Spanish La Liga Team of the Week

By Gabriel Tan

Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi shone with two goals each in Barcelona's 2-2 draw with Real Madrid at the Nou Camp, while Radamel Falcao's mere presence in the box helped Atletico Madrid to a 2-1 win over Malaga.

Newly-promoted Real Betis' 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad saw them rise to fourth on the table, while Levante beat Valencia 1-0 in a highly-charged derby.

Elsewhere, Sevilla's fine start to the campaign hit a slight bump with 2-0 loss at Celta Vigo, while Aritz Aduriz's early strike handed Athletic Bilbao a much-needed 1-0 triumph against fellow strugglers Osasuna.

Getafe surprisingly struggled against nine-man Real Zaragoza but ultimately eked out a 1-0 win, while Real Mallorca fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Granada.

Here, ESPNSTAR.com picks our best 11 players from this week's action in La Liga.

GK: Migel Angel Moya (Getafe)

Getafe looked set for a routine win on Saturday after their opponents had a man sent off inside the opening ten minutes.

But instead, it was Zaragoza who dominated proceedings and could have taken the lead after Helder Postiga sent a firm header towards goal, only to see Moya get down well and produce a smart save.

With 11 minutes remaining and Getafe leading 1-0, the lively Postiga had another good chance but the 28-year-old custodian was once again equal to the task with a fine stop, ensuring his side took home all three points.

RB: Cristian Sapunaru (Real Zaragoza)

One of the reasons why it didn't seem as though Zaragoza were a man down against Getafe was because of the energy Sapunaru provided.

The Romania international not only drifted into the middle to provide a spare defensive body whenever their opponents were in attack, but also charged forward down the right once his side were in possession, and whipped in a couple of dangerous crosses into the box.

CB: Gustavo Cabral (Celta Vigo)

Alvaro Negredo's goals have been one reason for Sevilla's fine start to the season, and he was expected to once again fire them to victory against newly-promoted Celta Vigo on Friday.

However, it was not to be as he was absolutely smothered by the impressive Cabral, who did his chances of earning a permanent move from Arsenal de Sarandi no harm with an impressive display at centre-back.

CB: Paulao (Real Betis)

The 30-year-old is enjoying a fine first season in La Liga and his partnership with Mario in the heart of the defence has been a factor in Betis' rise to fourth on the table.

Paulao, who has been known to pop up with the odd goal throughout his career, got his side on their way to victory on Saturday after meeting a corner by Juan Carlos and planting a header into the bottom corner.

LB: Nacho Monreal (Malaga)

Monreal may have been on the losing side on Sunday, but he didn't deserve to be after a classy display for Los Boquerones.

The Spain international was comfortable in possession all evening long and did well to quell the threat of the usually-dangerous Arda Turan.

DM: Pape Diop (Levante)

Levante picked up a massive three points on Sunday after beating their local rivals 1-0, but what was more remarkable was the way the suffocated Valencia in the middle of the park.

Plenty of credit has to go to Diop, who established himself as one of the most under-rated defensive-midfielders in Spain's top flight last season for Racing Santander.

The 26-year-old never allowed the likes of Jonas and Fernando Gago to settle on the ball, which resulted in Roberto Soldado receiving a limited supply of chances to make the most of.

CM: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

Alonso may have been the one that conceded the foul that led to Barca's second goal but in truth, it was a challenge he had to make and only a strike as brilliant as the one Messi fired towards goal would have beaten Iker Casillas.

Apart from that, the ex-Liverpool man did well to break up the Catalan side's usual passing game, and can be pleased with his display.

CM: Joan Verdu (Espanyol)

The 29-year-old would probably have graduated from the Barcelona academy to the first-team had it not been for a certain Xavi, as he showed he certainly has the necessary skills of a playmaker in Saturday's draw against Valladolid.

Verdu dictated the tempo for Espanyol and was also never afraid to try his luck from distance; his thunderous 30-yard freekick in the 50th minute forcing Jaime into a smart save.

He also showed good poise to send the opposition keeper the wrong way from the spot and hand his side the lead shortly after, although it was not to be as an 80th-minute header from Valladolid midfielder Oscar Gonzalez denied Espanyol their first win of the season.

RF: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Messi was the only Barca player who looked likely to break through the steady Los Blancos defence, which he duly did so in the 30th minute when Messi sneaked into the area and swept home from six yards after Real failed to clear their lines.

And right on the hour mark, Messi produced a moment of pure brilliance when he lined up a freekick from 20 yards and curled home a sublime effort that had Casillas reaching for the far corner in vain.

LF: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

But as Ronaldo proved many times last season, anything Messi can do, he can do too.

The Portugal captain opened the scoring midway through the first half when he picked up the ball on the left side of the box and drilled home an effort into the bottom corner, although Victor Valdes could perhaps have done better to keep out the strike at his near post.

Ronaldo's sheer pace gave Dani Alves, and his replacement Martin Montoya, real problems, and he exploited Barca's lack of a proper centre-back in the 66th minute when he ghosted in behind the hosts' static backline before clinically slotting into the back of the net.

CF: Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)

While Ronaldo and Messi are often the subjects of debate over the world's best player, there is perhaps one man currently better than them, in terms of pure goal-scoring ability, and that man is Falcao, who plundered an astounding 36 goals in 50 games last season in his debut year at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.

Against Malaga on Sunday, he showed a real killer instinct to open the scoring in the sixth minute to stoop low and head home Emre Belozoglu's cross. And after Roque Santa Cruz had equalised for Los Boquerones, Falcao's sheer presence in the box forced Weligton to poke the ball into his own net in injury-time for the winner.