La Liga round up: Lionel Messi growing from strength-to-strengh in another dazzling campaign

Barcelona are three points clear of Atletico Madrid in second after finishing 2018 with four straight wins but La Liga in general has been ultra competitive this season. There are only 14 points splitting fourth to the relegation zone, the joint-smallest gap among any of Europe’s top five leagues. Furthermore, only Barcelona have reached double figures for league wins in La Liga this season. In the Premier League, for example, five teams have done it. Ligue 1 only has two sides that have won 10 games each, the closest to matching La Liga’s feat.

Player of the season so far: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 8.66 rating

It’s been another remarkable season for Lionel Messi. The 31-year-old, left to fly the flag for La Liga on his own following Cristiano Ronaldo’s shock departure in the summer, continues to amaze. It would be unfair to say Barcelona are top of the league solely down to Messi but it’s not out of the question to suggest it. Messi has scored 15 goals and provided 10 assists in 15 league appearances this season. He is directly involved in a goal every 49.2 minutes of league action. We are only halfway through the season, yet Messi is already the only player in Europe’s top five leagues to register double figures for goals and assists. The Barcelona star has also completed the most dribbles in La Liga this season (65).

2nd - Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), 3rd - Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

Young player of the season so far: Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) - 7.52 rating

Ousmane Dembele has dominated the papers this season and mainly for all the wrong reasons but his performances on the pitch have actually been tremendous and hugely decisive for Barcelona. The France international has made 16 appearances, though five of them have come from the bench. Despite that, Dembele has played a direct hand in 10 goals (seven goals, three assists) and has netted more than twice as many league goals as he did in the entirety of his first campaign at the club (3). The 21-year-old’s league goals have been worth seven points to Barcelona this season, which if you take away would leave the club in third place at the midway point.

2nd - Brais Mendez (Celta Vigo), 3rd - Theo Hernandez (Real Sociedad)

Signing of the season so far: Rodrigo (Atletico Madrid) - 7.36 rating

Atletico Madrid’s decision to re-sign Rodrigo from Villarreal over the summer was a masterstroke from Diego Simeone, as the 22-year-old has transitioned seamlessly into their first-team set-up. Rodrigo is now an indispensable player for Atletico and is the sixth highest WhoScored rated player in La Liga this term. Rodrigo, who looks to be the natural long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets in the Spanish national team, has impressively completed 91.2% of his passes in the league. Rodrigo’s main function in the team is not to score goals but he has already scored more this term (two goals in 14 league appearances) than he did in his final season at Villarreal (one goal in 37 league appearances).

2nd - Ximo Navarro (Alaves), 3rd - Guido Carillo (Leganes)

Surprise Package: Alaves

After only finishing four places above the bottom three last season, there were serious concerns about Alaves’ capabilities this season after failing to invest more than £10m on new players in the summer, but Abelardo Fernandez is doing a remarkable job at the club. Alaves are fifth in La Liga at the midway stage and only one point behind defending European champions Real Madrid. Alaves’ superb season has been built on solid foundations, illustrated by the fact they have a better defensive record (17 goals conceded) than both Barcelona and Real Madrid (both 19 goals conceded). It would be a huge shock if they could maintain this form during the second half of the campaign but what they have achieved so far this season is a miracle.

Underachievers: Real Madrid

For all of Alaves’ success this season, it’s also a huge mark of embarrassment for Real Madrid. After losing Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, things couldn’t have gone much worse for the Spanish giants. They are fourth in the league and only one point above Alaves despite the fact the fact they have one the largest wage bills on the planet and spent more than £130m more than Abelardo Fernandez’s side in the summer alone. Madrid have already sacked Julen Lopetegui this season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they changed manager again now that Jose Mourinho is free on the market. Madrid trail league leaders Barcelona by eight points and that is actually a flattering margin for Los Blancos on the basis of the performances showed by both sides. They are still a force to be reckoned with in Europe but it would be a huge shock if they won a fourth successive Champions League. It's also worth acknowleging Valencia and Villarreal, who are also enduring shocking domestic campaigns in Spain.