La Liga Player Rankings: Keylor Navas Returns to Top 20, Pique and Godin Slip
Jornada 30 saw two critical results at the top of the table, which tips the balance ever more in Barcelona's favour, as they took a point and Atletico Madrid lost. With both teams somewhat below their best, though, it means little movement among the top end of our player rankings this week—though the bottom half saw plenty of positional switches and a familiar face back involved in Keylor Navas.
As usual, we have analysed each game over the weekend to update our player rankings; the rankings are based on players' last six games and are continually updated throughout the season, with slightly more emphasis placed on their most recent outing.
Only Liga performances are counted, and typically, one-week wonders do not find their way in—instead, see 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 to gauge 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 the entire 90-minute period.
Mentions
1 of 21
Only one new face this week means only one out from last time: Iago Aspas has been in good form for Celta Vigo, but he missed the weekend fixture. He's out, Keylor is in. Of the others who were close to the 20 last week, Iker Muniain is now injured and Juanfran was left on the bench.
Still on the watch list, in no particular order:
Juanfran, ATM
Inigo Lekue, ATH
Alfred N'Diaye, BET
Jordi Alba, FCB
Gabi, ATM
Sergi Roberto, FCB
Momo, LPA
Antoine Griezmann, ATM
20. Keylor Navas, RMA
2 of 21
New entry
Back into our 20 after a lengthy absence, Keylor Navas has hit top form again in recent weeks and been a pivotal player for Real Madrid.
Against Sevilla at the weekend, he showcased all his top traits: fantastic reflexes, agility and anticipation of shots from close range, denying Kevin Gameiro in particular on a number of occasions.
The most memorable of those was a penalty save from the Frenchman to keep Real ahead and clear; he'll be absolutely key if Real have hopes of success in the UEFA Champions League.
19. Willian Jose, LPA
3 of 21
Up 1
Las Palmas' impressive recent form continued at the weekend as they saw off a disappointing Real Sociedad, 1-0, at Anoeta.
Key once again to the victory was forward Willian Jose, scorer of the winning goal but also a constant outlet for the team, a hard-working terroriser of La Real's back four and an all-round threat with his selfless passing and willingness to create space for others.
The striker has four goals in his last six games and has helped Las Palmas move up to 15th.
18. Sergio Busquets, FCB
4 of 21
Down 1
Sergio Busquets played the full 90 minutes for Barcelona in their 2-2 draw at Villarreal, but it was far from his most dominant display.
Early on he was involved as the Catalan club dominated possession, and he made plenty of passes through the Villarreal midfield, but the second half was an entirely different matter.
Busquets and his team-mates were overrun with regularity through the centre, and he couldn't adequately protect the defence, with Denis Suarez in particular cutting in behind him on a number of occasions.
17. Charly Musonda, BET
5 of 21
Up 2
Real Betis ended up losing at the weekend, 1-0 at home to Malaga, but once more the efforts of Charly Musonda were the most impressive aspect of the side.
The on-loan Chelsea youngster started on the left side and was a complete menace to the Malaga back line, running infield from the flank and dribbling effortlessly past player after player to create space.
A lack of movement and finishing ability in the penalty box continues to hinder further improvement on Betis' current position, but their step up in points and positions since the January arrivals of Musonda and Martin Montoya are clear to see.
16. Raul Albentosa, MGA
6 of 21
Up 2
Musonda took on wide midfielders and full-backs easily enough, but imperious at the back stood Raul Albentosa for Malaga.
He was enormous in the centre of defence, seeing off Leandro Damiao a number of times when the ball was played up to the Brazilian forward and proving his usual combative self when faced with one-on-one occasions.
Albentosa has been one of La Liga's most consistent centre-backs in the second half of the season.
15. Gerard Pique, FCB
7 of 21
Down 1
Not so consistent for Gerard Pique, who courted controversy, was fortunate not to be sent off and subbed early in the second half.
Barcelona were two goals to the good when he left the pitch, though his hand ball to stop Villarreal surging clear through the centre of the pitch caused plenty of annoyance to the home side's players, fans and manager.
The match ended 2-2, and although this wasn't Pique's best performance, it was certainly a lot better than his replacement Jeremy Mathieu's.
14. Alphonse Areola, VIL
8 of 21
Down 4
Alphonse Areola remains sidelined and missed the weekend game for Villarreal.
13. Ignacio Camacho, MGA
9 of 21
Up 2
Ignacio Camacho made our team of the week for a big performance at the heart of Malaga's midfield as they beat Betis 1-0.
If Albentosa was the rock at the back, Camacho was the sturdy spine in the middle of the park as he helped win back possession in both halves of the pitch, matched the power and energy of Alfred N'Diaye in the Betis midfield and showed adventurous passing to help his team's counter-attacks.
Camacho then popped up with the winning goal late on, heading in a free kick for his second strike in successive appearances.
12. Filipe Luis, ATM
10 of 21
Up 1
Atletico Madrid ended up losing 2-1, but Filipe Luis was one of their impressive performers on the day.
The left-back was strong in the early stages with some surging runs forward and an ability to support and create the attack, swapping passes quickly and still getting back into place to fulfil his defensive duties afterward.
When Sporting dominated afterward, much of their best work came down the left side, opposite to where Filipe continued to defend well.
11. Victor Ruiz, VIL
11 of 21
No change
A stop to the difficulties of recent weeks for Victor Ruiz's form, but neither was this his absolute top form.
Indeed he was outshone by partner Eric Bailly as Barcelona's attack was largely stoppered by Villarreal's defence—the two goals came from set pieces, including a ridiculously awarded penalty.
Ruiz will have been disappointed not to have made the Spain national team squad after his form this season, but a recent drop-off may have affected his chances.
10. Cristiano Ronaldo, RMA
12 of 21
Up 2
Cristiano Ronaldo is another who didn't have his best-ever game, but he was still effective and impressive in spells as Real Madrid ran out eventual 4-0 winners over Sevilla.
The forward played from the left side to begin and roved centrally as usual at times, with his pace in behind the defence and his penchant for getting shots away making him a near-irrepressible dangerous outlet—even though the end product wasn't quite there this time.
A missed penalty was quickly forgotten when he scored soon after, but Ronaldo was outshone by forward team-mates Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale on this occasion.
9. Diego Godin, ATM
13 of 21
Down 4
Diego Godin is sidelined with hamstring trouble and didn't play at the weekend for Atletico Madrid.
8. Neymar, FCB
14 of 21
Up 1
Barcelona's front three weren't quite firing on all cylinders against Villarreal, but Neymar was probably the most impressive of the trio.
The left-sided attacker started off by causing plenty of problems with his diagonal runs in off the channel and behind the defence, where he was able to find space between full-back and centre-back and receive possession to feet or on the run.
The penalty he won was absurd, though not Neymar's fault, and it will be a relief for fans that he managed to put this one away—especially given how the second half developed.
7. Koke, ATM
15 of 21
No change
Atletico midfielder Koke was one of those who underperformed this week, not to a huge extent but certainly under his best level.
Playing mainly in the centre, the Atletico Madrid man worked hard defensively but was unable to really help his team break out of their own half for long stretches, with Sporting dominating play and making most of the attacking running.
Koke got through plenty of running, and some of his passing was good. But as a team the Atleti midfield line stayed too deep, and he couldn't affect play in attack.
6. Luka Modric, RMA
16 of 21
Up 2
Real Madrid's Luka Modric was one of their better performers in an even first half, working to create space between and behind a narrow Sevilla midfield.
Plenty of times he had the chance to run with the ball at his feet to commit players and create danger, and he showcased his intelligence in possession to play in the wide forwards, running diagonally infield.
Modric was freed from defensive duties for long spells and was constantly tough for Sevilla to pin down.
5. Luis Suarez, FCB
17 of 21
Up 1
A hard-working, though ultimately fruitless day for Luis Suarez in attack for Barcelona.
This was a somewhat frustrating day for him at Villarreal as he was tightly marshalled throughout, often with two defenders on him at once, and he was continually having to come out of the penalty box to find space for himself and leave it centrally for others.
He was involved in lots of build-up play but didn't really threaten the scoresheet on many occasions.
4. Jan Oblak, ATM
18 of 21
No change
Spoiler alert: There is no change across the top four at all, with each individual playing well, without putting in a stellar performance.
Jan Oblak made two or three important interventions for Atletico Madrid and saw the woodwork come to his rescue once, but he ultimately was left too exposed by his defence in the latter stages of the game.
He had no chance for either goal, a hammered-in free-kick and a tap-in from close range.
3. Josema Gimenez, ATM
19 of 21
No change
Gimenez was perhaps Atletico's best performer for much of the game, taking on the role of chief organiser and dominant enforcer at the back in the absence of Diego Godin.
He stood up well to the task and repelled Sporting's constant balls into the box from the left flank for a long period—but disaster struck for Gimenez near the end of the match.
In chasing a ball out to the touchline, he pulled up with a hamstring injury and is likely to be sidelined for some time.
2. Lionel Messi, FCB
20 of 21
No change
A big performance from Messi this weekend could have seen him rise to the top of our rankings, but instead he only really had spells in the game where he influenced Barcelona.
The first half saw him much more possession in the final third than the second, but aside from a few clever passes through on the diagonal, it wasn't really possession which hurt Villarreal.
An eventual 2-2 draw wasn't a terrible result given Atletico's earlier defeat, but this wasn't Messi at his best.
1. Saul Niguez, ATM
21 of 21
No change
Saul Niguez continues to impress in a range of positions, and that versatility might be called upon again soon enough.
He started out playing in the middle of a 4-3-3 for Atleti before moving centrally in a more holding role, ending up at centre-back.
There wasn't much he could do to affect the game going forward for his side, isolated as he was at times in breaking forward from the middle, and he was clearly exhausted by the time he moved into the back four with Sporting surging relentlessly forward. A little lucky to stay on top of our rankings, but his form in recent games proves enough for now.
