Another La Liga campaign nears its end and there have been plenty of ups and down for every team in the division.
For bottom club Elche, there have been more downs by a long way, and they have shown little sign of improving before they picked up one of the shock La Liga 2023 results of the campaign in Saturday when they stunned Atletico Madrid with a 1-0 win. For Barcelona, there have been more ups than downs. Though they missed out in Europe the Blaugrana sealed the La Liga title on Saturday with a 4-2 win away to Espanyol, a result which did nothing to help the mood of the home fans!
Throughout the season there have been some stars who have stood out, the superstars Robert Lewandowski, Vinicius Junior and Antoine Griezmann have performed brilliantly for Barca, Real Madrid and Atleti. And then there are the players who have done rather better than expected, and our SBOTOP selection of those guys picks two who starred in Saturday’s derby at the RCDE Stadium.
Joselu – RCD Espanyol
With 15 goals from 30 games, Joselu is the third top scorer in the league and he wasn’t a player we would have picked out back in August 2022. He is Espanyol’s main man but Joselu didn’t have the best of times as a Premier League player, with only a smattering of good moments; but he is arguably reaching his peak at the age of 32. He received his first senior cap for Spain in March this year, called up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers and coming off the bench against Norway. And Joselu has been a big player in the Barcelona derbies this season.
He scored the penalty which earned Los Periquitos a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou earlier in the campaign, and he scored again in Espanyol’s rematch with Barcelona on Sunday, though his team’s defeat leaves them sitting perilously in 19th place and they desperately need Joselu’s goals to give them a chance of staying up.
Frenkie de Jong – Barcelona
The La Liga 2023 betting odds handed the title to the Blaugrana a few weeks ago and, while Lewandowski has written many of the headlines and the young stars led by Pedri have shone, midfield ace Frenkie de Jong has quietly influenced the title race with his top class displays. The Dutch master was the subject of frenzied transfer speculation last summer as Manchester United went in pursuit of him, and Barca wanted to sell.
But the three parties couldn’t agree on a deal and de Jong remained an unsettled Barca player, though you wouldn’t have known it as he put in a series of commanding performances, making 1601 completed passes from 1760 attempts throughout the campaign. Head coach Xavi has never hesitated to name him on the team sheet and the 26 year old has deservedly picked up a league winners medal.
The Blaugrana are working on their summer strategy already with a view to balancing the books and De Jong may well be the subject of more speculation; but he can be proud of his season’s work, making another assist as Barca beat Espanyol at the weekend.
Fernando Martinez – Almeria
With 118 saves from 32 games Fernando Martinez is one of the three busiest stoppers in the league and he has seamlessly made the step up to Spain’s elite, helping his club to promotion last season. The Almeria keeper, at the club since 2017, has played a crucial role in their survival campaign and, with four games to go, Almeria currently sit in 15th place and two clear of the drop.
He only missed one game in Almeria’s promotion season and Fernando made his top flight debut, at the age of 32, on a 2-1 defeat at home to Real Madrid. He’s just signed a two year extension to his contract with the Andalusians and he would dearly love to spend them in the Primera Division.
Read more here! – RCD Mallorca
The league’s joint fifth top scorer is an unlikely name, well certainly outside Mallorca, but Vedat Muriqi has had a great season at the spearhead of RCD’s attack. With 13 goals, the The 6ft 4in Kosovan striker is having his best season in recent years, scoring just once in 34 appearances for Lazio before he bagged five on loan with Mallorca last season.
His signed for Lazio in 2020 but it never worked out for Muriqi in Rome and he has found a happier home in Mallorca where the fans have taken to his all action displays. And the RCD faithful are delighted he has signed a deal to stay at the club until 2027.
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