La Liga Facts

An in-depth look:

The player that has taken the third most number of shots in La Liga is Villareal CF’s Giuseppe Rossi. Rossi, unfortunately, also has one of the worst shot-goal ratios this season: he’s taken 40 shots over the course of 9 games, about one shot every 19 minutes of play. But he’s only scored 3 goals.

Rossi is currently in the process of recuperating from a knee injury that will sideline him for an estimated 6 months. The striker’s absence only compounds Villareal’s current problems. Last season, he was their top scorer and helped them to a solid 4th place in the league. This season, Villareal are struggling at 13th in the table and a -8 goal difference.

Fun fact? Rossi is currently La Liga’s only American player. Although Rossi technically plays for the Italian National Team, he was born and raised in New Jersey. He also spends a hilarious amount of time talking about his love for M&Ms.

Today’s game… (Jornada 12)

Athletic Club Bilbao tied FC Barcelona (2-2) in today’s match, continuing their streak of being unable to defeat Barcelona in La Liga since the 2005-2006 season.

Fun fact? Fernando Amorebieta received a red card in this match, as he did last season against Barcelona at the San Mamés. The red card he received in today’s match makes him the player with most red cards in the history of Athletic Bilbao (10).

Another fun fact? This game pitted the two teams in La Liga with the most and least number of clean sheets. Barcelona has kept 8 clean sheets in 11 games played, whereas Athletic Bilbao has only managed 1 this season.

Did you know? (As of Jornada 12)

Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 13 goals in La Liga this season. But did you know? If you were to erase all of Ronaldo’s goals, Real Madrid would still be in first place in the league. However, if you were to erase Gonzalo Higuain’s 11 goals, Real Madrid would drop 4 points to merely second place in the league. Crucial?

The FC Barcelona version of this demonstration is even more drastic.

Also: Explanation post here.

Did you know? (As of Jornada 12)

Lionel Messi is now top scorer in the league with 14 goals. But did you know? If you were to erase all of Messi’s goals, FC Barcelona would still be in second place in the league. However, if you were to erase Cesc Fabregas’ 5 goals, Barcelona would drop to fourth place in the league. Crucial?

A similar phenomenon occurs when you apply this demonstration to Real Madrid CF.

Also: Explanation post here.