LaLiga 2021/22 Matchday 2 Review, Stats & Team of the Week

The second round of fixtures of LaLiga 2021/22 came to an end on Monday night at El Sadar as Osasuna and Celta played out what was already the 5th goalless draw of the season. 24 hours earlier though, we were treated to the game of the season so far, as Real Madrid drew 3-3 away to Levante after a wild Second Half in Valencia. Barcelona also dropped their first points of the season on Saturday meaning only Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have 100% records after two games. Read on for our LaLiga matchday 2 review featuring all the results, xG data, stats and team of the week.

LaLiga Matchday 2 Results & Expected Goals

Friday 20th August 2021

Real Betis 1-1 Cadiz (xG: 1.82-1.45)

Saturday 21st August 2021

Alaves 0-1 Mallorca (xG: 0.92-0.82)

Granada 1-1 Valencia (xG: 0.75-1.5)

Espanyol 0-0 Villarreal (xG: 1.69-0.6)

Athletic Club 1-1 Barcelona (xG: 1.43-1.18)

Sunday 22nd August 2021

Real Sociedad 1-0 Rayo Vallecano (xG: 2.27-0.76)

Atletico Madrid 1-0 Elche (xG: 1.05-0.17)

Levante 3-3 Real Madrid (xG: 1.64-2.14)

Monday 23rd August 2021

Getafe 0-1 Sevilla (xG: 0.39-0.81)

Osasuna 0-0 Celta Vigo (xG: 2.58-0.08)

xG data in this post comes via Understat. Other stats are via Whoscored.

Matchday 2 – Stats & Star Performers

Team Stats

LaLiga matchday 2 didn’t deliver too much in terms of goals or in most cases end-to-end action with one very notable exception. Levante and Real Madrid were the only sides to score more than once this weekend as they played out their 3-3 thriller at the Ciutat de Valencia. It was a game that included some sublime goals with José Campaña and Vini Junior both netting fine 2nd Half strikes.

Elsewhere we got a slightly better feel for how teams are shaping up. In the case of Real Betis and Cadiz, who played out a 1-1 draw in the Friday night game, it’s a case of much like last season. Cadiz had less than 26% possession but still managed to salvage a point from their trip to the Benito Villamarin.

There were six draws on MD2 overall to go with five from the opening weekend meaning we’re currently standing at a 55% draw ratio in the league as a whole. We did get a winner in the two matches in Madrid this weekend though with Atleti and Sevilla, the two sides who won those fixtures, now the only teams in LaLiga still with 100% records.

Individual Stats

While it can be tempting to over-simplify things, Osasuna’s xG dominance over Celta Vigo can largely be explained by their extra work-rate and ability to do the off-ball things so much better than their opponents. Nobody summed that up more than Lucas Torro who finished the matchday with the most interceptions in LaLiga this weekend and joint most successful tackles.

In terms of passing, Sergio Canales predictably produced high numbers against possession-shy Cadiz. However it was actually Carlos Soler who provided the most key passes on MD2 in Valencia’s 1-1 draw at Granada. Los Che had more possession and a significantly higher pass completion rate than their opponents which is significant as it suggests Jose Bordalas may have quite different plans for this Valencia side than he did at Getafe.

Iñaki Williams – 7

An absolute menace for the Barça defense. Pace and power kept Eric Garcia scrambling and opened up space for others. Never had a very clear look at goal, but did everything else to keep the attack on the front foot. pic.twitter.com/vwYYLoryQA

— Inside Athletic (@InsideAthletic) August 22, 2021

Matchday 2 also saw plenty of players pepper the opposition goal without finding the net. Both Raul de Tomas and Iñaki Williams managed to get 6 attempts on goal away in their respective games but both are still awaiting their first goals of the season.

Sorare LaLiga Fantasy Team of the Week

After matchday 1’s team of the week was dominated by last season’s top four, it was good to see some of LaLiga’s more unsung stars get a look in this time around. With most of the games featuring relatively few goals, defence was largely on top and there were some high scores among the defenders.

Nacho Vidal scored the perfect 100 for Osasuna against Celta Vigo with an impressive display on the right flank for his team. There were also solid defence displays from Betis duo Martin Montoya and Edgar Gonzalez while the previously mentioned Lucas Torro was the top scoring midfielder with a score of 84.

Up top, Memphis Depay was edged out of the team by Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and Vini Junior with the latter’s brilliant brace sparing his team’s blushes at Levante.

Sorare Player of the Week: Matías Dituro (100)

We’ve gone with Celta keeper Matías Dituro for the player of the week over Nacho Vidal. The 34 year old Argentine also scored 100 with 7 saves, including a penalty stop, in the 0-0 draw at El Sadar.

Sorare is a Fantasy Football platform with one of the most advanced scoring matrices. All players are scored from 0-100 based on performance. You can read our latest Sorare content here to find out more about it.

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