La Liga Round 6
After a sixth week of Spanish La Liga, we’ve got a new, somehow unexpected leader after the Round 6 – Villarreal, after yet another win (this time against Atletico), have managed to grab a top spot and therefore crown their excellent beginning of the season, as they sit in front of Barcelona, who recovered from a last round defeat with a tight victory against Las Palmas, Real Madrid who only managed to draw against 10-men Malaga at Santiago Bernabeu, and Celta, with Berizzo’s side grabbing a point against Eibar at Ipurua in a match they dominated largely throughout the second half.
Round 6 itself will be remembered by an injury of Lionel Messi and first La Liga victory for Sevilla this season, as Emery’s side finally looks to get some pace, although they almost dropped points again in a home match against Rayo Vallecano. Real Betis also won against Sporting, and it’s the performance of Antonio Adan between the sticks that they can thank to for getting three points in Gijon. Adan made total of nine saves to ensure visitors are getting victory and earned his place in the Round 6 Team of the Week.
In front of him, center-back pairing consists of Shkodran Mustafi of Valencia and Diego Reyes of Real Sociedad. Valencia’s man scored the only goal in a victory of his team over Granada, which was desperately needed for Nuno’s side, while Reyes stopped every possible try of Athletic Bilbao’s strikers in the Basque derby, making ten clearances, six tackles and six interceptions.
Damian Suarez of Getafe was a natural choice of the right back, as he was a constant threat down the right for Levante’s defence, also assisting for Alvaro Vazquez’ first goal which broke the deadlock. As for left back, Filipe Luis of Atletico was the best man in that position, as he did defensive duties perfectly, making tackles and interceptions.
Croatian midfield players were in particular mood in the Round 6, as three of them entered SofaScore Team of the Week – Alen Halilovic, on loan from Barcelona, was easily the best Sporting’s player in a defeat against Betis, as he assisted for their first and only goal, made three successful dribbles and three shots at goal in addition to generally looking good on the pitch. Meanwhile, Luka Modric pulled the strings for Real Madrid, creating many clear cut chances and delivering five key passes, showing he’s indispensable for the team, and Ivan Rakitic did his job perfectly for Barcelona, also creating many chances and winning tackles in the middle of the pitch.
Non-Croatian ‘intruder’ in the midfield is Portuguese player Bebe of Rayo Vallecano. Bebe scored one and assisted for another goal, but it was ultimately too little for Rayo, as they lost to Sevilla thanks to a late strike from Konoplyanka.
Attack is led by Luis Suarez of Barcelona, who did what he does best, securing his team victory with two goals after Messi’s injury, but the real star of the weekend was Getafe’s Alvaro Vazquez. Entering the fray in the 76th minute with result of his team’s match against Levante being 0-0, Vazquez made things happen – in ‘Lewandowski’ manner he scored quick first goal, assisted for second, and then scored again to make it 3-0 in an injury time, completing his absolutely superb performance.
Segunda Round 6
As already mentioned, starting this week SofaScore brings you Segunda Division Team of the Week together with La Liga Team of the Week.
Osasuna are current Segunda leaders, as they collected 13 points in six matches. They would probably have two more as they drew with Cordoba during the weekend, if it wasn’t for Brimah Razak’s great performance as goalkeeper for Cordoba. His five saves and two claims gave him a place in the Round 6 Team of the Week.
Defensive line consists of Manu of Lugo, Silva of Real Valladolid, Armando Lozano of Elche and Angulo of Albacete. Manu showed a great defensive performance and glimpses of his ability in attacking part of the pitch, delivering good crosses strikers failed to take. Silva saved his team a 0-0 draw in a match against Gimnastic, as he made a last man tackle to prevent opponents a clear cut chance. Lozano made six clearances for Elche, and even had a time to get forward and score a goal, while Angulo created many chances and delivered good crosses in Albacete’s 3-0 thrashing of Almeria.
Miguel Olavide of Osasuna leads the midfield line together with Aitor Sanz of Tenerife. While Olavide won almost all of his duels and made three tackles together with two key passes, Sanz scored one goal and assisted for another in a match against Mirandes that has seen his team jump out of the relegation zone. Wing players for Round 6 Team of the Week are Granell of Girona, who scored an opener in a 2-2 draw with Llagostera, and Acoran of Ponferradina, who assisted Yuri for only goal in his team’s victory against Athletic Bilbao B.
Along with Aitor Sanz, one more Tenerife player features in the Round 6 Team of the Week, with Anthony Lozano scoring two goals to ensure big victory for his team. Last player in this week’s edition of Team of the Week is Jesus Imaz Balleste of Llagostera, who also scored a goal along with getting two key passes and winning six out of his ten duels.