Barcelona’s surprise draw at Real Sociedad handed the initiative to Real Madrid this weekend and Jose Mourinho’s side made no mistake, beating a valiant Getafe to edge two points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga. Wins for Valencia and Real Betis saw them join Madrid on six points after two games, while Sevilla maintained their unbeaten start with a 2-2 thriller at Villarreal. The WhoScored La Liga XI reflects a weekend of mixed performances across the games, with only one team- Madrid- contributing more than a single player to our best eleven players from the matchday gone by. Here’s a look at some of the stand-out performers.
Jeremy Mathieu, Valencia. WhoScored rating 8.12
The left-back made his first start of the new campaign in Valencia’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid. Defensively, he made more tackles (5) than any team mate and was also joint-top for interceptions, with 4. Mathieu also managed 6 clearances and won 50% of aerial duels as he helped keep out the big-spending visitors.
Valencia’s 4-2-3-1 allows Mathieu plenty of scope to get forward down the flank and as a result, he’s involved in much of their play; he had more touches (80) than any home player and made 40 passes, with a solid 85% accuracy. He managed 1 successful dribble and delivered 5 crosses from out wide, in addition to 1 key pass and 1 shot at goal. For a stand-out all-round display, Mathieu was awarded the man of the match award by WhoScored.
Chechu Dorado, Betis. WhoScored rating 8.38
A strong performance at the back helped Betis defeat Mallorca 1-0 to keep up their one hundred percent record. The centre half defied the visitors time and again, making a fantastic 8 interceptions to break up the opposition attacks. Dorado may have made just 1 tackle and 2 clearances but his positioning and reading of the game is clearly highlighted by the number of interceptions he made. He also won 100% of aerial duels.
In distribution, he made 60 passes, the second highest tally from Betis, and played 7 long balls, all finding their target, an indication of how accurate (92%) his passing was over the course of the game. Dorado also had 1 shot at goal and made 2 key passes, picking up the man of the match award for a crucial showing at the heart of the Betis back-four.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid. WhoScored rating 9.41
As always, Ronaldo was pivotal to virtually all of Madrid’s attacking moves. His shooting was a little wayward, though, and not up to his usual high standard; he may have had an incredible 9 of Madrid’s 23 goal attempts but just 4 were on target, with only 1 (a penalty) finding the net- wasteful shooting for anyone, never mind someone of Ronaldo’s ability. His goal threat also saw the Getafe players foul Ronaldo 4 times, more than they did to any other Real player.
In possession, he had just 1 successful dribble, way behind left-back Marcelo (4), though had more touches (67) and made more passes (42) than any of Madrid’s attacking four, highlighting how often the team get the ball out to him wide left. Ronaldo had an 83% pass accuracy and also made 2 key passes in the 4-2 win, as he helped Real take advantage of Barca’s slip-up earlier in the day to return to the top of La Liga.
Sergio Garcia, Espanyol. WhoScored rating 8.92
Playing wide right in Espanyol’s 4-2-3-1, Garcia made the difference as his side chalked up their first win of the season with a 2-1 home victory over Athletic Bilbao. The hosts hade just 7 shots at goal and Garcia’s showed just how integral he is to Espanyol- he had 4 shots, all on target, and found the net on 2 occasions.
He wasn’t involved in the game much otherwise- Garcia had 42 touches and made 20 passes (the lowest of any starting player for Espanyol) with an 85% accuracy. He managed just 1 successful dribble from out wide and delivered 2 crosses, though both failed to find the target.
Defensively, his shift was satisfactory- Garcia made 1 tackle and 3 interceptions during his 76 minutes on the pitch, though with his crucial two-goal contribution, it’s no surprise to see him pick up the man of the match award.
Karim Benzema, Real Madrid. WhoScored rating 9.58
The Frenchman continued his strong start to the season with another impressive showing in Madrid’s 4-2 win over Getafe. Compared to Ronaldo (above) Benzema demonstrated some clinical finishing, helping Jose Mourinho’s side to the three points- he only had 2 shots at goal, but scored with both.
Benzema’s distribution was also exceptional- he may have only played 30 passes, but he was the side’s main creator on Saturday evening, with an incredible 7 key passes- Fábio Coentrão was second best with 3. Benzema had an 87% pass accuracy, played 3 through balls and delivered 2 crosses, playing a huge part in his side’s win.
Defensively, he made 1 tackle and 2 clearances but for his attacking display, Benzema grabbed the man of the match award as he helped send Madrid top.
