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Sports Mole's La Liga Team of the Week

Sports Mole selects its 11 star players from La Liga following another pulsating weekend of Spanish football.

Barcelona emerged victorious in the first Clasico of the season at the weekend, as goals from Neymar and Alexis Sanchez secured a 2-1 win over Real Madrid at Camp Nou.

There were also wins for Real Valladolid, Levante, Granada, Celta Vigo, Sevilla, Villarreal, Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, with none of the 10 fixtures ending in a draw.

Week 10's action opened on Friday evening as Real Valladolid heaped more pressure on Rayo Vallecano boss Paco Jemez with a 3-0 success in the Spanish capital.

Celta Vigo moved into 15th position in the league with a thumping 5-0 win at Malaga in Saturday's early start, before Barcelona claimed all three points in El Clasico. Elche's three-match winning run then came to an end as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Granada.

Saturday's action ended in style for Levante, as the Valencia-based outfit recorded a 3-0 win over Espanyol. To date, only Real Madrid and Barcelona have defeated the former in the league this season.

Sevilla's surge up the table continued with a 2-1 win over Osasuna in the opening match on Sunday, before Villarreal consolidated fourth spot in the table with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Valencia.

Sociedad recovered from Champions League disappointment against Manchester United last week by putting three goals past struggling Almeria, who remain without a league win this season.

Atletico, meanwhile, cut the gap on Barcelona at the top of the table to just one point – moving five points clear of Real Madrid in the process – with a 5-0 win over Real Betis, who ended the weekend in the relegation zone.

The set of fixtures were completed on Monday evening as Athletic Bilbao moved within one point of fourth-place Villarreal with an impressive 1-0 win at fellow high-flyers Getafe.

Here, Sports Mole selects its 11 star players from La Liga following another pulsating weekend of Spanish football.

Keylor Navas (Levante)
The 26-year-old has arguably been one of the best goalkeepers in the league this season. The Costa Rican, who joined Levante permanently from Albacete in 2012, continued that run of form with a fine display in his side's 3-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday. The keeper also demonstrated his under-rated distribution throughout an impressive 90 minutes of action.

Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)
The 28-year-old has arguably been one of his side's star performers in the early part of the season. Those in attack will receive the plaudits, but the Brazilian defender has been in sensational form thus far. He continued that level of performance in Sunday's 5-0 win over Real Betis – demonstrating his attacking and defensive talents in equal measure.
Inigo Martinez (Real Sociedad)
Martinez had a horror in the Champions League last week, as his own goal handed Manchester United all the points at Old Trafford. However, the Spanish international was back to his best in the league this weekend. The centre-back was a towering presence in Sociedad's back four in their 3-0 win over Almeria on Sunday.
Andreu Fontas (Celta Vigo)
The ex-Barcelona defender was another impressive performer this weekend in Celta Vigo's 5-0 win over Malaga. The attacking players will receive the plaudits, but the 23-year-old provided a base to build from. If Celta are to survive this season, then they will need the Spaniard, whom they acquired on a three-year deal in the summer, on top form.

Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad)
Griezmann has had an indifferent start to the season, but the Frenchman returned to form this weekend in Sociedad's 3-0 win over Almeria. The youngster is not known for his aerial ability, but both of his goals on Saturday came from his head. He was undoubtedly the class act on the pitch.
Patrick Ebert (Real Valladolid)
Without being too harsh on Real Valladolid, a player of Ebert's ability needs to be playing top-level football. The German was up to his old tricks on Friday evening as he scored his side's first in their 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano. The 26-year-old is undoubtedly one of the most talented midfielders in the division.
Alex Lopez (Celta Vigo)
You just got the feeling that Celta were close to producing something special in the league. They had been on a horrendous run of form entering their match with Malaga on Saturday, but had been playing well in recent weeks. They finally picked up a positive result this weekend with a 5-0 success, with Lopez finding the back of the net on two separate occasions.
Nabil El Zhar (Levante)
It didn't quite happen for El Zhar during his five years in England with Liverpool, but the 27-year-old has started to realise his early potential in recent months. The Levante midfielder scored a brace in his side's 3-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday. The first was from a contentious penalty, but the second was an absolute belter into the top corner.

Neymar (Barcelona)
Usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were relatively quiet in El Clasico on Saturday, with Neymar taking centre stage. The Brazilian scored the opener with a low finish into the bottom corner, before setting up Alexis Sanchez for Barca's second. The former Santos forward is really starting to find his feet in Spain.
David Villa (Atletico Madrid)
Spain's record goalscorer ended a recent barren run in front of a goal with a double in his side's 5-0 win over Real Betis in Sunday's late start. Diego Costa has rightly taken the headlines this season, but the former Barcelona striker was the star man at the weekend. It still seems remarkable that he was picked up in the summer for around £2m.
Giovani dos Santos (Villarreal)
The 24-year-old, who arrived at Villarreal from Real Mallorca in the summer, took his tally to six league goals this campaign with a double in his side's 4-1 win over Valencia on Sunday. Aside from his brace, the Mexican's movement caused the away team all sorts of problems. He has certainly been one of the stars of the season thus far.

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Alex Galvez of Rayo Vallecano looks on during the La Liga match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio Teresa Rivero on September 21, 2013
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Sports Mole's La Liga Team of the Week
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Today's games header
Result
Blanch
Nadal
1 0
6 6
Result
Cachin
Ofner
6 6
3 3
Result
Elahi Galan
Bautista-Agut
64 6 1
77 4 6
Result
Gasquet
Sonego
2 5
6 7
Result
Hanfmann
Mensik
4 63
6 77
Result
Koepfer
Carballes Baena
1 6 65
6 3 77
Result
Kovacevic
Medjedovic
6 5 4
3 7 6
Result
Lajovic
Monteiro
4 3
6 6
Result
Machac
Ruusuvuori
6 1 6
4 6 2
Result
Michelsen
Fonseca
6 0 2
4 6 6
Result
Nishioka
Auger-Aliassime
6 1 4
4 6 6
Result
O'Connell
Arnaldi
4 1
6 6
Result
Purcell
Giron
4 6 77
6 4 62
Result
Ramos-Vinolas
Kotov
3 4
6 6
Result
Tabilo
Cobolli
7 4 4
5 6 6
Result
Zhizhen
Kecmanovic
3 2
6 6
Result
Azarenka
Maria
6 6
3 1
Result
Eala
Cirstea
3 78 4
6 66 6
Result
Annie Fernandez
Potapova
7 6
5 3
Result
Gauff
Rus
6 6
0 0
Result
Keys
Camelia-Begu
77 78
63 66
Result
Podoroska
Navarro
2 1
6 6
Result
Karolina Schmiedlova
Jabeur
4 7 3
6 5 6
Result
Swiatek
Wang
6 6
1 4
Result
Sorribes Tormo
Svitolina
6 7
3 5
Result
Vekic
Sakkari
3 2
6 6
Result
Arango
Yastremska
6 5 4
0 7 6
Result
Osaka
Samsonova
2 6 5
6 4 7
Result
Ostapenko
Bouzas Maneiro
6 6
3 1
Result
Haddad Maia
Errani
6 6
3 2
Result
Lourdes Carle
Kudermetova
6 6
4 4
Result
Mertens
Stephens
6 3 1
3 6 6
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid32256170224881
2Barcelona32217464372770
3GironaGirona32215667402768
4Atletico MadridAtletico32194959382161
5Athletic Bilbao321610652302258
6Real Sociedad321312746341251
7Real BetisBetis32121284038248
8Valencia32138113534147
9Villarreal32119125155-442
10Getafe32913103844-640
11Osasuna32116153746-939
12Sevilla32910134145-437
13Las PalmasLas Palmas32107153039-937
14AlavesAlaves3298152838-1035
15Rayo Vallecano32713122739-1234
16Celta Vigo32710153747-1031
17Mallorca32613132638-1231
18CadizCadiz32413152245-2325
19Granada3239203361-2818
20Almeria32111203164-3314


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