GOALKEEPER
Guillermo Ochoa – Mexico – Ajaccio
Guillermo Ochoa was on form during Ajaccio’s 2-2 draw against Toulouse. Despite Ajaccio being bottom of Ligue 1, The Mexican keeper made nine saves including a stoppage time penalty to give his side a point.
DEFENDERS
Alexander Buttner – Netherlands – Manchester United
In the absence of United left back Patrice Evra, Dutch defender Alexander Buttner put in a solid showing against Aston Villa in the 4-1 win. This performance was followed up with another top performance in the Champions League where he made last ditch blocks and kept Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben relatively quiet at Old Trafford.
Naldo – Brazil – Wolfsburg
Brazilian defender Naldo gave his side all three points when Wolfsburg faced Eintracht Frankfurt with a spectacular 40 yard thunderbolt into the top corner. Naldo made the Bundesliga Team of the Week and his wonder strike wrapped up the win for his team.
Nemanja Vidic – Serbia – Manchester United
Nemanja Vidic put in his finest display in Europe for a good two years with a commanding game at the heart of the United defence which kept Bayern at bay. Vidic was a rock at the back and opened the scoring with a magnificent header from a Wayne Rooney corner.
MIDFIELDERS
Star of the Week: Kaka – Brazil – AC Milan
The legendary Brazilian takes the Star of the Week award after he re-found some of his old magic with two fine performances in the red and black of AC Milan. The 31 year old marked his 300th Milan appearance with two strikes against Chievo Verona in the 3-0 win; his second an effortless curling striker from the left hand side of the box. Kaka was also one of the best on the field in the 2-0 win over Fiorentina.
Marco Reus – Germany – Borussia Dortmund
It looked to be a hard-week for Dortmund after falling 2-0 down to Stuttgart with an upcoming Champions League fixture against Real Madrid. The hosts were up two goals to the good with Christian Gentner and Martin Harnik getting on the score sheets. However, Marco Reus had different ideas scoring a hat-trick to give Dortmund the win and confidence heading into the vital game against Madrid.
Gareth Bale – Wales – Real Madrid
Gareth Bale was criticised for his performance in the loss to Sevilla but bounced back in style against Rayo Vallecano. Real were in dominant form crushing Rayo 5-0 with Bale grabbing a brace and an assist. The Welsh wizard coupled this with a strike against Dortmund in under 5 minutes as los Blancos walked over their German opponents.
Jonathan de Guzman – Netherlands – Swansea City
Dutch midfielder and Swansea star Jonathan de Guzman completes the midfielders in the Team of the Week with an impressive display for the Swans against Norwich. De Guzman opened the scoring against the Canaries rifling home Jonjo Shelvey’s cross. He added his second of the game eight minutes later sumptuously chipping home Wilfried Bony’s back-heel.
FORWARDS
Claudio Pizarro – Peru – Bayern Munich
Munich boss Pep Guardiola rotated his squad ahead of his clash with Manchester United and Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro led the line for the Bavarians. Pizarro repaid his manager’s faith grabbing a brace and assisting the other in the 3-3 draw against Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena. The draw was the first match after Bayern secured their 24th league title.
Jay Rodriguez – England – Southampton
Jay Rodriguez strengthened his England chances after impressing for Southampton in their 4-0 win over Newcastle. Rodriguez struck twice to make Roy Hodgson seriously consider him for his 23 man squad for the upcoming World Cup. Diego Costa – Spain – Atletico Madrid
Diego Costa completes the Team of the Week after a performance against Athletic Bilbao. Costa scored one and put in a solid display in the 2-1 win. The win kept Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga and maintained his reputation as one of Europe’s most lethal strikers.
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Source: DSG
