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Toni Kroos, Suso and La Liga Team of the Week After Matchday 24

Tom Sunderland

Barcelona moved within one point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid in Week 24. The Blaugrana beat Getafe 2-1 at home before Los Blancos were held to a surprise 2-2 draw at home by Celta Vigo.

Zinedine Zidane's side dropped points despite Toni Kroos continuing his scoring streak against Celta, while second-place Barca have now won their last three league games in succession.

Two points separate Getafe in third from fifth-place Sevilla, who drew 2-2 at home against the visiting Espanyol despite the valiant efforts of on-loan winger Suso.

Valencia and Atletico Madrid also shared the spoils following their own 2-2 draw at the Mestalla, where midfield stars Geoffrey Kondogbia and Thomas Partey were each on the scoresheet for their respective sides.

Osasuna were the only away team to win in Week 24 when they travelled to Athletic Bilbao for a Basque derby, emerging as 1-0 victors thanks to a resolute defensive performance against Los Leones.

      

Week 24 Results

Valencia 2-2 Atletico Madrid

Mallorca 1-0 Alaves

Barcelona 2-1 Getafe

Villarreal 2-1 Levante

Granada 2-1 Real Valladolid

Sevilla 2-2 Espanyol

Leganes 0-0 Real Betis

Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Osasuna

Real Madrid 2-2- Celta Vigo

        

GK: Fernando Pacheco, Alaves

It's not often the goalkeeper from a losing side finds their way into the Team of the Week. However, Alaves stopper Fernando Pacheco was unfortunate to not prevent his team losing 1-0 at Mallorca after he contributed five saves—including a penalty—more than any other goalkeeper in La Liga during Week 24.

      

RB: Daniel Wass, Valencia

Former midfielder Daniel Wass continues to look settled in his right-back role at Valencia and played a leading part in their draw with Atletico.

La Liga writer Alexandra Jonson previously hailed the Dane's versatility:

Wass won a joint-match-high of six aerial duels, made three tackles and took 103 touches at the Mestalla—only team-mate Dani Parejo had more.

      

LB: Junior Firpo, Barcelona

There may have been a slight sense of panic at the Camp Nou when Jordi Alba was forced off after 17 minutes with a groin injury, but left-back replacement Junior Firpo steadied any nerves with his display:

The former Real Betis star came on and assisted Sergi Roberto for what would be the eventual winner against Getafe, and he completed 95 per cent of his passes.

      

CB: Dimitrios Siovas, Leganes

Betis had a measly three attempts on goal when they drew 0-0 at Leganes on Sunday, and defender Dimitrios Siovas was largely to thank for the home side's clean slate.

The Greece international completed three tackles on the day—Betis midfielder Carles Alena (four) was the only player to make more—and won a match-high of five aerial battles.

      

CB: Unai Garcia, Osasuna

One week after netting a surprise opener in Osasuna's 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid, Unai Garcia impressed for more traditional reasons as a defender in their derby win at Athletic. He was the only Osasuna defender to complete a tackle (two in total) and won four aerial duels in a tireless outing.

      

CM: Thomas Partey, Atletico Madrid

There were a selection of impressive midfield performances at the Mestalla on Friday, but Atleti anchor Partey dazzled with a leader's display as Diego Simeone's side took arguably the more valuable point.

The Ghana star led the visitors in touches (70) and dribbles (four), not to mention his goal just before half-time temporarily steered Atletico in front.

      

CM: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid

Kroos was in the right place at the right time to side-foot home Real's equaliser early in the second half against Celta Vigo, cancelling out Fedor Smolov's shock opener at the Santiago Bernabeu:

He also completed 93 per cent of his passes, winning three tackles and three aerial duels. 

Sportswriter Euan McTear highlighted the German's apparent dislike for the Galician outfit:

      

CM: Geoffrey Kondogbia, Valencia 

Kondogbia scored his first league goal of the season to secure a point for Valencia at home to Los Rojiblancos. He won more tackles (four) and aerial duels (four) than any other player for Los Che, proving his importance in both defence and attack.

      

RW: Suso, Sevilla

Both Sevilla wingers make it into the Team of the Week after Suso and Lucas Ocampos assisted one another in a 2-2 home draw with Espanyol:

Suso—on loan from AC Milan—netted his first Sevilla goal in the 80th minute and completed an audacious total of five dribbles, at least two more than any other player on the pitch:

      

LW: Lucas Ocampos, Sevilla

Former Marseille and Monaco star Ocampos continues to excel in Seville. The Argentinian was unfortunate to not have scored more than once against Espanyol after hitting the target with two of his four attempts, settling for a goal and an assist.

      

ST: Gerard Moreno, Villarreal

Gerard Moreno moved on to double-digit goals in La Liga after he cut inside to curl home the breakthrough in a narrow 2-1 win at home to Levante on Saturday, via Premier Sports (UK viewers only):

The versatile forward set up team-mate Moi Gomez for the winner around the hour mark, scoring and assisting in the same match for the third time in La Liga this season.

      

All statistics provided by WhoScored.com  

   

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