La Liga table: Re-ranking every team by goal differential
We are now at a stage in the La Liga season where each club has played more than 10 games. Most of the teams are where you can expect them to finish come the end of the campaign. However, looking at the table based on goal difference is an eye-opener to the division.
La Liga table
TEAM | RECORD (last five games) | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
Barcelona | L-W-W-W-W | 33 |
Real Madrid | W-D-W-W-L | 24 |
Atletico Madrid | D-D-W-L-W | 23 |
Villarreal | W-W-L-D-W | 21 |
Osasuna | W-D-L-W-W | 21 |
Athletic Club | D-L-W-D-D | 19 |
Real Betis | W-L-W-W-D | 19 |
Mallorca | W-L-W-D-L | 18 |
Rayo Vallecano | D-D-W-L-W | 16 |
Real Sociedad | W-D-W-L-W | 15 |
Girona | D-W-L-L-W | 15 |
Sevilla | D-W-L-W-L | 15 |
Celta Vigo | L-D-W-L-L | 13 |
Alaves | L-L-L-L-W | 13 |
Leganes | D-D-L-W-L | 11 |
Getafe | L-W-D-D-D | 10 |
Espanyol | L-W-L-L-L | 10 |
Las Palmas | L-L-W-W-L | 9 |
Valladolid | L-L-W-L-L | 8 |
Valencia | D-L-D-L-D | 7 |
And here is what things look like if we reorder by goal difference.
La Liga table ranked by goal difference
TEAM | GOAL DIFFERENCE |
|---|---|
Barcelona | 29 |
Atletico Madrid | 11 |
Real Madrid | 10 |
Athletic Club | 6 |
Real Betis | 2 |
Rayo Vallecano | 2 |
Villarreal | 1 |
Osasuna | 1 |
Mallorca | 1 |
Real Sociedad | 0 |
Getafe | -1 |
Girona | -2 |
Celta Vigo | -3 |
Leganes | -4 |
Alaves | -5 |
Sevilla | -5 |
Las Palmas | -8 |
Valencia | -9 |
Espanyol | -11 |
Valladolid | -15 |
Barcelona stay top
Barcelona are top of both tables with an impressive goal difference of 29. They are ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga by nine points, and their goal difference is superior by 19. This was much helped by Barca's 4-0 win over Real in El Clasico.
Hansi Flick's side already looks like the runaway leaders of the division. Credit must go to the German coach for putting his team in a position to take back the title from Real Madrid.
There was skepticism when Flick took over from Xavi. However, the former Germany and Bayern Munich manager is proving doubters wrong. You cannot argue that German soccer is now one of the most influential in the World. Even the England manager is now German — Thomas Tuchel.
Barca's impressive goal difference is mostly due to their fantastic forwards. Robert Lewandowski at the age of 36, has scored 14 times already, whilst Raphinha has found the back of the net on seven occasions.
Real Madrid pipped by Atletico
This season looks to be a two-horse race for second place now between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. This is very disappointing for Real Madrid, who won La Liga convincingly in the last campaign. There is even talk that Carlo Ancelotti could be replaced by Bayer Leverkusen's Xavi Alonso in the Bernabeu dugout at the end of the season.
Last season, Ancelotti's side had Jude Bellingham starring for them, and he managed 19 goals with six assists in 28 La Liga games. However, so far this campaign, he has managed just one assist in seven matches.
The star new signing Kylian Mbappe has found the back of the net six times in 10 La Liga games, but he is still yet to his top form. The Galacticos side of the 2000s never achieved what they should have. This could prove that having too many stars in one team can be detrimental. However, we are still early on in Mbappe's time at the club to prove this.
Los Blancos are currently ahead of Atletico in La Liga by one point. However, Atletico are ahead on the goal difference table by one goal. This could be a sign that Atletico will finish second this season.
Atletico are the last team apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona to win La Liga. They now have an impressive roster which includes Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez.
The disparity of La Liga is proven in the top three teams. No club has a goal difference of more than ten apart from Barca, Real Madrid and Atletico. Athletic Club are the closest team to the 'big three' with a goal difference of just six.
Fallen giants
Many huge Spanish teams currently find themselves much lower down the La Liga table than you would think. Valencia who were the last team apart from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to win the division are now bottom. Their goal difference of -9 is the third worst in the table and will not give their fans any optimism about surviving relegation.
Even Sevilla, who have been so successful on the continent where they have won the Europa League / UEFA Cup seven times, are down in 12th in La Liga. Just above them in the division is Girona, who finished third last season. Both sides have a negative goal difference, so there are not any signs that they will make a remarkable rise up the table.
Next. The 15 best goal-scoring seasons in LaLiga history. The 15 best goal-scoring seasons in LaLiga history. dark