La Liga: Who Will Reign In Spain?

La Liga: Who Will Reign In Spain?

We are told La Liga is on the way back.

Soon, there will once again be La Liga highlights, not to mention SBOBET La Liga betting odds to tempt you with.

So what better time than to assess the finest players in their positions so far this term as the climax of 2019/20 potentially draws near.

Jan Oblak – Atletico Madrid

There is no doubt that some of the best goalkeepers in the world ply their trade in the Spanish League. The custodians are well known for their composure, defensive abilities and goalkeeping exploits.

Thibaut Courtois, now at Real Madrid, always stood out for me during his Chelsea days, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen of champions Barcelona has consistently impressed. Tomas Vaclik at Sevilla is another who has caught my eye.

Yet Oblak gets my nod.

With 11 clean sheets so far this term, his stunning performances between the sticks for Atletico have continued. What’s more, he is quietly influential too – in command of his area just as much as making smart show-stopping saves.

On his last outing before the COVID-19 pandemic halted football, he was a key figure as Atletico knocked holders Liverpool out of the Champions League.

For the last four seasons, he has won the award for conceding the fewest goals in the top-flight and his goalkeeping heroics have helped Atletico to win three major trophies.

No wonder that before he takes a goal kick at the Wanda Metropolitano, the home fans chant, “Obli, Oblak, cada dia te quiero más.”

The Slovenian has been simply superb for the Rojiblancos.

Rafael Varane – Real Madrid

It’s across the city for my next choice. He is a French World Cup winner who has unquestionable talent and has played a key part in ensuring Real have the best defensive record in La Liga to date this season.

His teammate Daniel Carvajal, Felipe Inigo Martinez over at Athletic Bilbao and Sergio Reguilon at Sevilla are among others who deserve an honourable mention, but to me, Varane stands tall.

Reliable, strong, and vigilant, he averages four clearances per game while his accurate distribution skills can be accentuated from his 87-per cent successful pass rate.

His aerial prowess has been on show at both ends of the park in a defence that has conceded 12 fewer goals than leaders Barca – granted that the Catalans have scored 14 more than Real.

Casemiro – Real Madrid

Another Real man gets my nod here.

The Brazilian star is a leader in all of his side’s defensive statistics and when play was halted in March, he had completed the most successful tackles in La Liga – 10 more than his nearest player on the leaderboard, Saul.

Real’s battering ram breaks down opposition attacks with great physicality and is the backbone on which so many attacks are based.

He has gone on to become one of the most important pieces of Zinedine Zidane’s assembly at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and one of the first names in his starting XI each week.

One man he could team up with next term is Martin Odegaard, a Norwegian youngster on loan at Real Sociedad from Madrid who has really found his feet this term.

Commendation awards also go to Valencia’s Dani Parejo, the backbone of his side, another Sociedad man in Mikel Oyarzabal and the wonderful story of the return from terrible injury of Valencia’s Santi Cazorla.

Lionel Messi – Barcelona

The attacking names in this league trip off the tongue, spearheaded by the genius that is Messi.

It may be easy to pick this player on his name alone. He has certainly not been quite at his dazzling best this season.

Yet, can you imagine where the Catalans would be without him? It is down to him that they are on top of the table.

With 19 goals and 12 assists, he’s by far the top scorer and provider in the division and has had to stand up to the mark with teammates Antoine Griezmann struggling for consistency and Luis Suarez succumbing to injury.

The diminutive Argentinian has also been awarded the most Man of the Match awards with 13.

In a close second is Real’s Karim Benzema who has continued to lead from the front. Firmly established as the linchpin in Madrid’s attack, his 14 goals and 16 assists make him second only to Messi in La Liga this term.

Second only to Messi in terms of assists is Portu of Sociedad, who is one of the bargains of last summer. Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos also deserves a mention for helping fill the void left by France striker Wissam Ben Yedder’s summer departure to Monaco.

So many names but I can select only four with one in each position.

Of course, with 11 league matches remaining, these names may change as we look forward to a La Liga restart.

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