LaLiga is back for 2022 and it returned with a surprise as struggling Getafe beat leaders Real Madrid in just the second game of the new year. On a weekend which saw an unprecedented number of positive Covid-19 cases in the Spanish top flight, we saw some unfamiliar lineups and a few other surprising results with 5 of the 10 visiting teams victorious. Read on for our LaLiga matchday 19 review featuring all the results, xG data, stats and team of the week.
LaLiga Matchday 19 Results & Expected Goals
Friday 31st December 2021
Valencia 1-2 Espanyol (xG: 0.86-2.15)
Sunday 2nd January 2022
Getafe 1-0 Real Madrid (xG: 0.90-0.91)
Elche 0-0 Granada (xG: 1.45-0.97)
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Rayo Vallecano (xG: 1.98-0.10)
Alaves 1-1 Real Sociedad (xG: 1.54-1.38)
Real Betis 0-2 Celta Vigo (xG: 0.89-1.87)
Mallorca 0-1 Barcelona (xG: 0.99-1.62)
Monday 3rd January 2022
Villarreal 5-0 Levante (xG: 4.19-0.42)
Osasuna 1-3 Athletic Club (xG: 0.52-2.49)
Cadiz 0-1 Sevilla (xG: 0.24-1.28)
xG data in this post comes via Understat. Other stats are via Whoscored.
Matchday 19 – Stats & Star Performers
Team Stats
| Most Possession | SEVILLA – 74.8% |
| Highest Pass Success Rate | SEVILLA – 91% |
| Lowest Pass Success Rate | ALAVES – 60% |
| Most Shots | ALAVES – 19 |
| Fewest Shots | RAYO VALLECANO – 5 |
| Highest xG | VILLARREAL – 4.19 |
| Lowest xG | RAYO VALLECANO – 0.10 |
| xG Over-Performer | VILLARREAL – 5 Goals from 4.19 xG |
| xG Under-Performer | ELCHE – 0 Goals from 1.45 xG |
| Highest Attendance | ATLETICO MADRID vs RAYO VALLECANO – 43,029 |
| Lowest Attendance | GETAFE vs REAL MADRID – 11,890 |
One team that immediately jumps out this week is Alaves, playing their first match under new boss José Luis Mendilibar. Those familiar with his Eibar sides will already have a good idea of what to expect and we already saw a something of a shift in style following the departure of Javi Calleja. They had the lowest passing accuracy in LaLiga this weekend against Real Sociedad but their attacks did cause problems and they managed to get in 19 attempts on goal, the highest of any team on this matchday.
On a weekend ravaged by Covid-19, it’s no surprise that some teams were thoroughly out of sorts. Rayo Vallecano reported 17 positive tests last week and only managed to create 0.10 xG against Atletico Madrid who were comfortable 2-0 winners at the Wanda Metropolitano.
We also witnessed perhaps the worst performance from any team in LaLiga so far this season as bottom club Levante were deservedly hammered 5-0 at Villarreal. The Valencia club increasingly look as though they are doomed to relegation as their wait for that elusive victory goes on and on.
Individual Stats
| Most Shots | JOSELU (Alaves) – 6 |
| Most Completed Passes | IVAN RAKITIC (Sevilla) – 102 |
| Most Key Passes | ANGEL CORREA (Atletico Madrid) – 5 |
| Most Completed Dribbles | ADNAN JANUZAJ (Real Sociedad) – 8 |
| Most Aerials Won | CASEMIRO (Real Madrid) – 13 |
| Most Successful Tackles | ALFONSO ESPINO (Cadiz), OSCAR DE MARCOS (Atletico Madrid) & JAVI GALAN (Celta Vigo) – 7 |
| Most Interceptions | NEMANJA MAKSIMOVIC (Getafe), JORGE CUENCA (Getafe), OMAR MASCARELL (Elche), GEOFFREY KONDOGBIA (Atletico Madrid), VARAZDAT HAROYAN (Cadiz) – 4 |
As is quite often the case, the player with the most passes was up against Cadiz and that man was Ivan Rakitic who was the only LaLiga player to top 100 on this matchday. Indeed all of the top four in that category were Sevilla players this weekend with Joan Jordan, Nemanja Gudelj and Marcos Acuna completing the top four.
It was Atleti’s Angel Correa who completing the most key passes though. He served up a timely reminder of how important he can be for Diego Simeone’s side by also scoring both goals in their 2-0 win over Rayo.
Meanwhile for the second matchday in succession, it was Casemiro who won the most aerial challenges, although as was the case on matchday 18, his efforts largely went unrewarded as Los Blancos once again failed to score.
Sorare LaLiga Fantasy Team of the Week
One of the stars of this matchday was Athletic’s Oihan Sancet as the 21 year old fired in a hat-trick as his team came from behind to win 3-1 at Osasuna. Raised as an attacking midfielder, he is starting to show signs of developing into the forward player that Athletic have been crying out for in recent years and his showing back in his hometown of Pamplona was a massive early boost for the Basque giants in 2022.
Elsewhere on matchday 19, Gerard Moreno’s fine form continued as the Villarreal forward scored his third straight brace in LaLiga in the demolition of Levante. Ivan Rakitic was rewarded for all those passes with a score of 93 but there was a somewhat unlikely winner of player of the week.
Sorare Player of the Week: Oscar De Marcos (99)
Oscar De Marcos may not be one of the biggest names in LaLiga and in previous seasons has been far from a regular in the Athletic side. However he is playing some of the best football of his career right now and put in an outstanding display at Osasuna on Monday night with an assist and seven successful tackles helping him to a total score of 99.
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.
Read More: The race to be LaLiga’s Oldest Scorer
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