LaLiga midway roundup: Messi king but Real Madrid edge Barcelona in team of the season
Now the winter break is upon us in LaLiga, we have the ideal opportunity to take stock of the season so far in Spain. As well as revealing our LaLiga Team of the Season at the midway point (10+ appearances), we also take a broader reflection on the division, assessing the best and worst aspects, we additional information about Football Index share prices.
Best player: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 8.60 rating
Football Index share price - £5.92
Lionel Messi continues to show no signs of slowing down despite turning 33 at the end of the season. Messi has played a direct hand in 19 goals in the league this season, more than any other player in the division despite making just 13 of a possible 18 appearances. Remarkably, eight of his 13 league goals have come from outside the box - more than any team in the division (excluding Barcelona). Furthermore, the Argentina international has won the WhoScored Man of the Match the most times in LaLiga this term (8) and ranks top for most successful dribbles per game (5.5).
Lionel Messi: Has scored eight league goals from outside the box this season, more than 93 of the 97 TEAMS (excluding Barcelona) in Europe's top 5 leagues
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) December 23, 2019
Full player statistics -- https://t.co/NPattiy2Im pic.twitter.com/GFBzsZGEEv
Best signing: Martin Odegaard (Real Sociedad) - 7.51 rating
Football Index share price - £3.67
Other than Messi, there is a genuine case that Martin Odegaard has been one of the leagues best players this season, not just the best signing. Signed from Real Madrid on a season-long loan deal, Odegaard has been immense for Real Sociedad with four goals and five assists in 16 league games. The 21-year-old is creating more goalscoring chances per game than any other player in the division (2.8) and ranks fourth for most successful dribbles per game (2.7). He has picked up the WhoScored Man of the Match award on three occasions.
Best newcomer: Pervis Estupinan (Osasuna) - 7.02 rating
Football Index share price - £0.90
Pervis Estupinan didn't finish 2019 on a high with his lowest WhoScored rating in a LaLiga match reserved for Osasuna's last of the year, but it has otherwise been a thoroughly strong break out year for the left-back. Estupinan has played a direct hand in thee goals in 18 league appearances (one goal, two assists) and has impressively won the WhoScored Man of the Match award on three occasions. Not only that, but he ranks top for both tackles per game (2.5) and interceptions per game (1.8) of any Osasuna player in LaLiga. Furthermore, only Pau Torres (79) has won possession in the defensive third more times than Estupinan (78) in the entire division.
Surprise package: Osasuna
Osasuna will be disappointed to have finished 2019 with successive league defeats but they can be immensely proud of what they achieved in the first half of the season. Promoted as LaLiga2 champions last season, Osasuna only spent just over £10m on new players in the summer and are currently 12th in the table and nine points clear of relegation. They have only lost five of their opening 18 league matches, one more than third place Sevilla. They have also only conceded three more goals (24) than first place Barcelona. They have impressively held both of those teams to draws this season. However, no team has picked up more red cards than Osasuna (4) in LaLiga this term and they will need to keep their discipline during the second half of the season to maximise their chance of beating the drop.
Underachiever: Espanyol
Espanyol knew they were in for a tough season after surprisingly securing Europa League football last season but few would have predicted it to go this badly. Despite qualifying for the knockout phase of the competition, Espanyol are remarkably bottom of LaLiga with 10 points from 18 league matches. They have unsurprisingly conceded the most goals (34) in the division and languish five points from safety already. Cashing in on both Borja Iglesias and Mario Hermoso, two of last season's star men, without replacing them adequately looks to have cost Esapnyol big time.
