La Liga Player Rankings After Weekend of November 1-3
The 10th matchweek of Spain's top flight brought a new league leader and another clutch of impressive performances, both teamwide and for individuals, giving us plenty of consideration for deserving names to enter our latest player rankings.
Barcelona suffered a second straight defeat, Sevilla lost and Real Sociedad did likewise—and sacked their manager afterward. Real Madrid, meanwhile, won to go top, with Atletico Madrid and Valencia also taking three points.
Here is our updated top 20 La Liga players following the weekend games, with new faces and plenty of movement to look through.
Mentions
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After just a week in our top 20, Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca drops back out following a blank and a defeat against Athletic Bilbao. Likewise Atletico Madrid's Mario Mandzukic falls out; a goal from him was a rare bright spot in an otherwise forgettable personal performance. With others improving quickly, it doesn't keep him in the top 20.
Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo also drops out—which means three new faces this week.
Still on our radar but lurking just outside the 20 are the likes of Javier Mascherano, Bravo's team-mate, Valencia forward Pablo Piatti and Getafe's powerful right-sided attacker Karim Yoda. Piatti in particular was unlucky not to make this week's cut.
20. Joaquin Larrivey, CEL
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New entrant
Celta Vigo beat Barcelona 1-0 at Camp Nou on Saturday, an unexpected result but a deserved one for a display which showed bravery and conviction, as well as the clinical edge that the home team lacked.
The clinical edge for the away side came courtesy of Joaquin Larrivey once more, as he swept home in the second half for his seventh La Liga goal of the season.
The centre-forward has been a powerful, energetic presence for his side over the past few weeks and deservedly takes his place in our new top 20.
19. Neymar, FCB
3 of 21
Change: -4
Neymar was involved in plenty of buildup play for Barcelona and showed good movement inside the penalty area, but he had one critical area of his game missing this week when the team needed it most: his finishing.
Twice he was denied by the woodwork, but twice more he absolutely should have finished chances which were more than presentable, none more so than a chance early in the second half from close range.
The Brazilian is still the league's second-highest scorer, but he didn't contribute that way at critical times this weekend.
18. Karim Benzema, RMA
4 of 21
New entrant
After a couple of weeks hovering on the fringes of the 20, Karim Benzema smashes his way into it this week after his best performance of the season against Granada.
The French striker scored one and created two in a genuinely quality display, showing all his best off-the-ball movement and pace to get in behind the defence time and time again.
Real's 4-4-2 system isn't only suiting Benzema, but he has been one of the big beneficiaries of the realignment of players around him, and he took full advantage at the weekend.
17. Isco, RMA
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New entrant
Had he been in the team from the start of the season and in the form since then that he has been in over the last month or so, Isco would have been a mainstay of our 20 and been much higher up. But he's in now, and he will doubtless begin to climb.
Playing from the left of Real's four-man midfield, Isco combines terrific defensive work rate and diligence with a technique and style on the ball which shows him as full of confidence. Rightly too, given that he has played a big part in Real's fantastic run of 11 wins in a row.
He was a key man yet again against Granada and was involved in plenty of the team's best moves.
16. Diego Alves, VAL
6 of 21
No change
No movement up or down for Diego Alves, the Brazilian goalkeeper for Valencia.
He didn't quite keep a clean sheet after a late goal from Manu Trigueros made the full-time score 3-1 to Los Che, but Alves still made a number of saves and distributed the ball well.
Over the course of the season, he has been the most consistent and impressive goalkeeper so far.
15. Miranda, ATM
7 of 21
Change: -2
Atletico Madrid won 4-2 against Cordoba, but Brazilian centre-back Miranda cannot really be entirely happy with his own performance, nor indeed his own form of late.
Having started out the season in great form, he has gone off the boil considerably since a minor injury and a recent international break, when he went away with Brazil.
Against Cordoba, he lost his man a few times, could have done better in one-on-one situations and generally looked far from his usual assured presence at the back, so another drop down the rankings is called for.
14. Ivan Rakitic, FCB
8 of 21
Change: -2
Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic was back in the side for the Barcelona game against Celta Vigo, having sat out El Clasico a week ago.
He couldn't have his usual level of impact; Rakitic distributed the ball well enough and kept things ticking for the centre of the park but didn't possess the cutting edge needed often enough to create chances inside the penalty area, nor were his set pieces particularly menacing.
Rakitic played the whole game but was somewhat subdued and ineffective.
13. Andres Iniesta, FCB
9 of 21
Change: -3
Still out injured, Andres Iniesta missed the Barcelona defeat to Celta Vigo and continues to fall as a result.
12. Grzegorz Krychowiak, SEV
10 of 21
Change: +5
While other midfielders around him fall, Grzegorz Krychowiak continues his ascendancy up the charts, putting in another beastly performance against Athletic Bilbao even as his Sevilla team lost 1-0.
Krychowiak dominated the centre of the park, making big challenges and using the ball well, outrunning his opponents and looking just as strong as he has in recent weeks, though it ultimately proved fruitless.
Sevilla dropped down to fifth, but it remains tight in the first five places, and they have a chance to put things right against lowly Levante next time out.
11. Sergio Busquets, FCB
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Change: -2
Like Rakitic, Sergio Busquets started the season in great form but has waned somewhat of late, with a downright poor performance at the weekend the latest in his slide.
Busquets was nowhere near as dominant or protective of his back line as usual, failing to really get to grips with Celta Vigo's counter-attacking tendencies and ability to flood players through the middle.
The Barcelona holder was substituted in the second half as his side tried to get back in the game.
10. Luka Modric, RMA
12 of 21
Change: +4
Another game, another impressive Luka Modric display.
Carlo Ancelotti's tactical switch means a two-man midfield partnership, with Modric as one-half of that. Tremendous ball control, good defensive work and surprising athleticism are the hallmarks of that double act in the middle.
Against Granada, the Real Madrid man was given room to play in and made full use of the home side sitting back, spraying the ball about at will and ensuring that wave after wave of attacks kept Real on the front foot.
9. Sergio Ramos, RMA
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Change: +2
Real Madrid didn't have too much trouble at the back against Granada until late on, when the home side mounted a few attacks on the break, but while Pepe stumbled around, crashing into his own team-mates and losing sight of his man, Sergio Ramos was once more on point to help keep the clean sheet intact.
Ramos was his usual aggressive self in making challenges but also covered behind the back line well, something he doesn't always do. He recovered well from a team-mate's boot (Pepe's) into his midriff early on in the game.
8. Jeremy Mathieu, FCB
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Change: -3
Jeremy Mathieu reverted to his usual central defensive role at the weekend, but he was unable to prevent Barcelona slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Celta.
In truth, he struggled this time, not able to get close to the quick-moving trio in Celta's attack and being outfoxed for the only goal of the game. He'll have better games than this again, but they might not come for a few weeks, as he picked up an injury during the match.
A drop this week for the Frenchman.
7. Nolito, CEL
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No change
No up, no down for Nolito this week. The Celta Vigo forward is in the form of his life, but when you're in the same league as the likes of Real and Barca, you need to be exceptional to get much higher than where he is now.
He was extremely effective with the limited time on the ball he had at Barcelona this weekend, darting infield on the counter-attack to give the Catalan club all sorts of problems, and he created the winning goal with a smart backheel to Larrivey to finish from.
Celta rise to sixth with the win.
6. Nicolas Otamendi, VAL
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No change
Nicolas Otamendi takes pride of place as our highest-ranked central defender this week, following another decent outing for Valencia in their win at Villarreal.
Like Alves, he was denied a clean sheet late on by the home side's consolation goal, but he still played well over the full 90 minutes and continues to look a more consistent and strong presence at the back than he has for many years—something like the player he looked like he could become early on in his career, in fact.
There's a long way to go for a full season of excellent displays, but so far, so great from Otamendi.
5. James Rodriguez, RMA
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Change: +3
All rise for the league's most in-form player over the past few weeks.
James Rodriguez had been on a gradual settling-in period at Real Madrid initially, but October belonged to him, and November has started the same way. The Colombian was immense against Granada, showing that vision, technique and inclination to attempt the sublime which made him such a World Cup hit.
Two goals, one an absolute peach, were his reward for an inventive and buzzing display.
4. Lionel Messi, FCB
18 of 21
Change: -2
Not a good couple of weeks for Barcelona, scoring just one goal in the last two matches, and Leo Messi is out of our top two for the first time this season.
Like Neymar (and Luis Suarez), there wasn't too much wrong with Messi's all-round game against Celta Vigo; he was perhaps forced to come deeper for possession and didn't have as many chances as usual. Often, he chose to dribble around the entire defence for an effort on the angle, and of course, his finishing was well below the level expected or needed.
He's still waiting to equal the all-time La Liga goalscoring record and certainly should have done so this weekend, being off target with at least two excellent chances and seeing the woodwork deny him twice, too.
3. Toni Kroos, RMA
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Change: +1
Toni Kroos sat in alongside Modric once more in Real Madrid's midfield and once more ran the show from deep.
He made more passes than anybody else on the pitch during the 4-0 win over Granada, per WhoScored.com, and he was typically assured and accurate with his use of the ball, setting his offensive team-mates into space and delivering well off corners.
Kroos is already a vital part of this team, and once more, praise has to go to Ancelotti for devising a role to get the best out of his key players.
2. Koke, ATM
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Change: +1
Up into second goes Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke, a phenomenal talent in phenomenal form.
He ran the show from a narrow wide midfield role against Cordoba, picking the ball up in space, running at the defence and finding team-mates time and time again in a clear position to shoot. He delivers well off set pieces, isn't shy about going for goal himself and embodies the Atleti way of working hard, pressing well and attacking at pace.
Two assists for Koke in the game—and an effort off the woodwork himself—continued his impressive recent showings.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
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No change
No change at the top once again as Cristiano Ronaldo remains our No. 1 pick from La Liga.
The Real Madrid man took all of 100 seconds to open the scoring for his side at Granada, sweeping home a low shot after a well-worked passage of play saw his team press high, win the ball and create space in the box.
Ronaldo is another who has thrived from the tactical switch, and nobody seems capable of stopping him; Granada tried to get bodies around him in the box, but a cheeky backheel, similar to the Nolito-Larrivey combination, saw him set up Benzema for an assist later in the match. Real are top; Ronaldo is top.
