With La Liga action being suspended for the international break, we took the opportunity to take a look at how many of the Spanish division’s top stars performed in the clash between Germany and Spain at the ESPRIT Arena – a game that saw Barcelona’s Marc Ter Stegen and Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos play for the hosts, as sixteen leading La Liga players featured in total.
Having come off the back of a successful qualifying group in which they won nine of their ten fixtures, Spain arrived in the game brimming with confidence and a desire to prove themselves against an elite side having whimpered out of the last two tournaments.
And the side took the league early on, Rodrigo latching onto a delicious through ball from Barcelona stalwart Andres Iniesta to fire past an on-rushing ter Stegen to add to his 13 La Liga goals this season.
The consolation of a goal is something of a rarity for the Barcelona goalkeeper, who has kept a more than respectable haul of 18 clean sheets this season. A record that has seen him rightfully earn a reputation as the best keeper in the division and one that he will be hoping can be taken into the World Cup over the summer.
However, the hosts drew level after half an hour when Thomas Muller notched an equaliser in the 35th minute – his placed effort from outside the box avoiding the grasp of a full-stretch David de Gea.
To have scored against a defence boasting Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, who have a combined total of 31 La Liga clean sheets and 166 points is no mean feat. These two stars of the Spanish game will be more than aware of the danger his Bayern present, should they come up against him in the Champions League.
The rest of the game proved to be something of an even contest, two beasts of the game locked in a stalemate that saw the Spanish side edge the possession but the hosts have a slight advantage of the chances created.
The inability to break the deadlock was arguably facilitated by the extended number of substitutions made in the game.
A factor that saw the introduction of six La LIga stars from the Spanish bench, including Saul (39 points) of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid duo Asensio (42 points) and Vasquez (41 points).
The fact that this fixture between two such prestigious national teams boasted so many of La Liga’s brightest stars is a credit to the strength that the league’s elite sides have created over the past decade.
Come the summer, it would be little surprise should the La Liga star burn the brightest at the World Cup.
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