Real Madrid got back to winning ways at the weekend as they beat Osasuna 4-0, with Vinicius Junior scoring a superb hat-trick.
Los Blancos were coming off two damaging defeats in a row against Barcelona in the Clasico and Milan in the Champions League, with Carlo Ancelotti demanding a response from his players on Matchday 13.
It proved a good weekend for Madrid, as league leaders Barcelona dropped points in a surprise 1-0 loss versus Real Sociedad.
Premier League Player of the Week – Vinicius Junior
It seems Vini Jr has taken the Balon d’Or snub personally as in his first La Liga game since losing out on the honour to Rodri, he scored a hat-trick – and what a hat-trick it was.
In vintage style for his opening goal, he cut in from the left-hand side and lashed a strike home. The best of the lot was the second as Andriy Lunin sent a superb punt up the pitch in behind the Osasuna defence for the Brazilian, who utilised his supreme pace to run through on goal, round the keeper, and pass home. The third was slammed home from close range after some good work by Brahim Diaz.
Vini won 12 out of 18 duels and sent 28 passes into the final third which was more than any other player in La Liga this weekend. He also misplaced just three passes during his time on the pitch.
Who else made the Team of the Week?
Four of Vini’s Real Madrid team-mates made the Team of the Week.
Bellingham (8.2) set-up the opening goal for his team-mate and also scored his first goal of the season with a delightful, lofted finish over the oncoming keeper, while Diaz (8.2) impressed off the bench and set up the fourth. Lunin (7.8), remakably, recorded an assist from between the sticks with his excellent pass to the Brazilian and completed 28 out of 30 attempted passes overall.
Kylian Mbappe (7.7) didn’t score or assist, but put in a great shift in the final third, sending 25 passes into the final third, touching the ball 10 times inside the opposition half, winning 9/14 duels and completing 35/38 passes.
The Team of the Week’s midfield is makde up of Dani Parejo (8.2), Yangel Herrera (7.9) and Sergi Altimira (7.5)
The best defender this past weekend, perhaps surprisingly, Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsi (8.0). His rating was slightly surprising for a couple of reasons – Barcelona lost 1-0 and the player himself was coming off a horror injury in the Champions League as he was kicked in the head and required a number of stitches. Still, he recovered well and won 8/11 duels, 2/2 tackles and 6/7 aerial duels.
