League Focus: La Liga 2014/15 Winter Break Statistical Roundup

A look around the statistics as La Liga heads into its winter break shows the expected big stars right at the top of the most important areas, while also highlighting the displays of some of the more low-profile players who have impressed through the first five months of the 2014/15 season.

Cristiano Ronaldo can head happily on his holidays knowing he dominates most of the individual attacking metrics. The Real Madrid superstar is way out ahead in terms of goals scored so far with his phenomenal 25 in 14 games almost as many as the total managed by Barcelona pair Lionel Messi [15] and Neymar [11] combined. They are second and third top scorers, respectively.

Ronaldo is also joint-leader in the assists table [8] – level with Atletico Madrid’s Koke and the fast emerging Denis Cheryshev of Villarreal. The Blancos' talisman’s 11 man of the match awards in 14 games is completely unparallelled and yet it was still just one ahead of closest challenger Messi [10 in 16 outings].

The Portuguese also edges the Argentine in total shots per game [6.3 to 4.8] and key passes [2.8 to 2.6] so far. Two metrics in which Messi comes out on top are dribbles per game [4.2] and through balls per game [0.8], where his tallies are both by far the highest in the division.

That both Ronaldo [9.13 average rating] and Messi [8.60] make the best overall performing XI so far is no surprise, nor is it a shock to see big-money attacking stars Neymar [7.79], Gareth Bale [7.81] and James Rodríguez [7.70] also included. Madrid and Barca have one defender apiece - with centre-half Sergio Ramos [7.69] and left-back Jordi Alba [7.41] making the cut.

Atletico’s slip in standards since last year’s title-winning campaign is shown by the fact that no Colchoneros player features in WhoScored’s team of the season so far. However there are spots for two Villarreal players – right-back Mario [7.30] and central-midfielder Bruno Soriano [7.63] have both had exceptional campaigns so far. Valencia’s excellent start is recognised with fearsome centre-half Nicolás Otamendi [7.5] making the XI. The biggest surprise is in goal, where Fabricio of struggling Deportivo La Coruna [7.15] gets the call, having been given plenty of chances to up his saves tally; he is make the most saves per game in the league [3.8].

Delving into the details, Madrid’s more patient playing style this season sees Blancos midfield metronome Toni Kroos top the pass success rankings [on 93%], pushing Barca’s Xavi Hernández [92.4%] into second.

Xavi’s teammate Sergio Busquets averages the most passes per game [75.3], with friend of WhoScored Roberto Trashorras of Rayo Vallecano down to third [73.7], something he’s likely to be unhappy about. Trashorras does however hit significantly more long-balls [10.6 per game] than any other outfield player.

On the defensive side the stand-out performers in many areas are of a lower profile. La Liga’s top tackler so far is Emiliano Velázquez of Getafe, with 4.4 per game. On-loan from Atletico, Velázquez also, pretty incredibly, has the highest interception tally – with 3.9 per appearance. David Moyes might be pleased to know that Real Sociedad’s Inigo Martinez is making the most clearances [6.9 per game]. Valencia’s Otamendi and Villarreal’s Victor Ruiz share the most blocks with an average of 1.2 per outing.

Other names that pop up in different categories are Espanyol winger Lucas Vázquez, who has been fouled more often than any other player [3.6 per game]. Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak has committed the most fouls [2.8]. Atletico’s Koke, meanwhile, has hit the most crosses [2.3 per game]. Maybe the least surprising of all is that Athletic Bilbao centre-forward Aritz Aduriz wins more aerial challenges [6.5 per game] than anyone else.

There are also some categories it might be better not to stand-out in. Malaga’s Nordin Amrabat gets caught offside more than anyone else [twice per game - Ronaldo is second at 1.6]. Eibar’s attacking midfielder Saúl has the lowest pass completion rate [58.4%] of all outfield players – although he has, in fairness, hit 1.3 key passes per game and provided 3 assists in 14 games. The lowest ranked of all players who have featured regularly is his teammate at the Basque club Ángel – a forward with 0 goals and 0 assists in nine appearances on his way to a 6.05 rating.

So some players have plenty to improve upon when the season starts up again in January, while others [especially including Ronaldo] will be hoping to consolidate their leading positions in the New Year.

[note - all stats and rankings here are for players who have completed the ‘minimum appearances’ used by whoscored.com - only those with total appearances greater than the average number of appearances over the first 16 gameweeks. This means players who have impressed hugely but during a limited number of games [such as Atletico CB Jose Maria Gimenez] have not been included.]

Who has impressed you most so far this season? Let us know in the comments below