La Liga Player Rankings After Gameweek 16, December 19-21
The last round of La Liga games this side of the winter break took place in Spain from the 19th to the 22nd of December, with 18 of the 20 teams in action. Real Madrid vs. Sevilla was postponed until February on account of Real being at the Club World Cup.
Only three players from last week's top 10 took to the field in the weekend's matches in La Liga, offering others the chance to jump a few places higher if those individuals could put on a good performance—and the chance for a new No. 1.
For the final time in 2014, here is our updated La Liga player rankings.
Mentions
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Marcelo of Real Madrid drops out of our top 20—just one of a few casualties for the league leaders as, of course, none featured in La Liga action. Joining him in falling off the radar is Tiago of Atletico Madrid, after he was completely swamped for almost an hour in the eventual 4-1 win for his team at Athletic Bilbao.
Of last week's on-the-radar list of eight players, only three played this week. None break into the top 20, despite two new arrivals, so the list remains the same:
Pablo Piatti, Valencia
Sergi Darder, Malaga
Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid
Carlos Vela, Real Sociedad
Bruno, Villarreal
Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
Samuel, Malaga
Stephane Mbia, Sevilla
Also a couple of new names on the watch-list for after the winter break:
Manu Trigueros, Villarreal
Eric Bailly, Espanyol
20. Luis Suarez, FCB
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New entrant
Luis Suarez has been on the verge of the top 20 for a while, since settling at Barcelona following his early season suspension. His general performance level at the weekend—though not entirely spectacular—was good enough to finally bump him in.
Suarez worked as hard as ever and was one of the few players to really give Cordoba constant problems, despite the hugely flattering eventual scoreline of 5-0.
The Uruguayan scored his first league goal after some great control and composure, and he will be set to really take off once the league picks up again in 2015.
19. Jose Gimenez, ATM
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New entrant
Usually a backup, Jose Gimenez has been given his chance this season as a starter because of two injuries to Miranda—and has completely taken his opportunity.
A very composed player who reads the game well, Gimenez has put a strong run of form together which has even seen him surpass Diego Godin in recent weeks, being resolute and consistent with his defending and not making errors like his fellow Uruguayan defender.
It remains to be seen whether Gimenez is kept in post-winter break once Miranda is fit again, but if he is demoted back to the bench there will be teams trying to prise him away in January for sure.
18. Carlos Kameni, MGA
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Change: +1
Carlos Kameni didn't have too much to do in Malaga's game against Elche, though he made a couple of decent saves as Elche tried to counter-attack for much of the match.
He conceded one in a 2-1 win for his team—though the goal he conceded, off a free-kick delivery, was clearly offside.
17. Grzegorz Krychowiak, SEV
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Change: -1
Grzegorz Krychowiak and Sevilla did not play as they were scheduled to face Real Madrid.
16. Neymar, FCB
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Change: -1
Neymar was an unused substitute for Barcelona's 5-0 win over Cordoba, with Pedro starring in his place.
15. Luciano Vietto, VIL
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Change: +2
Luciano Vietto signed off an impressive opening half to the season with two close-range goals for Villarreal against Deportivo La Coruna, the last two in the 3-0 win.
His movement and link play were as impressive as ever, though the Argentinian forward should have scored much earlier on when played through on goal—that's the type of area he needs to improve in going forward.
Later though, his use of space and predatory instincts were on show as he found himself unmarked running into the six-yard box, twice in the space of a few minutes, to seal the win and finish off low crosses from the left.
14. Nolito, CEL
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Change: -2
Nolito was top six only a month ago or so, but his own form and Celta Vigo's have nosedived sharply.
The left-sided forward was left on the bench again for the weekend game against Almeria, and it was another defeat and another game without a goal for his team, making it six in a row without a point or a goal scored.
Nolito came on in the second half... and missed a penalty, poorly struck to the right, to spurn the best chance to break that run.
13. Diego Alves, VAL
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Change: +1
Diego Alves had a largely quiet game for Valencia against Eibar as his side won 1-0, but he did make a good flying save to his left early on in the match with the scores still level.
After Valencia took the lead they once more sat off and looked to remain solid rather than going for another goal, meaning that Eibar enjoyed a lot of the ball but created little.
Alves' rest of the game was largely routine, but it's another clean sheet for him and he remains our top-rated goalkeeper of La Liga at the winter break.
12. Isco, RMA
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Change: -1
One of Real Madrid's contingent, Isco did not play in La Liga this weekend.
11. Jeremy Mathieu, FCB
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Change: -1
Jeremy Mathieu sat alongside Neymar and was an unused substitute for Barcelona.
10. Ignacio Camacho, MGA
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Change: +3
A late rush into the top 10 for Ignacio Camacho who has been largely outstanding for the past few months, with Malaga looking a very tough-to-beat outfit thanks to his central midfield partnership with Sergi Darder.
Camacho was his usual busy self in midfield, winning the ball, putting challenges in and making life tough for the opposition in the central third of the field, as Malaga came from behind to beat Elche 2-1 on Sunday.
It was Camacho himself who netted the equaliser, running in from deep to score at the near post: An uncharacteristic run, but one which got his side back on track.
9. Karim Benzema, RMA
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No change
No movement for Karim Benzema as those below him didn't take advantage of his absence from league play this week.
8. Arda Turan, ATM
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No change
Arda Turan has been in very good form for Atletico Madrid for most of the season, but he missed out on an opportunity to rise significantly in our rankings this week.
The Turkish wide midfielder failed to get into the game at all against Athletic Bilbao, not linking with new frontman Antoine Griezmann, struggling to defend against Athletic's attacks in the first half and eventually being substituted in the final stages of the game.
With the two players above him not featuring this weekend, he could have been looking at a top-five place with a top performance—but couldn't deliver.
7. Sergio Ramos, RMA
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No change
Sergio Ramos didn't play in La Liga and doesn't get any higher as a result. He ends 2014 as only our second-highest rated defender, but probably doesn't care as he was labelled the best player in the tournament at the Club World Cup—his Real Madrid side were also crowned the best team in the world.
Which is fair enough.
6. James Rodriguez, RMA
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No change
James Rodriguez returned from injury, but not in La Liga.
5. Nicolas Otamendi, VAL
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No change
Like Arda Turan, Nicolas Otamendi misses the chance to rise higher after not putting in one of his best performances at the weekend.
The Argentinian centre-back was part of a back three this time for Valencia as they beat Eibar 1-0.
It was a hard-working and disciplined performance, but Otamendi wasn't one of the stand-out defensive-minded players and lost one big tackle which almost set the opposition away for a goal. No rise, no fall, a clean sheet and he ends up as our top defender in La Liga for 2014.
4. Koke, ATM
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No change
Koke missed out on a chance to rival Toni Kroos for a top-three spot, and the best midfielder spot, as he was suspended for Atletico's game against Athletic Bilbao.
3. Toni Kroos, RMA
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No change
Toni Kroos was, of course, also away with Real Madrid, but he heads into the winter break as our top midfielder in La Liga.
2. Lionel Messi, FCB
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No change
And no change in the top two, either.
Lionel Messi had the chance to go back to the top of our rankings if he put in a Messi-esque performance against modest opposition, but despite scoring two well-taken goals in the 5-0 rout of Cordoba, the Barcelona man didn't really impact on the match much at all.
The game was won by the time he struck in quick succession, and he hadn't really been the catalyst for his side on this occasion. A bit of a nothing performance by the No. 10 in truth, but his side got the points and he moves to 15 goals for the league season.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
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No change
And no change at the top, with Cristiano Ronaldo ending 2014 as our top-ranked player in La Liga.
The outstanding goalscoring form and creative play from the Portuguese man have been paramount to Real Madrid's terrific winning streak, and despite not playing at the weekend in La Liga, he's a worthy top-spot occupant heading into the winter break.
