La Liga

La Liga: Oliver & Co superb for Sevilla but which Clasico player was star man?

The biggest match of the weekend may have seen Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-0, but there was better quality to be found elsewhere...

 
9:00am on Monday 2nd March 2020
By
Martin Macdonald
Óliver Torres
M (C), W (L) - Sevilla FC - 25 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
90'
9.0
Mar 1, 2020

Sevilla made it two wins on the bounce in La Liga after narrowly defeating Osasuna 3-2, with Oliver's creative influence a key factor in the win.

The home side went 2-0 up in the first half, with him setting up both. For the opener, he slid a perfect pass into the path of Youssef En-Nesyri down the left channel which allowed for the finish.

Then, just before half-time, he sent a corner into the area which was nodded into the bottom corner by Lucas Ocampos.

Deployed just behind the striker, he completed 47/60 attempted passes, 27 of which were sent into dangerous areas in the final third. He worked tirelessly too, though, as he helped Sevilla out with 13 ball recoveries.

Dani Carvajal
D (R) - Real Madrid - 28 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
90'
8.6
Mar 1, 2020

When Dani Carvajal got involved in a spat with Jordi Alba which resulted in both players being booked, you worried the Real Madrid star would be at risk of being sent off due to his aggressive nature in the tackle - especially in the Clasico.

Instead, he was magnificent at right-back, taking on everything Barcelona could throw at him with gusto, whether it was Lionel Messi or Antoine Griezmann coming wide or Ansu Fati coming off the bench.

He won the majority of his duels (6/9), 100% of his tackles (4/4), and 100% of his aerial duels (1/1), while he misplaced just seven passes out of 56.

The Spaniard would eventually assist the second goal of the game late on with a pass down the right for Mariano.

Fabián Orellana
M (R), AM (C) - Eibar - 34 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
90'
8.5
Feb 29, 2020

Eibar put potentially vital ground between themselves and the bottom three after comfortably beating Levante 3-0.

Fabian Orellana was the star of the show, recording a goal and an assist.

He may be a veteran tricky winger, but it was a superbly won header inside the box which allowed him to knock the ball down to Charles for the opener after 27 minutes.

As the game became scrappy, he continually won possession back with nine ball recoveries, before eventually scoring the third and final goal with a lashed right-footed finish into the bottom corner.

Sergi Enrich
S (C) - Eibar - 30 yrs
88'
8.5
Feb 29, 2020

While Orellana was the star for Eibar, Sergi Enrich was the provider as he assisted two of the three goals for the hosts.

His runs in behind the Levante defence caused problems, and it was via one of these which led to the second as he drifted to the left of the area to take the ball down before lifting a left-footed cross to the near post for Charles to bullet a header home.

He won 6/11 duels, 2/2 tackles, and 4/6 aerial duels thereafter before setting up the third with a low cross to the penalty spot for Orellana.

Nemanja Maksimović
M, DM (C) - Getafe - 25 yrs
MAN OF THE MATCH
90'
8.3
Mar 1, 2020

After two consecutive losses against Barcelona and Sevilla, Getafe bounced back with an important 1-0 away win at Mallorca, which allowed them to keep their place in the top four as they continue their unlikely pursuit of Champions League football.

The match winner on the night was Nemanja Maksimovic who scored the only goal of the game in superb fashion. As the ball is floated in from the left-hand side, he bravely stoops to waist height to send a brilliant diving header into the corner despite knowing he would likely be clattered by the defender.

He battled hard in central midfield the whole game, winning 5/7 duels, 100% of his tackles, and 4/6 aerial duels, as well as making eight ball recoveries and four interceptions.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Atletico suffered yet another Liga draw this weekend, this time against lowly Espanyol for their 11th of the season. Saul (8.3) scored their only goal of the game, though, and definitely deserved to be on a winning team with his passing (62/78 completed) and ball recoveries (12).

ROUND TO FORGET

Maksimovic may have excelled for Getafe, but Angel (4.8) did not. Before he was hooked after 70 minutes, he had zero shots, completed just eight passes, and lost 11/16 duels.

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