La Liga round-up: Messi leads the top performers despite Barcelona loss

Barcelona fell to a surprise 4-3 home defeat at the hands of Real Betis at the weekend as they shipped four league goals at Camp Nou for the first time since 2003. Real Betis, meanwhile, had scored just one away goal this season prior to their trip to Barcelona in what was a hugely impressive victory that brought to an end their four-match winless run and lifted them into 11th ahead of the international break. 

League leaders Barcelona may have faltered in front of their own fans, but it was another man of the match showing from Lionel Messi. The Argentine put in another fine display despite ending up on the losing side as he netted twice from seven shots, while additional returns of five key passes and seven successful dribbles saw Messi land a WhoScored rating of 9.17 in the loss. 

Karim Benzema also makes the cut in the final third following a superb display in Real Madrid’s 4-2 win over Celta Vigo as he churned out a man of the match performance in the victory. Santiago Solari’s good start to life as Real Madrid coach saw him handed the role on a permanent basis as Benzema excelled, hitting the back of the net with one of his seven shots, as he also won three aerial duels, made three successful dribbles and two interceptions. 

Real Betis ace Junior Firpo rounds off the top three best performing players as he scored one and assisted another in the 4-3 win over Real Betis. The 22-year-old’s one goal came from two shots and his assist from two key passes, while two tackles, one interception and four clearances capped off a fine display from the youngster. 

At the other end of the scale, Gustavo Cabral endured a nightmare showing in Celta’s 4-2 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid. The centre-back netted an own goal in the loss while an 87th minute red card rounded off a forgettable display for the defender, who returned a WhoScored rating of 4.35 in the loss.