La Liga Player Rankings After Gameweek 20, January 24-26
Into the second half of the season we go in Spain, with the most recent round of fixtures giving us Matchweek 20. Even the two sides having a game in hand—Real Madrid and Sevilla—have now completed half of their seasonal fixtures.
It was another week in which, by and large, the top sides won and the bottom sides lost in La Liga, but the manner of victories and the performances by individuals within the games ranged quite drastically to both ends of the scale.
Here are our latest player rankings from the top flight in Spain, where we have one change to our top 20.
Mentions
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Jonathas of Elche drops out of our top 20 after a single week, having been mostly an innocent bystander this weekend as his side were ripped apart by Barcelona. He is our only change to last week's top 20.
On the watchlist:
Marcelo, Real Madrid
Sergio Asenjo, Villarreal
Dani Parejo, Valencia
Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona
Gerard Pique, Barcelona
20. Raphael Varane, RMA
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New entrant!
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane's performances all season have been absolutely top-class—they just haven't come often enough to warrant including him in our 20. Every time he gets two or three games in, he's back out of the side as manager Carlo Ancelotti continues to prefer Pepe and Sergio Ramos as a combination.
For that reason, there's no telling how long he might last with our rankings, but the French defender has been superb in 2015, playing in five of Real's six games so far. He is well deserving of breaking in.
He was solid and impressive early on in the match against a fast-paced and threatening Cordoba side, making several important interceptions to stop what could have been clear chances to establish a wider lead than the home side actually managed.
19. Luis Suarez, FCB
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Change: -2
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez had his birthday on Saturday, but manager Luis Enrique was either extremely mean to leave him out of the side on the occasion or extremely generous to give him a rest for it. Either way, Suarez didn't play.
18. Luciano Vietto, VIL
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No change
Villarreal forward Luciano Vietto both had little impact on the game and the only impact on the game which mattered, as the Yellow Submarine beat Levante, 1-0.
In a match that was open, yet lacking in quality chances, Vietto scored the only goal of the 90 minutes early in the second half, giving Villarreal another three points as they chase a Champions League place.
For most of the rest of the game, his efforts were half-chances, his runs off of the ball were unnoticed or a little out of sync with his team-mates, and although his work rate was good, he didn't really have a total approach to being involved this time. The whole team was below par.
17. Antoine Griezmann, ATM
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Change: +2
Antoine Griezmann was restored to the Atletico Madrid lineup, playing centre-forward alongside Mario Mandzukic as Atleti changed the team but not the shape against Rayo Vallecano.
It suited him anyway; the French forward scored twice, initially a reward for closing down and intercepting a loose pass and later racing onto a flicked header from strike partner Mandzukic. On both occasions, Griezmann showed terrific acceleration into space and a very composed finish to beat the keeper one-on-one.
He then set up the third goal from a corner and almost netted a hat-trick, but he struck the post late on in the match. It was an all-round electric display.
16. Denis Cheryshev, VIL
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Change: -1
Winger Denis Cheryshev was absent from the Villarreal teamsheet this weekend.
15. Grzegorz Krychowiak, SEV
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Change: +1
Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak was on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline this weekend as his Sevilla side lost out to Valencia in the top-four battle, but he personally put in a good display.
Krychowiak made sure he put in plenty of challenges and positioned himself well to win the ball when he could, but with a midfield partner more interested in barging over people and getting involved in skirmishes than actually protecting the defence, Krychowiak was frequently overrun in the first hour.
Valencia played a diamond midfield and simply broke through the gaps in Sevilla's double pivot with frequency, especially on the counter, and Krychowiak was left alone to chase back more often than not.
14. Isco, RMA
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Change: -3
Isco wasn't in the Real Madrid lineup this week, and he takes a tumble as a result.
13. Jose Gimenez, ATM
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Change: +1
With no Diego Godin on defense in the Atleti lineup, fans got a chance to see Miranda—the previous partner of Godin—paired with Jose Gimenez, who has come in and taken his opportunity superbly, winning Miranda's place in the process.
The Brazilian hasn't played too much of late through injury and being demoted, but the difference in confidence and form was clear to see: Miranda missed challenges, didn't close down for the goal and looked out of sorts.
Gimenez was imperious, strong on the ground and handled powerful attackers well. He also forced the error which gave Atleti their third goal in the 3-1 win over Rayo.
12. Ignacio Camacho, MGA
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Change: +1
After a few weeks out injured, Nacho Camacho returned to the Malaga midfield this weekend—and the difference was immediately evident. His rugged approach and ability to hold the side together paid dividends as the Andalucian side came back to draw 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao.
Camacho vs. Mikel San Jose was an entertaining duel—both are strong, physical players—but while Camacho's passing was wayward at times, he certainly dominated the centre of the park.
Malaga are trying to get their season back on track after a poor month; they need Camacho to keep fit to do so.
11. Karim Benzema, RMA
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Change: +1
Striker Karim Benzema was one of the few impressive Real Madrid performers at the weekend as they narrowly beat Cordoba 2-1 away from home.
Most importantly, the Frenchman finally found the target for his first Liga goal since November, to bring the two sides level after an early penalty put Cordoba ahead.
As usual, his selfless off-the-ball running and work rate were tremendous, though the linkup play wasn't as good as it has always been—partly on account of too many of his team-mates putting in a poor showing.
10. Arda Turan, ATM
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No change
No movement for Arda Turan, with the Turkish midfielder putting in a good performance on the right side of Atletico Madrid's win over Rayo Vallecano, without ever really threatening to be at his best.
Turan offered width and a quick outlet for Atleti, who were a little oddly shaped in midfield with Mario Suarez roaming from the left, and he passed forward quickly to the likes of Griezmann to keep Atleti on the offensive.
He was replaced late in the game, as is usual.
9. Sergio Ramos, RMA
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Change: -2
It's a drop for Sergio Ramos this week, not one of Real Madrid's worst performers but certainly not at his best either as they beat Cordoba, 2-1. Ramos gave away the early penalty, though it was a fairly harsh call for handball.
Afterward, he did well to stop one or two counters, but quick, constant attacks down the right flank in the opening half-hour did give him problems before he recovered his poise.
There wasn't as much defending to do after the break, but he and the entire team will want to improve on this showing.
8. Koke, ATM
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Change: -3
Koke didn't feature for Atletico and, due to some impressive performers elsewhere, suffers a bit of a drop as a result.
7. Diego Alves, VAL
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Change: +2
Diego Alves was one Valencia's heroes as they put Sevilla to the sword in the weekend's crunch match, winning 3-1.
Though the Brazilian goalkeeper didn't do anything wrong himself, a harsh call by the referee denied him a clean sheet after the awarding of a penalty from a dubious-looking challenge. Sevilla forward Carlos Bacca beat Alves that time, but when the second penalty was awarded just a couple of minutes later, Alves came out on top, diving to his left and saving with his legs.
That would have made it 2-2, but Valencia went on to take control and score again themselves instead, with Alves dominating his box and making a couple of important saves later in the match.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
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Change: -3
Another drop for Cristiano Ronaldo, who was top only three weeks back, but he had a fortnight to largely forget since winning the Ballon d'Or.
The Portuguese forward was left frustrated and ineffective by some extremely good Cordoba defending, and he let it get to him by lashing out at the face of an opponent late in the game.
That wasn't seen by the referee, but the blatant kick just a minute later was. A straight red resulted, and he missed the chance to score the winner from the penalty spot two minutes later.
He will likely miss two games, per Juan Jimenez of AS.
5. Neymar, FCB
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Change: +3
While Ronaldo drops fast, Neymar is going in the opposite direction, in the best form of his entire season right now.
The Barcelona forward has been scintillating of late, producing telling performances one after another, with the latest coming in the 6-0 thumping of Elche at the weekend.
Neymar scored twice with very good finishes, especially the second. His all-round game was just as impressive, combining dribbling and direct running with work rate off of the ball and linkup play with his fellow attackers.
4. Nicolas Otamendi, VAL
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Change: +2
Nicolas Otamendi returned to the Valencia team at the heart of a back four and was imperious against Sevilla in the 3-1 win.
He was bullish in the challenge, fearsome with his constant shouting at team-mates to be in position and as strong as was needed against the threat of the Sevilla attack. He did get caught out of position once early on, but he recovered to stop the attack and from then on was a cool head throughout.
It's hard to say if Los Che look better with a back three or four at present, but whichever alignment is chosen, it looks far more secure with Otamendi in place.
3. James Rodriguez, RMA
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Change: -1
James Rodriguez lasted just a single week in our top two, after not having any kind of major impact on the game for Real Madrid against Cordoba this weekend.
The Colombian played a left-sided role in the three-man midfield, but he was closed down quickly, marked by a hardworking opposition midfield and not allowed any space in the final third to turn and play in passes. Real's buildup was slow and awkward, with James a part of that, and he just didn't produce on this occasion.
It was no surprise when he was subbed with 10 minutes to go as Real sought a winner.
2. Toni Kroos, RMA
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Change: +1
It was a mixed game for Toni Kroos, and in normal circumstances, it wouldn't see him rise into second—but he was better than James and played well in the second half, which is just about enough to hit the silver-medal spot this week.
Kroos was bypassed easily by Cordoba spreading play wide right in the opening half-hour, counter-attacking past him before he had a chance to get involved, but his defensive play was more evident as Real gained control of the ball afterward.
The German tried switching play longer and faster since the team buildup was so slow, and though it didn't always come off, he was at least trying something different, which is more than can be said for others. Kroos also had a low, long-range effort on target saved by the keeper, not too dissimilar to a goal he scored a few weeks back.
1. Lionel Messi, FCB
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No change
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is, like Neymar, on top of his game right now and simply blew away Elche's defence in the second half with his movement and technical ability.
A penalty and a tremendous low finish saw him net a brace, but his two assists for Neymar's goals were intelligent, well timed and executed to perfection—especially the second—which saw him loft a pass over the defence and into the area.
Messi is thriving as the team plays with more confidence of late, and there's no stopping him on this form.
