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La Liga Team of the Week – Week Eight

Sports Mole selects its latest La Liga Team of the Week after week eight in Spain's top flight drew to a close.

Just two points currently separate the top five teams in the La Liga table following another pulsating round of action in Spain's top flight.

Real Madrid, who beat Levante 3-0 on Saturday, currently top the division, but they are level on 18 points with Celta Vigo and Barcelona, who also both won at the weekend.

Celta's unbeaten start to the campaign continued as they recorded an impressive 2-1 win at fifth-placed Villarreal, while Barcelona recorded a 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano to ensure that they kept pace with Los Blancos after eight games of the new campaign.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, also returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory at Real Sociedad, whose poor form has reportedly placed David Moyes's future at the club in severe doubt.

On Saturday, Sevilla could not build on their win at Barcelona before the international break as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Eibar, but there was a vital win for Valencia, who put three unanswered goals past Malaga. Elsewhere, Espanyol recorded a 3-1 victory at Real Betis.

Getafe were the big winners at the weekend as they put four goals past Las Palmas, who have only collected five points from their eight league games this term, before Sunday drew to a close with a 2-2 draw between sixth-placed Deportivo La Coruna and Athletic Bilbao.

Week eight was completed on Monday evening as nine-man Granada missed the chance to move off the bottom of the table after conceding late on in a 3-3 draw at Sporting Gijon.

Here, Sports Mole picks out its 11 star performers from the latest round of La Liga football.

Asier Riesgo (Eibar)
Many predicted that Eibar would struggle this season after a difficult 2014-15 campaign, but they currently sit seventh following an impressive start. Another solid performance on Saturday saw Jose Luis Mendilibar's side collect a point in a 1-1 draw with Sevilla, but they had their goalkeeper to thank for the point, with Riesgo producing a number of super saves.

Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico have not missed Miranda's presence at the back this season and that is credit to Gimenez, who has been excellent alongside Diego Godin in central defence. The 20-year-old was again in fine form at the weekend as he helped his team record a 2-0 win at Sociedad. Gimenez made a number of vital blocks at the Anoeta and was calm under pressure.
Enzo Roco (Espanyol)
Not many would have expected Espanyol to record all three points away to Betis on Saturday, but a 3-1 success moved the Barcelona-based team into the top half of the table. It took just four minutes for the visitors to open the scoring and the goal came from an unlikely source, with Roco popping up from central defence. The Chilean was also excellent down the other end.
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid have only conceded twice in eight league games this season, and they recorded another clean sheet in Saturday's 3-0 win over Levante. Marcelo was nice and solid at the back, but it was his work going forward that impressed the most. The Brazilian scored Real's first in Madrid and terrorised the visitors down the left all afternoon.

Marco Asensio (Espanyol)
The 19-year-old, who is on loan from Real Madrid, had a fine game on Saturday as Espanyol recorded a 3-1 win at Real Betis. The attacker did not score, but he set up all three of his team's goals in what was an impressive victory. Betis just could not come to terms with the Spaniard's movement and cleverness in the final third as he ran riot in Sevilla.
Koke (Atletico Madrid)
The Spaniard has missed the last month of the season with a thigh problem, but he returned to action on Saturday as Atletico recorded a 2-0 victory at Sociedad. The Spaniard played a key role in his team's opener after setting up Antoine Griezmann, while his use of the ball and energy were key features of what was a good performance at the Anoeta.
Victor Rodriguez (Getafe)
Getafe have started to put together a strong run of form in the league, losing just one of their last five and winning three times in the process. Another victory arrived at the weekend as they put four unanswered goals past Las Palmas, and Rodriguez, who opened the scoring in Madrid inside three minutes, had an excellent evening in the middle of the park.
Fabian Orellana (Celta Vigo)
Celta's excellent and indeed unbeaten start to the new La Liga season continued on Sunday as they won 2-1 at in-form Villarreal. As expected, it was a tight game between two good sides, but Celta came out on top with a last-minute winner from Nolito. It was Orellana that opened the scoring, however, in what was an all-round impressive performance.

Neymar (Barcelona)
In the continued absence of Lionel Messi, Barcelona need their star players to perform. It was Neymar that took on the responsibility at the weekend as he scored four times in the 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano. The visitors just could not deal with the pace and movement of the Brazilian, who also set up Luis Suarez for the Uruguayan's solitary strike at Camp Nou.
Stefan Scepovic (Getafe)
The 25-year-old did not start Getafe's match against Las Palmas on Sunday, but still managed to have a big say on the final result. In fact, he did not enter the frame until the 78th minute, but two goals in the final five minutes ensured that the hosts would record a morale-boosting win. The on-loan Celtic forward will be pushing for a start next time out.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
It was a record-breaking weekend for Ronaldo, who surpassed Raul's scoring record for Real Madrid with his team's second in their 3-0 win over Levante. The goal ended a mini-drought for the Portuguese, who had not scored in his previous four league games for Los Blancos. The 30-year-old also set up Marcelo for the first goal of the match in Madrid.

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Carlos Casemiro of Real Madrid in action during the Copa del Rey, Round of 32 2nd leg match between Real Madrid and Olimpic de Xativa on December 18, 2013
Read Next:
La Liga Team of the Week – Week Seven
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona14111242142834
2Real Madrid1393128111730
3Atletico MadridAtletico148512181329
4Villarreal137422521425
5Athletic Bilbao146532013723
6Osasuna146441922-322
7GironaGirona146352018221
8Mallorca146351312121
9Real BetisBetis145541616020
10Real Sociedad145361111018
11Celta Vigo145362224-218
12Sevilla145361318-518
13Rayo Vallecano134451314-116
14Leganes143561319-614
15Getafe142751011-113
16AlavesAlaves144191524-913
17Las PalmasLas Palmas143381825-712
18Valencia122461219-710
19Espanyol133191226-1410
20Real ValladolidValladolid142391027-179


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