La Liga Team of the Week: Otamendi ends Madrid's winning run

 

The Argentine defender made several key interventions at one end and scored at the other to give Valencia a deserved victory over in-form Real on Sunday

Real Madrid and Barcelona both lost as La Liga returned to action after the winter break.

Madrid's 22-match winning run came to an end with a 2-1 defeat at Valencia on Sunday, while Barca went down 1-0 at Real Sociedad later that day as Atletico closed in on the leaders with a 3-1 victory at home to Levante on Saturday.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Sevilla, Deportivo La Coruna, Almeria, Rayo Vallecano, Eibar and Cordoba and here, Goal picks out the standout performers from the latest round of action.

In goal, Geronimo Rulli stood firm as Real Sociedad overcame Barcelona in a 1-0 win at Anoeta.

At the back, Nicolas Otamendi was superb for Valencia with several key interventions and the winning goal which saw Nuno's side beat Madrid 2-1 at Mestalla, while team-mate Lucas Orban was also excellent up against the threat of Gareth Bale. Diego Godin was in fine form for Atletico in their 3-1 success at home to Levante and scored the third goal, while Nico Pareja helped Sevilla to a clean sheet and netted the only goal as Unai Emery's men beat Celta Vigo.

In midfield, Chory Castro worked tirelessly as Real Sociedad stunned Barca, Ivan Cavaleiro scored the only goal as Deportivo beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 and Arda Turan was excellent for Atletico in their 3-1 victory.

Further forward, Antoine Griezmann impressed again with two goals for Diego Simeone's side, while Tomer Hemed struck twice to secure a vital victory for Almeria as the Andalusians edged out Malaga 2-1 and Manu del Moral was on target as Eibar beat Espanyol 2-1 away from home.