League Focus: WhoScored's La Liga Team of the Season

With La Liga now all wrapped up, we can finally name the WhoScored Team of the Season according to our unique rating system. As you’d expect the team features a heavy presence of Barcelona and Real Madrid players, but there are a few surprise names thrown into the mix, particularly so when it comes to the defence.

There have been some outstanding goalkeeping performances this season but top of the WhoScored rating system comes Dani Hernandez. The Venezuelan goalkeeper has been a strong, assured presence in goal and has a WhoScored rating of 7.1. It’s no surprise he’s there either, as Real Valladolid conceded 15.9 shots per game this season, more than any other team in the top flight, but conceded fewer goals than five of the teams in the division.

Occupying the right-back slot is a player that has shone brightly throughout the season. Carlos Martínez of Real Sociedad has been one of the few consistent performers at a high level, and his form helped la Real hold down a mean defence that conceded just 13.4 shots per game. Martínez made 3.1 interceptions per game, and 2.9 tackles per game as his strong physical presence proved tough to beat. His crossing was also a huge feature of his game, managing 1.5 accurate deliveries per match, as he galloped up the flank in his unorthodox style. Incredibly, too, only Lionel Messi (20) and Cristiano Ronaldo (10) managed more Man of the Match awards from WhoScored than Martínez, who received 7.

On the left we have Fábio Coentrão, and the Real Madrid man was adept in his defensive work despite being seen as an attacking wing-back. He managed 2.8 tackles per game, the third most in the team, and also provided 2 interceptions per game, which was more than anyone else at the club who played 10+ games. He did manage to keep the attacking threat to his play though, and with 1.2 successful dribbles per game only Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric completed more. Coentrão’s been excellent when called upon this season, and he had to be in Marcelo’s absence.

At centre-back we have Sergio Ramos, who came in with 2.4 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game. Interestingly he was given the duty of being the ball playing centre-back, and he averaged 58.8 passes per game - second only to Xabi Alonso. Ramos’ 84.6% pass success was impressive too, and with a revolving back four, and even goalkeeper, Ramos has done well to maintain his excellent form from the previous season.

Alongside him, we go across the city of Madrid and to Atlético’s Diego Godín. The defender was extremely proficient in clearing his lines and had 8.3 successful clearances per game. Meanwhile, the Uruguayan also distributed the ball out of defence well, with 2.9 successful long balls per game. Out of the regular players under Simeone he won the most aerial duels too, with 2.9 per game, as he provided physical dominance in a backline that was the meanest in La Liga. It had much to do too, with having an impressive partner in Miranda, and the pair complement each other well.

In the midfield we start with Mesut Özil, who made the second most assists in the league, with 13. He’s proved decisive with his passing too, managing 2.9 key passes from an average of just 36.9 pass attempts per game. A tally of 9 goals wasn’t a bad return either, with Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuaín and Cristiano Ronaldo the only Real Madrid players with more. Few are more graceful and intelligent on the ball, with the German always looking to spin a new web for himself or teammates.

Then there is Cristiano Ronaldo, who managed 34 goals in 34 appearances this season, maintaining his outstanding record in La Liga - he also shot at goal the most too, with 6.9 per game. Cristiano still played a big part in the overall team play though, and weighed in with 10 assists in the league.

The Barcelona pair of Cesc Fábregas and Andrés Iniesta take up the central roles, with the former managing 11 goals and 11 assists, contributing in both areas of the attacking phase. He also stepped up while Messi sat out injured too. The former Arsenal man roamed between the lines of attack effectively, providing that instinct when most required. His 1.6 key passes per game where the most at Barça behind Messi, while only the Argentine took more shots than him.

Iniesta, meanwhile, was the highest assister in La Liga, managing an excellent return of 16, though he’ll look to improve on his goal tally, having managed just 3. Creating chances for others is what he does best, however, and he produced 1.4 key passes per game, while only Messi completed more successful dribbles on average (2.2). Iniesta was most vibrant when Barça were getting shut down by teams, and his awareness of space and injection of pace helped massively. His passing was as efficient as ever too, with 72.4 passes per game and an outstanding accuracy of 90.5%.

Finally we move onto the attacking pair, and an obvious inclusion is Lionel Messi. He had the highest WhoScored rating in Europe, with 8.85 when including subsititute appearances, and it’s no surprise given his return. 46 goals in 28 games came Messi’s way, and if he hadn’t missed the end of the season he surely would’ve managed 50. Messi did fire away 5.1 shots per game, with only Cristiano Ronaldo attempting more, while the Argentinean’s 1.8 key passes per game showed how vital he is to the overall attacking transition of Barça’s play. One of the best sights in football is seeing Messi running with the ball, beating players, and he did that often, as shown by his 3.8 successful dribbles per game.

Alongside him we have Karim Benzema, and the Frenchman contributed an excellent equal return of 11 goals and 11 assists. He managed 2.1 shots per game this season, so a tally of 11 goals isn’t bad at all, while he was producing 1.4 key passes per game despite making 11 appearances from the substitutes’ bench.