La Liga Top Five, Round 22: Messi and Fati see Barca to victory
Lionel Messi put on a creative masterclass for Barcelona as they defeated Levante 2-1, putting on two assists for Ansu Fati.
The first was quite simply one of the best passes you will see this season, as while moving back towards his own half inside the centre circle, he looks up and threads a low ball through the Levante ranks which takes no less than eight players right out of the game, allowing the youngster to run through and score.
The second was a lot simpler as he played a ball to the feet of Fati again, this time from inside the area.
The Argentine completed eight dribbles (three more than anyone in La Liga), sent 46 passes into the final third (10 more than anyone), and had 15 touches inside the opposition box (five more than anyone).
He was also unlucky to not get on the scoresheet as he had 10 shots on goal himself.
While Messi was the provider against Levante, someone had to be there to finish the chances, and that is what Fati did, twice, to emerge as the match winner.
For his first goal, he latched on to the aforementioned outrageous pass from Messi to burst through one-on-one with the keeper, displaying impressive composure to lash a finish tinto the bottom corner.
He earned his second after peeling away to the left-hand side of the box to smash another good strike past the keeper, again after the pass from the Argentine.
It was a very mature performance from the 17-year-old, who misplaced just three passes during his time on the pitch.
From an attacking masterclass from the Barca pair to a defending masterclass from Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid, now, as the Blancos captain was superb in the most high profile match of the weekend against Atletico.
Even though Atleti find it very difficult to score at the best of times, they found it even tougher in the Madrid derby, with Ramos continually curbing their attacks.
He won the majority of his duels (5/9) and 100% of his tackles, as well as making 10 ball recoveries, one interception, and three clearances.
His passing from the back was also excellent, as he completed 84/90 attempted balls to team-mates.
Valencia made it two wins on the bounce and moved ahead of Atletico in the table after a tight 1-0 win at home to Celta, with Dani Parejo running things from midfield.
It was a truly commanding performance from the Valencia captain, who won 12/18 duels, 3/3 aerial duels, and 3/3 tackles, while he also made nine ball recoveries, two interceptions, and one clearance.
He enjoyed 100 touches in the game and completed 56/68 passes, with 25 of these passes being sent into the final third.
Villarreal's good form continued with a comfortable 3-1 victory versus Osasuna which put them up to seventh in La Liga.
Santi Cazorla, once again, was their best player as he contributed to two of the goals with a strike of his own and an assist.
His assist came for the Yellow Submarine's second - a precise pass sent down the channel inside the box for Ruben Pena to score. Then, he would make it 3-1 via a well-taken penalty just before the hour mark.
He sent seven successful crosses into the box and 23 passes into the final third.
HONOURABLE MENTION
Granada won for the first time since the 5th January, overcoming Espanyol 2-1 at home with Darwin Machis (7.9) involved in both goals with a goal and an assist.
ROUND TO FORGET
Sergio Camello (5.1) was given 16 minutes to impress as Atletico chased an equaliser versus Real Madrid, but in that time he had no shots and attempted just two passes - neither of which reached a team-mate. He also had just four touches.