Ronaldo and Messi lead the La Liga team of the week

Koke of Atletico Madrid vies for the ball with Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez

Six games to go, and with the pressure now higher than it’s ever been all season, the top 3 negotiated victories – not without some trouble. European hopefuls Villarreal were held to a goalless draw at home by relegation frontrunners Cordoba. That point though – Cordoba’s second in 13 games – was gold, and José Antonio Romero Morilla has goalkeeper Juan Carlos to thank for it. Not overwhelmed by the firepower of the home side, the 27-year-old goalkeeper was solid, making seven saves while proving an assured figure at the back.

Valencia might have lost 2-0 to Barcelona at Camp Nou, but Argentine defender Nicolas Otamendi was without any blame through the game. Otamendi showcased why he is being keenly monitored by some of the biggest sides in Europe, displaying what was arguably his best performance this season. The only reason Barca didn’t increase their lead at the latter stages of the game when Valencia looked burnt-out.

Atletico Madrid’s Uruguayan defender Jose Gimenez wins a place in the defence as well. The 20-year-old Uruguayan proved to be a good alternative as Diego Simeone shuffled his squad. Gimenez grabbed the assist for the first of Griezmann’s brace, and played his part in a stable Atleti backline.

Finally in defence is Antonio Amaya who opened the scoring Rayo’s 2-0 win over Almeria with a well taken header. But he didn’t fail to execute his defensive duties too, as he helped his side keep a clean sheet against an Almeria side that looked threatening at times.

Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, who’s been key for Los Merengues since his return from injury, makes an appearance in the middle. The Colombian stepped up big in the absence of Gareth Bale (and later Luka Modric), playing a huge part in Real Madrid’s attacking moves. James won a penalty which was missed by Cristiano Ronaldo, before taking responsibility by driving home a spectacular goal to put Ancelotti’s men 2-0 up.

Finally, Benat showed the form that saw him break into the Spanish National team a few years back when Athletic trounced Getafe 4-0 on Saturday. The 28-year-old former Real Betis midfielder pulled the strings masterfully in a game where Valverde’s men were dominant.

Augusto Fernández was the complete midfield man for Celta Vigo in their 1-0 away win at Eibar. The 29-year-old midfielder did a complete job in what was an all-round remarkable performance. Despite not scoring or grabbing an assist, he was key to all three points for Celta.

Finally in midfield is Antoine Griezmann, who notched his 20th league goal of the season with a brace in Atletis 2-1 away against Deportivo La Coruna. The Frenchman was particularly impressive, and infact scored a spectacular goal of the season contender overhead kick.

In attack, Cristiano Ronaldo continued his scoring streak, but even more had a hand in all three of Real Madrid’s goals in their 3-1 win over Malaga. Despite missing a penalty, it was a Man of the Match performance which took the Portugese to 50 goals for the season.

Lionel Messi follows, as expected. The Argentine didn’t have his best game, but still bagged a goal and an assist in Barca’s 2-0 win over Valencia. He reached a milestone too – his 400th Barcelona goal. Unbelievable!

Finally is Athletic Bilbao big man Aritz Aduriz who scored a brace in the Basque side’s 4-0 mauling of Getafe. Getafe struggled with his all through the game, and he was his typical menacing self. He’s now up to 14 goals this season.