As the gameweek 29 of La Liga came to an end, Real Madrid and Barcelona marched on with routine wins as they lead the chasing pack by a formidable margin.
The race for European places and the relegation scramble are also heating up as teams are giving a final push to achieve their dreams, with just nine rounds of matches remaining.
Without further ado, here’s our La Liga Team of the Week for gameweek 29.
Goalkeeper: Jordi Masip (Real Valladolid)
The Spanish goalkeeper was the hero as Real Valladolid held fellow strugglers Celta Vigo in an underwhelming goalless draw. Jordi Masip saved a penalty from Iago Aspas in addition to keeping Celta’s attacks at bay throughout the game. It was the ninth clean sheet in 29 La Liga appearances this season as he once again showed that he is one of the top shot-stoppers in the division, despite playing for a mediocre side.
Right-back: Kevin Vazquez (Celta Vigo)
With no clear-cut winner at the right-back spot for this week, Kevin Vazquez helping Celta Vigo keep a clean sheet against Real Valladolid stood out as his team collected a hard-earned point.
The full-back was deployed as a wing-back as Celta Vigo opted for a five-man defence. The single point helped Celta to remain at 17th spot, just above the relegation zone.
Centre-back: Pau Torres (Villarreal)
The young Spanish defender, who returned from his loan spell at Malaga last summer, has been a mainstay in Villarreal’s defence this season.
Pau Torres was at his usual tidy best as he completed the most tackles (3) and most passes (61) during Villarreal’s 1-0 win over Mallorca. It was Lopez’s 26th La Liga appearance of the season.
Centre-back: Lisandro Magallan (Deportivo Alaves)
Lisandro Magallan, who is on loan from Dutch giants Ajax, has not featured regularly for Deportivo Alaves this season, playing just 12 La Liga games.
However, he put in an impressive performance in his side’s 2-0 win over Real Sociedad. Besides helping Alaves keep a clean sheet, the Argentine also provided the assist for the game’s opening goal.
Left-back: Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid’s second-choice left-back didn’t disappoint as he put in a solid performance in place of the rested Marcelo against Valencia. Ferland Mendy, who was signed last summer from Lyon, helped Los Blancos keep a clean sheet and provided the assist for Asensio’s 74th-minute goal.
The Frenchman was a constant threat in the opposition half as Real Madrid created chances after chances against Valencia before eventually winning the game 3-0.
Central midfielder: Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Marcos Llorente destroyed Osasuna in his 30-minute cameo in the second half after coming off the bench on the hour mark.
The Spaniard was in devastating form as he scored a goal and assisted two more to help Atletico Madrid blow away Osasuna 5-0. It was undoubtedly the former Real Madrid man’s best performance of the season.
Central midfielder: Sergio Canales (Real Betis)Â
Sergio Canales is the one who keeps Real Betis ticking with his passing and vision from the middle of the park. He was consistent throughout the game against Granada which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Besides scoring from the spot, Canales also completed the third-highest number of passes in the game (57).
Right-wing: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi put in another splendid display as he tormented relegation-threatened Leganes’ defence.
The Argentine, who scored his 21st La Liga goal of the season from the penalty spot after he was fouled inside the box, also mustered the highest number of shots on target (2) and the highest number of take-ons during the game (5) as Barcelona comfortably won 2-0.
Left-wing: Ansu Fati (Barcelona)
The teenage prodigy, who has been a revelation this season, displayed another matured performance and capped it off with a goal in Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Leganes.
Ansu Fati created all sorts of problems for the Leganes defence with his pace and trickery, and they were clueless about how to handle the youngster. It was the 17-year-old’s fifth La Liga goal of the season.Â
Striker: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema has been shouldering Real Madrid’s goalscoring duties since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus in the summer of 2018.
The game against Valencia was no different as the Frenchman scored a brace, including a spectacular volley from a Marco Asensio assist. Benzema has now scored 16 La Liga goals this season and is only behind Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Striker: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid)
The most expensive signing in the history of Atletico Madrid, Joao Felix has flattered to deceive in his debut La Liga campaign.
However, it seems the Portuguese is getting some of his mojo back as he netted a brace in Los Rojiblancos’ 5-0 rout of Osasuna.
Felix, who has been mostly deployed as a secondary striker by manager Diego Simeone, is finally beginning to find his feet at the Wanda Metropolitano as Atletico Madrid move into the top four.
Here’s how our La Liga Team of the Week for gameweek 29 would line up.
