-1232
15Mallorca31613122536-1131
16Rayo Vallecano31613122538-1331
17Celta Vigo31610153346-1328
18CadizCadiz31413142141-2025
19Granada3138203260-2817
20Almeria31111193062-3214


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