Spanish La Liga Team of the Week

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

But even though the Argentinean's brace in Barcelona's 2-1 win over Real Betis earned him a place in footballing folklore, he was arguably overshadowed by Atletico Madrid hitman Radamel Falcao, who scored an astounding five goals in his side's 6-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna.

Elsewhere, a well-taken brace by Mesut Ozil helped Real Madrid avoid an embarrassing result at Valladolid with a 3-2 triumph, while Malaga's moved up to the top four after thumping Granada 4-0.

Here, ESPNSTAR.com picks our best 11 players from this week's round of La Liga matches in a 4-3-3 formation.

GK: Willy Caballero (Malaga)
Los Boquerones may have beaten Granada comprehensively on Saturday, but the scoreline was largely flattering as their opponents more than matched them on the day.

In fact, after racing to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Joaquin and Javier Saviola, they had Willy Caballero to thank for preventing Granada from regaining a foothold in the game shortly before the break.

First, he denied Odion Ighalo in a one-on-one situation, before making a terrific double save to keep out efforts from Ighalo and Gabriel Torje, setting up the stage for Ignacio Camacho and Roque Santa Cruz to wrap up the victory.

DF: Ricardo Costa (Valencia)

Ernesto Valverde tasted victory in his first league match in charge of Los Che thanks to Roberto Soldado's second-half winner in Saturday's 1-0 triumph over Osasuna, but equally vital to the result was Costa, who put in a commanding display at the back.

The Portugal international effectively nullified the threat of the usually-dangerous Joseba Llorente and made a number of intelligent interceptions to break down Osasuna's attempts to build up in the final third.

DF: Hugo Mallo (Celta Vigo)
Mallo may have been on the losing side on Sunday as Celta Vigo were beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao, but he put in an accomplished display at right-back.

Already a Spain Under-21 international, the Celta academy graduate was sharp in the tackle and always eager to push forward to support his attackers, and looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

DF: Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Given the commanding nature of Atletico's display against Deportivo at the weekend, Godin would have been forgiven for taking things easy at the back.
However, he took it upon himself to put his ball-playing capabilities to good use and initiated several attacks from the defensive third.

DF: David Navarro (Levante)
Levante piled on more misery on Real Mallorca on Sunday as they cruised to a 4-0 win to leave their opponents without a win in their last 12 games.

Despite playing at the back, Navarro posed a real threat going forward and had a couple of chances to get on the scoresheet early on, forcing a save from Dudu Aouate before having an effort ruled out for offside.

But the ex-Valencia man refused to be deterred and eventually got his goal four minutes after the interval when met a corner from Michel with a looping header then went in off the post.

MF: Ander Herrera (Athletic Bilbao)
Herrera is regarded one of Spain's brightest prospects, although he is yet to make the breakthrough at international level due to the embarrassment of riches national team coach Vicente Del Bosque has at his disposal.

Nonetheless, he did his career prospects no harm with a sparkling display on Sunday as Bilbao moved out of the relegation zone after beating Celta.

The pint-sized midfielder was tidy in his distribution all game long, but it was his mazy runs through the middle that really gave the opposition defence real problems.

MF: Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid)

2-1 down against Valladolid after a shaky start, Jose Mourinho's men were looking on course for an embarrassing result.

However, up stepped Ozil who pulled them level on the stroke of halftime when he latched onto a neat backheel by Karim Benzema and dispatched an effort past Daniel Hernandez, before grabbing what proved to be the winner in the 72nd minute when he curled a sublime freekick in off the bar.

Valladolid may have given Los Blancos a real fight on the night, but they just had no answer to the mercurial German playmaker.

MF: Jose Movilla (Real Zaragoza)
Real Zaragoza picked up their third win of the season with a clinical 2-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Monday evening, and while it was Franco Zucilini and Antonio Apono who got the goals, credit has to be given to Jose Movilla.

The 31-year-old ran the show for Zaragoza and constantly got the opposition on the back foot with his incisive distribution, and it was no surprise that it was him who laid on the assist for Zucilini's opener.

FW: Manucho (Real Valladolid)
Spain's top flight has already once been a happy hunting ground for a Manchester United reject after Diego Forlan left Old Trafford following a nightmare spell, only to become La Liga's top scorer on two separate occasions with Villarreal and Atletico Madrid.

Although Manucho is yet to hit the heights of the Uruguayan, he is starting to show why United were convinced to buy him in the first place by establishing himself as a consistent performer for Valladolid.

The Angolan twice put his side ahead against the mighty Real on Saturday when he scored from Patrick Ebert deliveries, although they were ultimately not enough to grab a share of the spoils.

FW: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
86 goals in the span of 12 months is quite remarkable, and there's still time to add to that tally, but for now, let's appreciate the amazing feat Messi has achieved, and its importance given Barca only managed a 2-1 triumph over Betis.

There could not have been a more fitting way for the Argentinean to equal Muller's 85 goals as he opened the scoring with a dribble and finish he has now become synonymous with, but an upset appeared to be on the cards in the 39th minute when Martin Ruben Castro converted Alvaro Vadillo's left-wing cross.

But Barca aren't normally to be denied if Messi isn't denied, and he went on to grab the winner - and a place in the record books - four minutes from time when he sent a left-footed shot past Adrian after being teed up by Andres Iniesta.

FW: Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)

We've said it before and we'll once again argue that, at the moment, there is no better true centre-forward than Falcao in the game at the moment, despite Messi's and Cristiano Ronaldo's scoring feats.

No one is better than the Colombian as the focal point in attack and, after Diego Costa had headed Atletico ahead in the 23rd minute, Sunday's game at the Vicente Calderon became "The Falcao Show".

He grabbed his first with a low drive past Daniel Aranzubia, and doubled his tally in the 42nd minute with a sumptuous volley from the edge of the area into the top corner.

The ex-Porto star then completed his hat-trick four minutes after the hour mark when he netted from the spot, before grabbing his fourth and fifth goals with clinical finishes after some poor defending from the opposition defenders.