Season restart: LaLiga in focus
The World Cup has come and gone and now attention across the globe has returned to domestic football.
This is particularly welcome in Spain following the disappointing performance of La Roja in Qatar.
Luis Enrique’s men were defeated in the Round of 16 by Morocco, losing 3-0 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Back in LaLiga, however, there’s no shortage of intriguing storylines to be resumed.
The title race
Barcelona and Real Madrid are embroiled in a two-horse race for LaLiga.
The Blaugrana are two points clear of the reigning Spanish and European champions and both sides have scored the same number of goals (33).
However, Barcelona have conceded fewer times than Los Blancos (five to 14) and allowed fewer non-penalty shots (101 to 145).
Madrid haven’t retained LaLiga since 2008 and have historically been more focused on performing in the Champions League. That, coupled with Barcelona’s emotional need to show the world that they’re capable of operating at elite level again, makes them favourites before the restart.
But coming out on top in a 38-game season is always difficult – especially when a coach as inexperienced and unproven as Xavi Hernández is locking horns with a wily and canny operator like Carlo Ancelotti.
The battle for European football
Nobody is going to touch the top two but the battle for continental football is more intense than ever.
Just five points separate Real Sociedad in third from Villarreal in ninth. Given how poorly Sevilla have started the season, it’s almost certain that a new Spanish side will be playing Champions League football this coming campaign in their place – the only question is who.
La Real and Athletic Club – the pride of the Basque Country – are the current frontrunners, occupying third and fourth, respectively. Atlético Madrid and Real Betis are breathing down their necks in fifth and sixth, however, level on points with Athletic and just two behind La Real.
Osasuna, Rayo Vallecano and Villarreal make up the chasing pack.
Athletic boast the sharpest attack of this cabal (scoring 24), while Villarreal have the meanest defence (conceding 10).
The fight against relegation
The gap between LaLiga and Spanish football’s second tier is hugely significant.
And the fight to avoid relegation to it is extremely competitive. Elche look dead and buried having taken just four points from 14 games – they’re rooted to the bottom of the table – but just eight points separate Cádiz in 19th from Valencia in tenth. Pretty much any of LaLiga’s middleweights could be sucked into the battle.
That cohort includes Valencia, Mallorca, Real Valladolid, Girona, Almería, Getafe, Espanyol, Celta, Sevilla and Cádiz. Of that group it’s Sevilla, of course, who are the highest profile, and they’ll expect to rally and pull themselves up the table once the second half of the season begins.
Cádiz look the likeliest candidate to join Elche in relegation – they have the worst defensive record aside from them alongside Celta (conceding 26 goals) and boast LaLiga’s worst attack (scoring only nine goals).
The race for the Pichichi
The Pichichi is the award given to LaLiga’s top scorer.
Real Madrid marksman Karim Benzema won it in 2021/22 but it’s Robert Lewandowski who’s leading the way this term. The 34-year-old Polish striker, who joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich during the summer transfer window, has contributed 13 goals in 1,153 minutes of football.
Borja Iglesias, of Real Betis, and Vedat Muriqi, of Mallorca, are next in line with eight goals apiece.
The battle for the Zamora
The Zamora is the award given to LaLiga’s top goalkeeper.
Yassine Bounou of Sevilla won the prize in 2021/22 but it’s Marc-André ter Stegen of Barcelona who’s currently in pole position. The 30-year-old German international has kept eleven clean sheets in 1,369 minutes of football – Gerónimo Rulli of Villarreal is placed second with seven to his name.
Ter Stegen has conceded fewer goals than anyone – half as many as Rulli (five to 10).
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