Sports Mole's La Liga Team of the Week

The La Liga title race was blown wide open this weekend as Atletico Madrid thumped great rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday.

The defeat for Los Blancos was their first in the league at Atletico since the 1998-99 season, with the result allowing the current champions, who are still third in the table, to close the gap on the leaders Real Madrid to four points.

Barcelona, meanwhile, closed to within one point of the summit after making it 10 straight wins in all competitions with a 5-2 success at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Week 22's action was opened by Deportivo La Coruna and Eibar on Friday, with the home side making it back-to-back league wins with a 2-0 success.

On Saturday, Villarreal returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against Granada, before Levante recorded three much-needed points with a thumping 4-1 win over European hopefuls Malaga.

Real Sociedad's home struggles continued in the final match of Saturday's action, however, as David Moyes's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Celta Vigo at the Anoeta.

Almeria rose out of the bottom three in Sunday's early start as they won 2-1 at struggling Cordoba, before Sevilla's top-four hopes took a dent with a 2-1 defeat at Getafe, who are now four points clear of the drop zone.

Valencia took full advantage of Sevilla's blip in the next match, with Nuno's side winning 2-1 at in-form Espanyol to move into the final Champions League position.

Monday's fixture pitted basement side Elche against Rayo Vallecano and it was the home side that came out on top to move out of the relegation zone.

Here, Sports Mole picks out its 11 star performers following another pulsating weekend of La Liga action.

Julian (Almeria)
Cordoba had seven attempts on target during Sunday's clash with Almeria, but they could only breach the away side's goal once during their 2-1 defeat. Much of the reason was down to Julian's display, with the Spaniard making a number of fine saves throughout the six-pointer.

Jose Gaya (Valencia)
The left-back is having a super season for Valencia and he continued his fine form at the weekend. The teenager set up his side's opener in their 2-1 win over Espanyol, before making a crucial goal-line clearance in the second half. He has a very bright future ahead.
Michel Macedo (Almeria)
The Brazilian scored both goals as Almeria came from behind to beat Cordoba in Sunday's early start. The defender's first was an excellent finish, before he powered a header into the bottom corner. The 24-year-old also had a solid match in a defensive area.
Damian Suarez (Elche)
Suarez scored an absolute stunner as Elche recorded a 2-0 win over Rayo on Monday evening. The cultured defender hit one from 35 yards to open the scoring, while he was a rock down the other end. The Spaniard has exactly the character needed for a team battling the drop.
Guilherme Siqueira (Atletico Madrid)
The Brazilian had a super match as Atletico thumped rivals Real Madrid on Saturday. Los Blancos right-back Dani Carvajal found his opposing full-back difficult to contain, with Siqueira providing an excellent assist for Saul Niguez in the first period.

Pedro Leon (Getafe)
It has been a frustrating season for the Spaniard after registration issues saw him sit out the early part of the campaign. Leon is now back and firing for Getafe, however, and his side needed him at the weekend. It was Leon's strike five minutes from time that helped the hosts beat Sevilla 2-1.
Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid)
The Spaniard did not start nor finish Saturday's derby against Real Madrid, but he made some contribution for Atletico. The 20-year-old scored his side's second with an excellent bicycle kick, before setting up Antoine Griezmann for the third in what was an excellent performance.
David Barral (Levante)
It is not often that Levante score four times, but they managed that this weekend against Malaga. Barral hit a hat-trick in his side's thumping win, while his movement and pace caused the visitors all sorts of problems. It was the first time that Barral had scored a treble in La Liga.

Mario Mandzukic (Atletico Madrid)
The big Croatian set up Tiago for Atletico's first in their 4-0 win over Real Madrid, before scoring the fourth with a towering header. The visitors just could not live with the power of the former Bayern Munich attacker, whose contribution and fitness levels are improving with each passing week.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Officially, Messi scored just once in Barcelona's 5-2 win over Bilbao, but the Argentine was involved in all five goals. The attacker has had his problems this season, but he seems to be back to his best form. Bilbao just could not live with the 27-year-old, who floated all over the pitch.
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Suarez has not found the back of the net too freely for Barca this season, but he has always been heavily involved. That continued against Bilbao, with the striker setting up a number of chances and scoring his team's second of the match. Looks to be getting better with each passing match.