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La Liga Team of the Week – Week 10

Sports Mole picks out its star XI from the latest round of La Liga fixtures, which included wins for both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have pulled three points clear of the chasing pack at the top of La Liga following another pulsating round of fixtures in Spain's top flight.

Real Madrid initially stretched their lead at the summit with a 3-1 win over struggling Las Palmas, but Barcelona responded with a 2-0 victory at Getafe to join Los Blancos on 24 points.

Atletico Madrid, who have dropped to fourth, could have entered the weekend top of the tree if they had beaten Deportivo La Coruna in week 10's opening fixture on Friday, but the capital side could only draw 1-1 after taking the lead at the Riazor.

Valencia, whose head coach Nuno is under pressure, returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 3-0 win over local rivals Levante, before Villarreal strengthened their grip on fifth spot with a narrow 2-1 victory over Sevilla, who have dropped to 11th.

Celta Vigo, meanwhile, reclaimed third spot in the table and piled more pressure on David Moyes with a 3-2 win at Real Sociedad in Saturday's final La Liga fixture.

On Sunday, Eibar continued their excellent start to the campaign with a 1-0 success over Rayo Vallecano, before Granada, who remain in the bottom three, conceded late on to draw 1-1 at Espanyol.

Malaga's problems also continued on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 at Sporting Gijon, before Athletic Bilbao moved into the top half of the table with a 3-1 victory over Real Betis.

Here, Sports Mole has picked out its star XI from the latest round of fixtures.

Ivan Cuellar (Sporting Gijon)
Sporting managed to move clear of the relegation zone on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Malaga. It was an impressive all-round performance from the newly-promoted side, but it is difficult to envisage that they would have won without the performance of their 31-year-old goalkeeper, who kept out all seven of Malaga's attempts on target. It was a super display from the Spaniard.

Mario Gaspar (Villarreal)
Villarreal continued their excellent start to the season with an important 2-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday. Mario's form over the last 12 months recently earned him a Spain cap and the defender was once again impressive at El Madrigal. It was the full-back that opened the scoring in the 25th minute, but it was his defensive work against Kevin Gameiro that really impressed.
Sidnei (Deportivo)
Deportivo have arguably been the surprise package at the start of the campaign and they continued their strong form with a 1-1 draw against Atletico on Friday. Sidnei was a key part of their strong defensive display, with the centre-back simply not giving Jackson Martinez a kick. Antoine Griezmann also struggled to get the better of the 26-year-old Brazilian.
Joao Cancelo (Valencia)
It has been a largely frustrating season for Valencia to date, but they did record a 3-0 win over local rivals Levante on Saturday. Paco Alcacer had a big say on the final result, but Cancelo really stood out for Los Che. It was the 21-year-old that set up Valencia's third of the match and Levante simply struggled to contain the defender when he rampaged down the right.

Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao)
There are a lot of people at Bilbao excited about the 21-year-old and it is not difficult to see why that is the case. Williams had a super game against Real Betis on Sunday, scoring twice in what was a 3-1 victory for the visitors. Playing on the right of the midfield, Betis just could not deal with his pace in the final third. It was a standout performance from the academy product.
Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
Roberto has really become a key player for the Catalan outfit in recent weeks and he was again in fine form at the weekend. The Spaniard set up both of Barcelona's goals in their 2-0 win over Getafe and both assists were spectacular. Given licence to roam forward, the La Masia product caused all sorts of problems for Getafe, who could not come to terms with his position.
Raul Garcia (Athletic Bilbao)
Bilbao are now slowly but surely putting together a strong run of results and it is no surprise that Garcia has been at the heart of it. The former Atletico Madrid midfielder had a super game against Real Betis on Sunday – setting up Inaki Williams's second, before helping himself to Bilbao's third. It was a really powerful midfield performance from the 29-year-old.
Jese Rodriguez (Real Madrid)
The Spaniard has had a frustrating start to the campaign, but after being challenged by head coach Rafael Benitez to improve his overall level, Jese ran Las Palmas ragged on Saturday, playing a key role in Real Madrid's opener, before scoring the third in their 3-1 victory. The visitors to the Bernabeu just could not live with the attacker's pace and movement in the final third.

Neymar (Barcelona)
The attacking spots in this particular XI were difficult to pick, but Neymar glides into the team. The Brazilian was just on a different planet at the weekend as Barcelona won 2-0 at Getafe. He scored his team's second with a wonderful volley, but it was the 23-year-old's overall performance that dazzled. He was a danger each time he had possession of the ball.
Lucas Perez (Deportivo La Coruna)
Lucas also makes the team after running riot against Atletico on Friday evening. The Spaniard had to be patient for long spells, but even when Deportivo were struggling, he was a menace in the final third. It was that tenacity that saw the forward score his team's equaliser in the 1-1 draw as he took advantage of a mistake from Jose Gimenez to net his sixth league goal of the season.
Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo)
This spot was a real toss-up between Aspas and Imanol Agirretxe, who both scored twice for their respective teams in Celta's 3-2 win at Sociedad on Saturday. Aspas, however, just about gets the nod. It did not happen for the striker at Liverpool, but he has been in fine form this season and played a key role in Celta's impressive victory as he scored a brace at the Anoeta.

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Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and UD Las Palmas at Camp Nou on September 26, 2015
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La Liga Team of the Week – Week nine
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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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