La Liga Player Rankings: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi In, Gareth Bale Surges
Welcome back to the latest La Liga player rankings, our weekly take on which top-flight players in Spain are impressing the most.
The rankings are based on players' last six games, continually updated throughout the season, with slightly more emphasis placed on their most recent outing.
Only La Liga performances are counted and, typically, one-week wonders do not find their way in—instead, search our our team of the week for the top performers over a single weekend.
We look beyond the statistical measures and into the performance, reviewing tape and gauging impact. It's not just goals, assists and heroic clearances that impress; it's about how a player contributes to the tactical plan at hand and what impact he has over a 90-minute period.
Early in the season these rankings are very fluid, with multiple dropouts from the rankings very common. Last time out we started to solidify our 20 with those who had put together more than one good performance; now after the third 'Jornada' we look at players who have had a great start to the season overall and have woken up to the possibilities of the new season.
20. Rene Krhin, GRA
1 of 20
New entrant
Pictured here playing last season on loan at Cordoba, former Inter Milan midfielder Rene Krhin has made the move to Granada this season and, finally getting a run in a position which seems to suit him best, has made a fine start to the campaign.
Sitting at the base of Granada's midfield and dictating play from deep, Krhin gets himself into possession with frequency and begins constructing offensive moves with a good passing range and his level of comfort on the ball, happy to run into the opposition half when space allows.
He's also tenacious defensively, covers down the channels well and makes plenty of challenges—his weekend display against Villarreal didn't result in a win for his team after defensive errors from those behind him, but he certainly competed well and has begun to show why he was thought so highly of earlier in his career.
19. Lionel Messi, FCB
2 of 20
New entrant
Lionel Messi can't really go any higher than 19th, but it's a first entry of the season for last term's Player of the Year in our end-of-season rankings.
Messi was quiet against Athletic, in good form against Malaga despite being repeatedly thwarted by the goalkeeper—and then at the weekend came off the bench at Atletico Madrid to boost his team's offensive power and score the winning goal.
The movement and touch he immediately brought to the front line was impressive, while his finish showed all Messi's usual clinical edge and composure.
18. Asier Illarramendi, RSO
3 of 20
New entrant
Asier Illarramendi moved back to Real Sociedad this summer looking for more regular football, which he is certainly getting in the heart of David Moyes' midfield.
While La Real continue to struggle in attack, the spine of the team does look particularly strong right now—and Illarra's great energy, ability to break up play and quickly put the team on the front foot is a part of that.
Against Real Betis he was a protective force in the first half, putting in challenges and showing tremendous work-rate as the home side dominated stretches of play.
However, he couldn't help prevent a 1-0 loss and Real Sociedad still haven't scored a goal this season.
17. Marcos Angeleri, MGA
4 of 20
Change: +2
Marcos Angeleri has continued his good start to the season, putting in another typically committed and rugged performance as Malaga drew 0-0 with Eibar.
The centre-back is never going to be a world-class stopper, but if he continues the campaign with this level of consistency, he'll be a more-than-serviceable part of the team which, at present, is relying on the defence for points—like La Real, Malaga have yet to find the back of the net.
Angeleri is a ferocious tackler, strong in the air and, so far, has been diligent and to-the-point with his distribution—no mistakes.
16. Gabi, ATM
5 of 20
Change: -3
Gabi played right in the centre again for Atletico Madrid as they took on Barcelona and attempted to keep the Liga leaders at bay with massed ranks and tight defence—and was faultless in his work for more than 80 minutes.
Tackles, neat passes, interceptions and tracking runners: Gabi got through lots of work, often without reward in terms of possession for his team, and looked to have helped stop Barcelona creating much from open play at all—until Leo Messi came on.
It was unfortunate, but of his own making, that Gabi turned out to be the culprit who failed to clear his lines in the lead up to Messi's winning goal, and the midfielder was clearly furious with himself as he was subbed soon after.
15. Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
6 of 20
New entrant
After a relatively quiet opening couple of games in terms of in-the-box effectiveness, Cristiano Ronaldo put all that to bed this week with eight goals in two matches.
Even before finding the net five times against Espanyol (his Champions League hat-trick on Tuesday has no bearing in our rankings), Ronaldo had contributed plenty to Real Madrid's quick build-up play and ability to create chances, even without shining to the greatest of his capacity.
At the weekend, though, he was unstoppable. Fine finishes, whether first-time, penalties or volleys on the run, came at the end of impressive movement and single-minded determination to make things happen. He also claimed an assist for Karim Benzema.
14. Iago Aspas, CEL
7 of 20
New entrant
Iago Aspas has looked the part since returning to Celta Vigo this summer and it's testament to his strong start that he's in above Ronaldo and Messi—not bad considering he could barely get a game at Sevilla last season.
The centre-forward has shown a fine touch and appreciation of space in the middle of Celta's three-man attack, linking particularly well with Nolito and grabbing himself a goal on the opening day.
His shooting is still wayward at times and he'll need to up his game in that regard, but the team was a constant threat in their 3-3 draw with Las Palmas at the weekend and a large part of that was Aspas' ability to bring others into play and create chances.
13. Inigo Martinez, RSO
8 of 20
Change: -5
Inigo Martinez was absent from Real Sociedad's team sheet this weekend. He's still in the top 20 after a very strong opening two matches.
12. Thomas Vermaelen, FCB
9 of 20
Change: -6
A similar drop for Thomas Vermaelen to that of Martinez; despite starting at the weekend, the Belgian centre-back didn't last long before succumbing to injury and being replaced.
His fine start to the season keeps him in the top-20 picture and he'll hope his enforced absence isn't for long.
11. Oliver Torres, ATM
10 of 20
Change: -8
At this early stage of the season a huge drop, like Oliver Torres', doesn't necessarily indicate an awful performance—it's just that with few games to draw conclusions from so far, any kind of absence or ineffectiveness has a bigger impact than usual on positions.
Oliver only plays around the first hour or so at the moment for Atleti before Diego Simeone makes his first change, so he has less time to impress.
Against Barcelona at the weekend he had even less time on the ball than usual as the Catalan side totally dominated play.
He worked hard, he linked play nicely a few times early on and helped counter-attack at times in the early stages of the second half, but by and large this wasn't the stage for Oliver to shine on.
10. Andres Iniesta, FCB
11 of 20
Change: +6
Andres Iniesta had another impressive match as Barcelona eventually overcame Atletico, pulling the strings in midfield as his side totally dictated the flow of the 90 minutes.
Iniesta was heavily involved throughout, taking possession and moving the ball on with enormous frequency—by the count of WhoScored, his 99 touches were far more than any other player and his influence on Barcelona's play was clearly visible throughout.
The new club captain has started this year looking more determined than ever to ensure the season is a success under his watch and they'll need him regularly fit and at his best, given the paucity of options in midfield.
9. Fabian Orellana, CEL
12 of 20
No change
No movement for Fabian Orellana, who notched the first goal and was once again a menace throughout for Celta Vigo as they drew 3-3 with Las Palmas.
Perhaps a little profligate and wasteful at times with his positioning, Orellana drew the ire of his team-mates for not passing up chances from awkward angles—but his runs and work on the ball to get into those shooting areas was non-stop.
The fast-paced play of the front three will give lots of teams problems this season.
8. Antoine Griezmann, ATM
13 of 20
Change: +2
Atletico might not have had much of the ball at the weekend, but Antoine Griezmann remained their most-threatening player against Barcelona and showed his desire to work for the team as well as his talent in possession.
Starting up front and starved of service, it wasn't too long before Griezmann joined the midfield line as a wide option.
He tracked back, helped win challenges and attempted to join up play on the counter, setting up a handful of shooting chances for his team-mates with clever passes and unselfish play.
He couldn't shine in the box this time, but still put in a good performance.
7. Roberto Soldado, VIL
14 of 20
Change: -5
Much like Oliver Torres, Roberto Soldado's drop is more down to a less-effective performance than an outright poor one.
His Villarreal team beat Granada 3-1 but the striker didn't have too much to do with it this time, at least in terms of his touches and possession in the final third.
Soldado worked hard and tried to link with strike-partner Cedric Bakambu, but it was eventually defensive errors which gave the Yellow Submarine an unassailable lead.
No great worries for Soldado, who lasted the entire 90 minutes, and Villarreal rise into the top four of the table.
6. Gareth Bale, RMA
15 of 20
Change: +11
Gareth Bale takes the biggest leap up the charts this week, with a tremendous driving performance from just off the front man once again.
He didn't get himself on the scoresheet but that was about the only thing missing from Bale's game; he split the Espanyol defence asunder with a series of powerful dribbles, searching low through-passes and delivery from the channels.
Bale finished with two assists, won the penalty and was the instigator of several attacking moves down the channels. The one problem for Bale: an injury picked up in the midweek Champions League game, which could stunt this fine start to the season.
5. Nolito, CEL
16 of 20
Change: +10
Almost rising as many places as Bale is Nolito, who was once again outstanding for Celta Vigo. The only reason he doesn't go even higher is because he missed too many opportunities on goal—which in the end proved important as Celta threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against 10 men.
Before the collapse, though, Nolito was instrumental in carving Las Palmas apart, especially in the first half.
He netted the third goal for his team himself, just after half time, and created several other chances to win the game for Celta with his one-touch link play, delivery from the left and clever dribbling.
4. Diego Reyes, RSO
17 of 20
Change: -3
Real Sociedad centre-back Diego Reyes is off top spot this week, having finally been breached for the first time this season as Real Betis won 1-0.
Whether because he partnered someone new (Mikel Gonzalez instead of Inigo Martinez) or because he came back from international duty with only one day to prepare for this fixture, Reyes wasn't quite his usual domineering self throughout—though he still had more than enough in his game to step out and make a number of good interceptions when Betis attacked down their left channel.
Aerially he didn't always deal with things as he might have done and the winning goal came from his side, following a deep cross, though there wasn't too much he could have done to prevent it.
3. Juanfran, ATM
18 of 20
Change: +4
Juanfran ended on the losing side as Atleti were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona, but the right-back cannot be faulted for anything during the game—he was solid, dependable and diligent in defence against an in-form Neymar.
Juanfran also broke forward a few times to provide an outlet down the right and some sensible link play going forward, more so than Filipe Luis on the left in fact, but those forward raids were few and far between as Barca dominated.
Even so, Juanfran was a big part of the reason the Catalan side were kept out for as long as they were and he has been superb overall at the start of this season.
2. Luka Modric, RMA
19 of 20
Change: +2
A few changes were made by Rafael Benitez as Real Madrid easily swept aside Espanyol, with Toni Kroos in midfield one of those left out—but Luka Modric stayed in place and it is probable Benitez will want the Croatian in place as frequently as possible.
Modric is a perfectly balanced midfielder for Real; wonderfully talented in a technical sense and keen to go on the offensive at every opportunity, but also a hard worker, positionally aware and in no way afraid to make challenges to win back possession.
He was composed and controlled in an easy fixture this weekend, but still shone—the only real reasons he didn't go on and absolutely dominate Espanyol was because a) he didn't need to and b) Benitez subbed him early, less than an hour in, to protect him for future games.
1. Sergi Roberto, FCB
20 of 20
Change: +3
How unexpected. Sergi Roberto began the season on the bench for Barcelona, but was brought in soon after kick-off on the opening day at right-back and has been exemplary ever since.
All three games have seen the evolution in his game brought to the fore as he retains the ball as well as he ever did from central midfield, but does so now from areas where he can link and construct moves with less pressure on the ball.
His acceleration is an asset which has already brought rewards in getting away from defences down the flank this term, but while that wasn't so much of an issue against Atleti as Barcelona camped out in their half of the pitch, his quick passing, good control and vision were all well utilised.
Defensively he did well on the occasions he was called upon and it's hard to argue that there have been many flaws at all in his performances so far this season.
We'll see how long it lasts, but for now he is the La Liga player who has shown the best balance of excellence and consistency at the start of the 2015-16 season.
