Statistical Highlights of La Liga’s 95th Season

The 95th edition of La Liga has completed the first half of its schedule. In the 190 matches that have been played, Barcelona stands out collectively, while Kylian Mbappé is the individual statistical leader. Barcelona, having claimed the title of winter champions, has excelled in areas such as goals scored, ball possession, and passing accuracy, while the French forward from Real Madrid currently leads the scoring charts, known as the Pichichi, with the most attempts on goal.

Out of the 189 matches played so far—with the Levante vs. Villarreal fixture yet to occur—there have been 86 home wins, 50 draws, and 52 away victories. A total of 485 goals have been scored, alongside 4,690 shots, 165,740 passes, 4,715 fouls, and 779 yellow cards issued.

Barcelona has excelled in numerous statistical categories during the first half of the season. They have scored 53 goals, making them the top-scoring team, and notably, they are the only team to have scored in every game they have played. A remarkable 6-0 victory against Valencia in the fourth round was one of four matches in which they scored four or more goals. Conversely, Oviedo has struggled, finishing 13 matches without scoring. Mallorca and Valencia are the teams that have registered a goal in the most matches.

On the defensive front, Real Madrid, led by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, has kept the most clean sheets, achieving this in 8 matches. In contrast, the Real Sociedad has found it challenging to maintain a shutout, managing it only once.

Atletico Madrid has also made headlines in this first half, particularly for scoring the first goal of the match, having done so in 18 out of 19 matches. The only time they did not score first was against Athletic. On the other hand, Alavés, Mallorca, and Real Sociedad have frequently faced the challenge of trailing first, doing so in 12 instances.

Regarding goal distribution by half, Barcelona shines again, scoring in both halves of 12 matches. Villarreal follows with ten matches featuring goals in both periods, while Alavés, Getafe, and Oviedo have only managed this once.

Barcelona continues to uphold the legacy of Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola, exhibiting a ball control philosophy with 68.67% possession. Elche, managed by Eder Sarabia, sits in second place for possession at 59.53%, while Espanyol ranks last with 40.94%.

In passing accuracy, both Barcelona and Real Madrid lead with 89.44% and 89.42%, respectively, while Getafe lags significantly at 70.19% accuracy.

Kylian Mbappé tops the Pichichi Trophy with 18 goals, the highest tally for any player at this stage since Cristiano Ronaldo’s 26 goals in the 2014-15 season. Mbappé has been particularly effective away from the Bernabéu, scoring 11 goals on the road compared to 7 at home. He leads in shot attempts with 88, 39 of which were on target, although he has also been flagged offside 18 times.

Eleven players have participated in every minute of the league so far, with ten of them being goalkeepers: Dmitrovic, Sivera, Soria, Aarón Escandell, Remiro, Batalla, Unai Simón, Sergio Herrera, and Courtois. The only outfield player on this list is Mallorca’s defender, Valjent. Notably, Oviedo’s Escandell has made the most saves, totaling 95.

Another standout of the league, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, has emerged as the top dribbler with 82 successful attempts and, along with Elche’s Aleix Febas, has won the most duels (133 each). Febas also leads in the statistic for most fouls received (61), while Pol Lozano from Espanyol has committed the most fouls (40). In terms of yellow cards, Fede Viñas from Oviedo has been sent off three times.

So far this season, three teams have held the top position at the end of a matchday. Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Villarreal have shared the first place across the nineteen rounds played. Barcelona was the first team to lead, ultimately declaring themselves winter champions after occupying the top spot for eight matchdays. Villarreal briefly topped the table in the second round, while Real Madrid led for ten matchdays.