LaLiga headed off into the international break with a bang as runaway league leaders Real Madrid were thrashed 4-0 at home by Barcelona in El Clasico. An extraordinary scoreline and one that certainly suggests Barça are now very much back as a genuine force under Xavi. There were nine other matches too though and plenty else to reflect on at both ends of the table. Read on for our full LaLiga matchday 29 review featuring all the results, xG data, stats and team of the week.
LaLiga Matchday 29 Results & Expected Goals
Friday 18th March 2022
Athletic Club 1-1 Getafe (xG: 2.64-0.56)
Saturday 19th March 2022
Alaves 2-3 Granada (xG: 2.13-2.19)
Elche 0-1 Valencia (xG: 0.51-0.98)
Osasuna 3-1 Levante (xG: 2.67-1.22)
Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Atletico Madrid (xG: 1.88-1.19)
Sunday 20th March 2022
Espanyol 1-0 Mallorca (xG: 1.54-0.31)
Celta Vigo 0-0 Real Betis (xG: 1.26-0.44)
Cadiz 1-0 Villarreal (xG: 1.43-0.19)
Sevilla 0-0 Real Sociedad (xG: 0.36-1.22)
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona (xG: 0.63-4.26)
xG data in this post comes via Understat. Other stats are via Whoscored.
Matchday 29 – Stats & Star Performers
Team Stats
| Most Possession | ATHLETIC CLUB – 66.1% |
| Highest Pass Success Rate | BARCELONA – 89% |
| Lowest Pass Success Rate | ALAVES – 57% |
| Most Shots | ATHLETIC CLUB – 22 |
| Fewest Shots | VILLARREAL – 3 |
| Highest xG | BARCELONA – 4.26 |
| Lowest xG | VILLARREAL – 0.19 |
| xG Over-Performer | GRANADA – 3 Goals from 2.19 xG |
| xG Under-Performer | RAYO VALLECANO – 0 Goals from 1.88 xG |
| Highest Attendance | REAL MADRID vs BARCELONA – 60,017 |
| Lowest Attendance | RAYO VALLECANO vs ATLETICO MADRID – 10,349 |
We may as well start at the Bernabeu where the 4-0 scoreline in Barcelona’s favour did not flatter the visitors. They created 4.26 xG to their opponents 0.63 suggesting the score was more or less a fair reflection of the game and that can only be a concern for Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid. A 9 point cushion at the top of LaLiga with 9 games to play should ensure they will still be picking up the league trophy in the very near future but the result and performance leaves Los Blancos with plenty of soul searching to do as they get ready for their UEFA Champions League date with Chelsea.
Across the Spanish capital, Atletico Madrid were victorious in a derby at Vallecas although they were somewhat fortunate to win 1-0 with Rayo creating the better openings. Diego Simeone’s men were perhaps struggling with a bit of fatigue following on from an impressive midweek road win in Europe and the same can certainly be said of Villarreal who put in a limp display to lose at struggling Cadiz, setting the lowest marks for shots on goal and xG this matchday in LaLiga in the process.
Individual Stats
| Most Shots | FERRAN TORRES (Barcelona) & PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Barcelona) – 6 |
| Most Completed Passes | JORDI ALBA (Barcelona) – 86 |
| Most Key Passes | ALEX BERENGUER (Athletic Club) – 6 |
| Most Completed Dribbles | GIOVANI LO CELSO (Villarreal) – 5 |
| Most Aerials Won | YANGEL HERRERA (Espanyol), VEDAT MURIQI (Mallorca), JORGE MOLINA (Granada) & FLORIAN LEJEUNE (Alaves) – 7 |
| Most Successful Tackles | ALFONSO ESPINO (Cadiz) – 7 |
| Most Interceptions | HUGO MALLO (Celta Vigo) – 5 |
Barcelona players feature heavily in the individual stats too with Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both managing to get 6 shots away on goal to contribute to the Catalan club’s overall match tally of 18 whilst 3 of their 4 goals also came from the duo.
Jordi Alba completed the most passes but the high mark for key passes this matchday was set by Athletic Club’s Alex Berenguer whose tally of 6 just pipped team-mate Iker Muniain who completed 5.
Villarreal’s Giovani Lo Celso completed the most dribbles while on the defensive front in the same game, Cadiz’s Alfonso Espino won a matchday high 7 tackles as his side claimed a priceless 1-0 victory that boosts their chances of beating the drop.
Sorare LaLiga Fantasy Team of the Week
Barcelona contribute 5 members of the best XI this week including all of the front three after their dominant display in the Clasico. There were also strong defensive displays from Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo with just about everything going right for Xavi across the pitch right now with this side which blends youth and experience really starting to click.
Speaking of youth, there was another impressive display from Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The 21 year old will be hoping to hold onto his place when Jasper Cillessen finally returns to fitness which should be after the international break. Fellow youngster Jules Kounde also impressed with a score of 87 helping him put a slightly below par run of form behind him although it wasn’t enough to prevent a lacklustre Sevilla from drawing yet again against La Real.
Osasuna’s Ruben Garcia is also worth a mention. The wideman put in a strong display at El Sadar with an assist helping his team to a 3-1 win over bottom club Levante.
Sorare Player of the Week: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (93)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been a revelation since joining Barcelona and continued his fine form with 2 goals and an assist to post a score of 93, the highest this weekend (although unfortunately he’s not actually on Sorare yet!).
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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