We are half way into this season and it is the right time to assess the best performances of La Liga players so far.
This season of La Liga is turning out to be a memorable one as like last year, the trio of FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are fighting it out for the title and most importantly, the likes of Valencia, Sevilla, Villarreal and Malaga are also performing better than expectated to maintain the pressure on the big three.
Going into the Christmas break, Real Madrid lead the table but FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are not far behind. Real Madrid are looking in excellent run of form as they are on a winning streak of 22 consecutive games.
FC Barcelona appointed Luis Enrique as their new coach this summer but the Andalusian has failed to convince anybody so far, as he himself is not sure about his best starting XI for the Catalans. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid changed the face of their squad during the transfer window but coach Diego Simeone has succeeded in maintaining the pressure on the Clasico rivals.
Going into this Christmas break, we have picked our best starting XI of La Liga this season, which includes some usual suspects like Ronaldo and Messi. But there are some surprise inclusions as well; Bruno Soriano and Nicolas Otamendi. Interestingly, there is no Barca player in our midfield.
Claudio Bravo (FC Barcelona)
Claudio Bravo moved to FC Barcelona from Real Sociedad during the summer transfer window and he made a world record immediately after joining the Catalans. Bravo went 775 minutes without conceding a goal in the league and helped FC Barcelona secure the best defensive record in La Liga. FC Barcelona also signed Marc Andre ter Stegen in summer but there is no dispute that Bravo is the clubsai??i?? undisputed number ahead of the German.
Juanfran (Atletico Madrid)
Juanfran, who joined Atletico Madrid as a midfielder, has become one of the most consistent performers for the Los Rojiblancos coach Diego Simeone. Juanfran gets the nod ahead of Real Madridai??i??s Dani Carvajal as he has shown a great maturity this campaign to remain equally competitive with his attack and his defence. His ability to give solid performances on a weekly basis makes him arguably the best right back in the business.
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
The news of Sergio Ramosai??i?? refusal to sign the contract extension must worry Real Madrid fans as he has been the best defender of Los Blancos this season. The former Sevilla man is in form of his life for Real Madrid and he has improved his set piece defending remarkably well this season and this makes him a more complete player than last year. Sergio Ramos has also scored some important goals for Real Madrid on a regular basis during this campaign.
Nicolas Otamendi (Valencia)
Nicaolas Otamendi is perhaps the most surprising inclusion in our La Liga team of the season. Valencia signed Otamendi from FC Porto in the summer and the Argentine has performed extremely well for Los Che so far. Thanks to the reliable performances of Otamendi at the back, Valencia have second best defencive record in La Liga so far and his impressive displays have now caught the attention of Manchester United, who are interested in signing him in the winter transfer window.
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Marcelo performed extremely poorly in the World Cup for Brazil but it now appears that he is eager to redeem those displays by performing better than expectations for Real Madrid. Marcelo has formed a great understating with Ronaldo, which helps the team in attack while his defensive game has also improved a lot this season.
Koke (Atletico Madrid)
Koke has become a lynchpin of Atletico Madridai??i??s midfield since past two seasons. He has continued to excel under Diego Simeone this season too as he is the leading assist provider in La Liga (8) while he also has 30 chances to his name so far.
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Toni Kroos moved to Real Madrid from Bayern Munich this summer but he has fit in seamlessly into the midfield of Los Blancos. The German has highest pass completion rate in La Liga so far and along with Luka Modric (until his injury), Kroos has helped Real Madrid to win the midfield battle on a regular basis this season.
Bruno Soriano (Villarreal)
Bruno Soriano is arguably the best player of high playing Villarreal so far. The Yellow Submarine are playing a attractive yet result producing game this season and Bruno Soriano is the key player of their midfield, which has dominated the possession of almost all of their La Liga games till date. His great vision and passing skills has played a great role in the success of Villarreal this season.
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Leo Messi has become the all time highest goal scorer in the history of La Liga now and he is just 27 years old. FC Barcelona have looked boring at times this season but Leo Messi continues to thrive for the Catalans. Messi has 15 goals and seven assists to his name for FC Barcelona this season and despite of having array of attacking talent, he remains the only true goal scorer of this Blaugrana side.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Karim Bezema has worked really hard to prove his doubters wrong and his stats this season tell the progress made by the Frenchman under coach Carlo Ancelotti. Karim Benzema has 8 goals and 7 assists in 13 starts to his name so far. The ability of Benzema was regularly questioned when Jose Mourinho was the coach of Real Madrid but it seems that Ancelotti has worked his magic on the Frenchman, which is visible from his improved displays.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
The stats of Cristiano Ronaldo this season make a strong case for him being labeled as a super human. Ronaldo has scored 25 goals in just 14 La Liga games for Real Madrid this season and ahead of arch rival Leo Messi, he is a hot favorite to win Ballon dai??i??Or next month.
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