La Liga Player Rankings: Leo Messi Up, Cristiano Ronaldo Down and a New No. 1
Another weekend of La Liga action means another chance to review the early-season stand-out performers, with our latest version of the weekly player rankings.
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.
We continue to see fluctuating positions in the early stages of the season as we've only had four game weeks to take stock of so far—these latest rankings are for Jornada 4, the weekend fixtures, and do not account for the midweek games of Jornada 5.
Mentions
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As the season goes on, we build up a list of players who are on the verge of breaking into the top 20; as the ranking is done on recent form (six games) this is subject to change but it gives an idea on who is performing well and a serious consideration to take the place of someone already established—if their own performances drop.
Right now it's not a long list, as form and selections have fluctuated early on, but there are a few names worth keeping an eye on nonetheless.
Raphael Varane, RMA
Diego Godin, ATM
Daniel Wass, CEL
Nahuel Leiva, VIL
Neymar, FCB
Victor Rodriguez, GET
Joaquin, BET
Fernando Torres, ATM
20. Luis Alberto, DEP
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New entrant
Deportivo La Coruña's start to the season has been a little mixed, and, surprisingly, they lost 3-2 at home to Sporting Gijon at the weekend.
Left-sided midfielder Luis Alberto was one of the better performers, though, continuing as he has started by being decisive in the final third.
Already this season he has two goals and an assist, definite highlights for a player who has shown a tendency to drift in and out of games, being influential and anonymous in spells.
Such inconsistency won't see him stay in our top 20 for long once key players find form—that's what makes them among the best, consistency—but for now he has had enough of an impact to deserve mentioning.
19. Marcos Angeleri, MGA
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Change: -2
Marcos Angeleri has had to deal with changing partners in the centre of Malaga's defence more than once already this season, as well as an inept attack failing to provide at the other end.
The Argentine defender himself continues to be largely solid and impressive, however, performing much as you'd expect him to: making lots of clearances, reacting quickly to loose balls and shutting down attackers whenever possible. Nothing classy or showy, but effective and aggressive, clearing his lines first and worrying about anything else later.
Malaga were beaten 1-0 at Getafe on Friday night to leave them in the bottom three.
18. Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
4 of 21
Change: -3
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of several Real Madrid attackers left frustrated by Granada at the weekend, as La Liga's most-prolific attack was improbably kept to a 1-0 scoreline by the most-porous defence.
Ronaldo had plenty of opportunities to run at the defence, centrally and from the flank, but his shots were wayward or easily preventable from adding to his five goals from a week previously.
Real as a team were dominant without really looking like running away with the match and Ronaldo was fairly typical of that: lots of time on the ball, lots of options, but rarely was the most-efficient one chosen.
In the end the 1-0 win was enough, but it's a match which will quickly be forgotten.
17. Asier Illarramendi, RSO
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Change: +1
Asier Illarramendi looks right at home at Anoeta: confident on the ball, assured of his place in the team and rampaging over the middle third to protect his defence and start play from deep.
He's not yet at his best, with the timing of tackles a little off and his passing not always as incisive as it might be, but he's clearly starting to show his quality and importance to the team, especially in a defensive capacity.
La Real haven't quite clicked as a team overall, as the failure to hold a point at home to Espanyol showed.
Illarra's own performance was generally good again, though, and he'll grow in stature as the season goes on.
16. Keylor Navas, RMA
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New entrant
Keylor Navas still hasn't conceded a single goal this season, now having played four Liga matches and one in the UEFA Champions League.
Per Marca, Navas is close to beating Iker Casillas' personal best for clean sheets during his time at Real. Athletic Bilbao, complete with in-form striker Aritz Aduriz, are next up on the fixture list.
The Costa Rican kept another shut-out against Granada with a mix of brave blocks and athletic saves, as well as an errant offside flag going in his favour the one time the Andalucian club found the back of the net. Real Madrid are the only side in La Liga who haven't conceded this season.
15. Rene Krhin, GRA
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Change: +5
As we're still early in the season it's not uncommon to see big jumps in places, up or down, and at this stage they don't necessarily mean 10-out-of-10 (or even one-out-of-10) performances; Just good shows of consistency can be enough to move several places at once.
That's the case for Granada's Rene Krhin, jumping up this week after another diligent and effective performance at the base of midfield against Real Madrid.
The Slovenian was almost overrun at times as Real tried to funnel wide runners into the centre, but he managed to position himself well frequently to block off the passing lanes and push the attackers into wider areas.
Combative challenges and good use of the ball also meant he was the starting point for Granada's counter-attacks.
14. Iago Aspas, CEL
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No change
Iago Aspas was initially involved plenty as Celta Vigo roared to a two-goal lead in the early stages against Sevilla, but overall it wasn't the most-effective display he has produced this season.
To an extent, that's understandable—Celta were away, against a good side who needed to produce a performance—but it was Aspas' team who had most of the possession again and his link play wasn't quite up to scratch on this occasion.
It's usually his finishing which lets him down, but there were a few wayward passes in the final third this time which cost his team the chance of scoring even more. Even so, Celta won 2-1.
13. Andres Iniesta, FCB
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Change: -3
Andres Iniesta was an unused substitute in Barcelona's 4-1 win over Levante. Lionel Messi was captain in his absence.
12. Roberto Soldado, VIL
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Change: -5
Roberto Soldado's quick start to the season has dried up a bit—two games without a goal now for the former Spurs striker and he was subbed at half-time for Villarreal in their weekend win over Athletic Bilbao.
Indeed, the Yellow Submarine had changed both their starting forwards by that point—Cedric Bakambu was injured early on.
Soldado himself didn't get involved in the final third in what was a low-key first half; not stretching the defence by running in behind and failing to provide much link-up play with those running from deep.
Villarreal eventually ran out 3-1 winners.
11. Lionel Messi, FCB
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Change: +8
Leo Messi's jump is the result of his own good performance and the unavailability or lack of impact from those below him.
He stole the show in the second half as he helped Barcelona to a 4-1 victory over Levante, setting up the game's opening goal for Marc Bartra before scoring two himself—and winning and missing a penalty.
Messi played a much more central role as Luis Enrique swapped the starting names around for this game, dictating play by roving into the channels as well as dribbling at the defence from deep.
His goals came via the penalty spot and from a driven, low effort, while his missed penalty was put well over the bar.
10. Gareth Bale, RMA
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Change: -4
Gareth Bale was injured and missed Real Madrid's 1-0 win over Granada.
9. Gabi, ATM
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Change: +7
Gabi once again produced an important performance at the heart of midfield for Atletico Madrid as he continued his impressive start to the season.
The club captain missed out on the Champions League starting XI in midweek, but was back in place at Eibar and was pivotal to his team's display, keeping the home team at bay with hard work and defensive interventions—as well as supporting play going forward.
Gabi played right of three in the midfield when Diego Simeone moved to 4-3-3, though was mostly in place in the usual double-pivot midfield.
8. Fabian Orellana, CEL
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Change: +1
All three members of Celta Vigo's attacking line remain in place in our top 20—Fabian Orellana performs from the right and was again effective in his role in the win over Sevilla.
Orellana set up the opening goal for Nolito and troubled Sevilla throughout most of the first half with his pace and direct running behind the defence, though the through passes didn't always go his way when they might have done.
He also worked hard off the ball when Sevilla were trying to force their way back into the match, defending his channel well.
7. Diego Reyes, RSO
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Change: -3
Diego Reyes struggled to cope with Espanyol's onslaught in the second half, as he was left exposed by runners not being tracked and with a series of aerial balls put into awkward areas to defend.
Real Sociedad lost 3-2, having been a goal up early on, though they also had to play the whole second half with 10 men after goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli had been sent off.
Reyes defended deep but again didn't look as secure as he has done next to Iñigo Martinez; This time he played next to Mikel Gonzalez.
6. Antoine Griezmann, ATM
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Change: +2
French forward Antoine Griezmann continues to prove vital to Atletico Madrid's tactics and team sheet. He wasn't hugely involved inside the penalty area at the weekend as his side overcame Eibar 2-0, but he worked the channels well, linked play from midfield to front line and tracked back to good effect.
Griezmann played three different roles in the game: wide in a 4-4-2, up front at the start of the second half and then one of two wide forwards in a 4-3-3, highlighting his own tactical versatility as well as his ability to play in different ways.
No goal for Griezmann at the weekend—though he netted both in Atleti's 2-0 win over Getafe on Tuesday, which will be taken into account for next week's rankings rather than this week's.
5. Oliver Torres, ATM
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Change: +6
Oliver Torres' impact on the Atletico team this season is remarkable—he gives them a drive and ingenuity in tight spaces which even Arda Turan didn't provide, playing in a different style to the Turk whose number Oliver has inherited since the summer.
His year on loan at Porto has clearly given Oliver more awareness of his off-the-ball play, his responsibility to the team when not in possession—and a year's worth of physical growth, of course.
That said, it was his creative and technical skills which Atleti needed at the weekend and Oliver came up trumps, coming off the bench at half-time to provide through balls and dribbling ability to help turn a tight game into a 2-0 win with his excellent 45-minute appearance.
4. Sergi Roberto, FCB
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Change: -3
Sergi Roberto was left unused on the bench for Barcelona at the weekend, alongside the likes of Iniesta and Luis Suarez. Dani Alves returned from injury to play at right-back, meaning Sergi's time as our No. 1 lasted just one week.
3. Nolito, CEL
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Change: +4
Celta Vigo's main star name last season, alongside Michael Krohn-Dehli, has started this season in similarly excellent form and Nolito scored the first goal in a 2-1 win over Sevilla this weekend.
It's four for the season already for the left-sided forward, who tormented the opposition again with his clever dribbles, constant attempts to cut infield and go for goal or a smart pass inside and his movement off the ball.
Celta's dominance of the ball and trust in Nolito's creative work means he sees plenty of possession, and he certainly has the quality to make it count.
2. Juanfran, ATM
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Change: +1
Atletico's most consistently impressive performer in the early stages of this season, Juanfran has barely missed a step at either end of the field.
He puts in a large amount of challenges without ever really needing to be thunderous about his work—he reads the game, steps in and comes away in possession. Simple, contrasting to those inside of him...but very effectively done.
Going forward, as he did against Eibar, he provides an overlap with some surprising pace at times and good short delivery, looking to link in to the box rather than cross blindly.
Juanfran has been excellent and it's no surprise he remains one of just three players to have played every minute for Atletico so far this season.
1. Luka Modric, RMA
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Change: +1
This weekend was another effective and efficient display from Luka Modric, playing a huge role on the ball for Real Madrid as they won 1-0 against Granada.
It seems that no matter where on the pitch Real win back the ball, Modric is always the first player available and looking to receive possession, turn and set them away into a dangerous offensive area.
The Croatian is forward-looking when on the ball, but covers every area of the pitch in his quest to break up opposition attacks and instigate them for his own team.
Fitness will dictate just how well Modric's season goes, but the system used by Rafael Benitez and the role in it Modric has will give him the perfect platform to be one of the biggest individuals in La Liga this season.
