The second set of midweek fixtures in LaLiga this season produced plenty of drama and ended with none of last season’s top four winning. The big story came from Vallecas where Rayo Vallecano extended their 100% start at home with a victory over Barcelona, a result which was followed by the sacking of Barça boss Ronald Koeman. Read on for our LaLiga matchday 11 review featuring all the results, xG data, stats and team of the week.
LaLiga Matchday 11 Results & Expected Goals
Tuesday 26th October 2021
Alaves 1-0 Elche (xG: 1.81-0.28)
Espanyol 1-1 Athletic Club (xG: 1.23-3.68)
Villarreal 3-3 Cadiz (xG: 1.95-1.54)
Wednesday 27th October 2021
Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Barcelona (xG: 0.79-2.86)
Mallorca 1-1 Sevilla (xG: 2.27-1.42)
Real Betis 4-1 Valencia (xG: 2.58-2.18)
Real Madrid 0-0 Osasuna (xG: 0.66-0.71)
Thursday 28th October 2021
Celta Vigo 0-2 Real Sociedad (xG: 1.00-1.43)
Granada 1-1 Getafe (xG: 2.26-0.58)
Levante 2-2 Atletico Madrid (xG: 2.12-1.33)
xG data in this LaLiga matchday 11 review comes via Understat. Other stats are via Whoscored.
Matchday 11 – Stats & Star Performers
Team Stats
| Most Possession | VILLARREAL – 77.5% |
| Highest Pass Success Rate | REAL MADRID – 90% |
| Lowest Pass Success Rate | GETAFE – 59% |
| Most Shots | ATHLETIC CLUB – 23 |
| Fewest Shots | ELCHE – 4 |
| Highest xG | ATHLETIC CLUB – 3.68 |
| Lowest xG | ELCHE – 0.28 |
| xG Over-Performer | REAL BETIS – 4 Goals from 2.58 xG |
| xG Under-Performer | BARCELONA – 0 Goals from 2.86 xG |
| Highest Attendance | REAL BETIS vs VALENCIA – 43,123 |
| Lowest Attendance | CELTA VIGO vs REAL SOCIEDAD – 8,726 |
The xG data at least suggests Barcelona’s inability to finish chances on Wednesday night may have cost Ronald Koeman his job. The Catalans created 2.86 xG in Vallecas without scoring a single goal in one of the most wasteful displays we’ve seen from any team in LaLiga this season.
One of the standout team displays came from Athletic Club who were excellent in their game away to Espanyol, creating more xG than any other team this week in LaLiga. However they also failed to convert a host of chances and had to settle for a point but the signs are certainly positive for Marcelino’s team in terms of their increasing creative threat.
The matchday also witnessed a couple more teams post very low possession figures yet still get results. Cadiz picked up a 3-3 draw at Villarreal thanks to Anthony Lozano’s hat-trick despite only having 22.5% of the ball. Getafe meanwhile picked up a point at Granada despite completing only 59% of their passes. Both sides would have won were it not for Stoppage Time equalising goals with Getafe denied a first win of the season by former striker Jorge Molina’s late header.
Individual Stats
| Most Shots | ANTHONY LOZANO (Cadiz) – 6 |
| Most Completed Passes | TONI KROOS (Real Madrid) – 112 |
| Most Key Passes | OIHAN SANCET (Athletic Club) – 5 |
| Most Completed Dribbles | WILLIAM CARVALHO (Real Betis), PABLO MAFFEO (Mallorca), SERGINO DEST (Barcelona) & ARNAUT DANJUMA (Villarreal) – 5 |
| Most Aerials Won | ENES UNAL (Getafe), ERIC GARCIA (Barcelona) & MIKEL MERINO (Real Sociedad) – 6 |
| Most Successful Tackles | OSCAR VALENTIN (Rayo Vallecano) – 6 |
| Most Interceptions | MICKAEL MALSA (LEVANTE) – 4 |
It was certainly a night to remember for Cadiz’s Anthony Lozano. His hat-trick came from a tally of 6 shots which was the most of any player in LaLiga on matchday 11, three more than the rest of his team combined.
We also saw a passing masterclass from Toni Kroos who completed 112 passes for Real Madrid although only 2 were deemed “key passes”. Athletic youngster Oihan Sancet set the weekly high in that category for 5 key balls as the Basque giants cut open Espanyol all too easily at times.
There were some standout defensive showings from the likes Oscar Valentin who won 6 tackles in his team’s victory over Barcelona. We should perhaps reserve some praise from that match though for Eric Garcia, who has been criticised at times this season, but impressed with a joint MD high of 6 aerials won, while his tally of 83 successful passes was 22 more than anyone else in that game.
Sorare LaLiga Fantasy Team of the Week
There were lots of strong individual displays this week with two of LaLiga’s outstanding ball-playing midfielders making the team of the week in the shape of Toni Kroos and Dani Parejo. Both men are likely to feature regularly between now and May having shaken off injury struggles early on this season.
Up front, Anthony Lozano features following his hat-trick although he was far from the highest scoring player in Spain on this matchday. The likes of Enis Bardhi, who netted two penalties for Levante, and Real Sociedad centre-back Aritz Elustondo both outscored him.
Sorare Player of the Week: Iñigo Lekue (100)
The only perfect 100 on matchday 11 in LaLiga came from an unlikely source in the shape of Athletic full-back Iñigo Lekue. The 28 year old has rarely been a regular at San Mames in recent years but he’s having a strong season making 9 league starts, more than he’s managed in any of the last 3 seasons already. He chipped in with an assist and was a threat down the left flank throughout for Athletic at the RCDE Stadium on Tuesday night.
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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