LaLiga 2021/22 is over after a final weekend which produced raw tension and drama at the bottom as Granada were relegated after somehow failing to score against Espanyol. There was jubilation for Cadiz and Mallorca who both beat the drop while Villarreal won at Camp Nou to clinch the Conference League place. Read on for our LaLiga matchday 38 review featuring all the results, xG data, stats and team of the week.
LaLiga Matchday 38 Results & Expected Goals
Friday 20th May 2022
Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis (xG: 1.82-1.44)
Rayo Vallecano 2-4 Levante (xG: 2.73-3.28)
Saturday 21st May 2022
Valencia 2-0 Celta Vigo (xG: 1.48-1.41)
Sunday 22nd May 2022
Elche 3-1 Getafe (xG: 3.03-1.07)
Alaves 0-1 Cadiz (xG: 0.39-1.84)
Granada 0-0 Espanyol (xG: 2.03-0.39)
Osasuna 0-2 Mallorca (xG: 0.90-1.24)
Barcelona 0-2 Villarreal (xG: 0.63-0.69)
Real Sociedad 1-2 Atletico Madrid (xG: 2.22-0.59)
Sevilla 1-0 Athletic Club (xG: 1.41-0.49)
xG data in this post comes via Understat. Other stats are via Whoscored.
Matchday 38 – Stats & Star Performers
Team Stats
| Most Possession | BARCELONA – 69.5% |
| Highest Pass Success Rate | BARCELONA – 92% |
| Lowest Pass Success Rate | MALLORCA – 68% |
| Most Shots | ELCHE & RAYO VALLECANO – 19 |
| Fewest Shots | VILLARREAL – 4 |
| Highest xG | LEVANTE – 3.28 |
| Lowest xG | ALAVES & ESPANYOL – 0.39 |
| xG Over-Performer | ATLETICO MADRID – 2 Goals from 0.59 xG |
| xG Under-Performer | GRANADA – 0 Goals from 2.03 xG |
| Highest Attendance | BARCELONA vs VILLARREAL – 54,850 |
| Lowest Attendance | RAYO VALLECANO vs LEVANTE* – 8,446 |
*There were almost certainly less than 8,446 at the Valencia game due to a fan boycott, but the club bizarrely published figures of 16,189 for that attendance.
Some of these statistics will only add to the pain Granada fans will be experiencing today. Aitor Karanka’s side were actually the most dominant of the three teams involved in the relegation scrap on Sunday, but failed to score from 2.03 xG against an Espanyol side that registered the joint lowest xG figure of the weekend. Jorge Molina’s penalty miss will haunt him for some time but the Andalusians had plenty of other chances to score the goal which would have kept them in the division.
The most entertaining game of the weekend came on Friday night with Levante bowing out of the top flight in style with a 4-2 win over Rayo Vallecano in Vallecas. They, along with Granada, will be strong contenders to clinch promotion from LaLiga SmartBank next season while Rayo remain winless at home in 2022.
Villarreal meanwhile clinched European football once more with a 2-0 win at Camp Nou, despite only having a matchday low 4 attempts on goal.
Individual Stats
| Most Shots | KARIM BENZEMA (Real Madrid) – 7 |
| Most Completed Passes | JORDI ALBA (Barcelona) – 92 |
| Most Key Passes | LUCAS PEREZ (Cadiz) – 5 |
| Most Completed Dribbles | MIGUEL DE LA FUENTE (Alaves), ENIS BARDHI (Levante) & VINI JUNIOR (Real Madrid) – 5 |
| Most Aerials Won | VEDAT MURIQI (Mallorca) – 13 |
| Most Successful Tackles | RUBEN ALCARAZ (Cadiz), OSCAR VALENTIN (Rayo), GUIDO RODRIGUEZ (Real Betis) & EDUARDO CAMAVINGA (Real Madrid) – 6 |
| Most Interceptions | GABRIEL PAULISTA (Valencia) – 8 |
The individual leaders this weekend include the likes of Karim Benzema, VIni Junior and Jordi Alba who have all consistently produced big numbers throughout the campaign.
Other standouts included Lucas Perez who was important in Cadiz’s vital 1-0 win at Alaves with 5 key passes while Vedat Muriqi was a consistent aerial threat once more for Mallorca as they won 2-0 in Pamplona to seal safety.
In terms of interceptions, Valencia’s Gabriel Paulista was well clear of the rest with 8 against Celta Vigo. Los Che will be desperately hoping he can put his injury problems behind him to spearhead their defence next season.
Sorare LaLiga Fantasy Team of the Week
It was a weekend when many teams had nothing to play for and rotated their teams giving some fringe players a chance. The big boys weren’t really at their best with neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid scoring but Atletico’s midfield duo of Koke and Rodrigo De Paul both make the team of the week.
In the battle for survival, Cadiz’s full-backs both put in excellent displays with Alfonso Espino and Iza Carcelen producing two of the three highest scores, although they were pipped to the player of the week crown by another defender.
Sorare Player of the Week: Gabriel Paulista (90)
There was almost nobody there to see it, but Gabriel Paulista put in another excellent performance for Valencia in defence as Los Che secured a top half finish with victory over Celta Vigo.
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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