Messi, Salah, Kane, Ronaldo & Oblak finish atop Fantasy Player rankings

The 2020/21 season finished with some familiar names on top of the Fantasy Player rankings with Lionel Messi in first place followed by Liverpool & Egypt star Mohamed Salah while Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jan Oblak rounded up the first five spots.

Messi: Barcelona superstar Messi does not need an introduction. Despite Barca not winning the league again (2020/21 to Atletico Madrid and that’s after giving way in the title race during the 2019/20 season to bitter rivals Real Madrid), Messi still managed to score 30 league goals and provide 9 assists in 33 matches as well as 2 additional league appearances as a substitute. Barca & Messi did lift the Copa del Rey.

Salah: Liverpool’s Salah had a very good 2020/21 season with 22 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League, however, his club did not have a good campaign so he perhaps did not receive the praise some of his performances deserved. Liverpool did end up making the Champions League so maybe next season will be a fresh & better one for Salah and his teammates. He ended up with 122 Fantasy Football Points helped by the fact his position (as not a striker) earned him extra points from clean sheets…

Kane: Harry had perhaps his best season overall despite a disappointing campaign by Tottenham. Kane ended up with a remarkable tally of 14 assists in the Premier League- the most not just in England’s PL but also ahead of anyone from the Spanish & Italian leagues. Kane also ended up with 23 league goals to finish with 119 Fantasy Football Points- just two behind Salah. As a strike, Kane did not earn any points for clean sheets. As a great consolation, Kane finished top Fantasy Football Player in our sister site’s rankings: https://fantasy-premier.com/statistics/players

Ronaldo: The Portuguese superstar finished the 2020/21 season with 29 goals and 3 assists (started in 31 Serie A matches and had another 2 appearances as a substitute). If we count only the English, Italian and Spanish leagues then only Messi scored more goals! The two seem to be in competition even when not in the same league. CR7 and Messi were also drawn in the same group in the Champions League. Neither superstar won the league title, but, like Messi, Ronaldo also won the domestic cup helping Juventus lift the Coppa Italia. CR7 finished with 117 EFL Fantasy Points. Ronaldo finished in 2nd place in www.fantasyseriea.com player rankings. Visit the best Fantasy Serie A game & check the Player stats here https://fantasyseriea.com/statistics/players

Oblak: Finally the only non-attacking player to finish in the top 5 was Atletico Madrid’s goalkeeper Oblak. He was a key player in the club’s successful season which ended up with winning the Spanish La Liga. Oblak kept an impressive tally of 18 clean sheets and only conceded 25 goals in the Spanish League. Without Oblak, it could be said that Atletico would have failed to win the all-important La Liga title ahead of giants Real Madrid (Barcelona finished in 3rd place).

All change at the top in Europe: Juve, Real Madrid & Inter lose their coaches

Now that all the European leagues have finished and the trophies have been handed out and all the confetti from the winners’ celebrations has been cleared away, you’d think there’d be a short break where we could all get our breathe back. Yet a few managers at some of Europe’s top clubs have had other ideas and decided now was the perfect time to create even more drama. How did they create this drama? Well, they all decided that now was the ideal time to fall out with their owners and walk away from their jobs.

Heavy-hitters Real Madrid, Juventus and Inter Milan have all waved goodbye to their managers in the last few days. Plus, as reported on Sky Sports, there are many in the know saying that Mauricio Pochettino at P.S.G. is deeply unhappy and could be on his way out.

It’s now created a merry-go-round of in-goings and outgoings at some of Europe’s elite clubs. So now with many top jobs vacant, and many top managers available to fill those vacancies, the football rumour mill has gone into overdrive with tales of who’s going there or who’s going where.

Juventus

It was a real surprise last year when Juventus decided to make Andrea Pirlo their manager. Pirlo had been one of the coolest looking midfielders to ever play the game and could ping the ball around the pitch with a seemingly effortless accuracy. He was a true legend of ‘Zebre’. Yet, he’d never even managed a team before he was given one of the biggest jobs in the whole of football. 

Predictably it didn’t go as well as the Juventus back-staff had hoped and Pirlo was recently let go. ‘The Old Lady’ didn’t wait long though, and have secured their old manager, Massimiliano Allegri on a four-year contract. Only time will tell if it will it be a happy reunion for the two.

Real Madrid

It has been a weird season for Real Madrid, with them always seemingly just on the edge of disaster, and yet they still managed to get to the semi-finals of the Champions League and take the La Liga race to the last day, where they were narrowly pipped at the post by great rivals Atletico Madrid.

However, a good example of how far the club have fallen this year is that when Spain compete at the postponed Euro 2020 this summer, it will be the first time in history that no player from ‘Los Blancos’ will be in the squad. It was no surprise then, that Madrid and their manager, Zinedine Zidane, split up a few days ago.

So, will the now unemployed Zidane take one of the other top vacancies? There’s talk that he wants the French national job, but with current boss Didier Deschamps being in the good books since that 2018 World Cup win, it would take France having a turgid tournament for him to get it. That’s not something that looks that likely to happen though, with the best betting sites having them priced as the favourites at 9/2.

It’s always a relief to know that if you are betting on sport, you’re getting the greatest odds and sign-up offers and that’s where AsiaBet comes in. They’ve also got a handy guide so you can find value in the football betting market, meaning that they might help you find a true dark horse to back in the Euro’s.

Inter Milan

Inter Milan have had a fantastic season in 2020/21. As was reported here in Euro Fantasy League, they managed to win their first Serie A title since 2010. You’d think that it would be happy times then for the winning manger, Antonio Conte, but nope. In true Conte style he has instead fallen out with the board at Inter over the lack of funds available and has washed his hands of the club, walking away.

Pundits now reckon he could be a shoe-in for the vacant Tottenham Hotspur job, but many are disputing this, saying that Spurs don’t have the transfer funds available for Conte, who’s a known heavy-spender. Maybe if Pochettino does leave P.S.G. and goes back to Spurs, then Conte could slot in at the Paris club, as there’s no doubt that he’d have bags of cash to chuck around at players there. However it does play out, it’s all change at the top in Europe.

From Messi to Salah- The Best 11 Players of the 2020/21 season

The football season in Europe is almost over with just 1 more week left for the major leagues. There are sure to be some exciting finishes especially in Spain where either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid will be crowned champions.

As for England, congratulations to Manchester City who are the new champions, and in Italy Inter finally ended Juventus’ domination of the league in style.

But which players have shone and proved themselves this season above all others? And did you have any of these stars in your fantasy teams? The formation used is a 4-4-2 one and the leagues used are the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A.

Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak- Atletico Madrid 116pts

Sometimes the points are very close between players but not a chance for Jan Oblak who has again underlined himself as one of the best goalkeepers in world football. Oblak has amassed 116 points and kept 18 clean sheets with only 24 goals conceded. He may just win the Spanish title this weekend too.

Defender: Achraf Hakimi- Inter- 92pts

Usually we see the same players in best teams of the season lists so it is refreshing to see the talent of Inter defender Achraf Hakimi make this list. Hakimi has certainly been one of the driving forces behind Inter’s title charge and was able to help to keep 13 clean sheets. However Hakimi has never been afraid to come forward and his stats are quite stunning- He has scored 7 league goals and also assisted in another 8. He made 23 points more than the next Inter defender.

Defender: Kieran Trippier- Atletico Madrid 90pts

Kieran Trippier has proven himself this season even if Atletico don’t win the league this weekend. He has been solid and superb and really grown as a player in defence. He hasn’t scored any goals but that isn’t his job, although he has set up six of them. But he has been part of a defence that has conceded 13 goals and has 16 clean sheets to his name. In short he has been Atletico’s best defender and few would have seen that coming.

Defender: Ruben Dias- Manchester City 75pts

Ruben Dias has just been named as the footballer’s writer’s defender of the season and really that came as no shock. Dias has been absolutely brilliant and his defending has been key as to why Manchester City were able to win back the title from Liverpool. An absolutely stunning season from Dias.

Defender: John Stones- Manchester City 75pts

John Stones, the revelation who upped his game several levels to keep his place in the Manchester City line up and won a title along the way. Possibly Stones’ best season as a professional player. Helped to keep 13 clean sheets and also scored 4 goals.

Midfielder: Mohamed Salah- Liverpool 118pts

Mohamed Salah is getting better by every year even when Liverpool dipped and saw their title easily taken away from them, Salah still scored the goals. 22 goals and 4 assists, Salah may just end up as top goalscorer for this season in the Premier League.

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes- Manchester United 114pts

Bruno Fernandes hasn’t just had a terrific season he has changed Manchester United. If you want to know how and why United finished as runners-up in the league and are in the final of the Europa League look no further than the excellent Fernandes. He has scored 18 goals and assisted in another 12. Worth his weight in gold.

Midfielder: Marcos Llorente- Atletico Madrid 100pts

Atletico have been brilliant and consistent for the first time in La Liga since 2014 and Marcos Llorente has been outstanding in midfield with his anticipation and his superbly taken and timely tackles. Llorente has scored 12 goals and assisted in another 11.

Midfielder: Henrikh Mkhitaryan- Roma 92pts

For Roma this has been a season of what could have been but Mkhitaryan has had one of his best seasons of his career and has stayed reliable and consistent. He has contributed in an impressive 22 goals scoring 12 along the way.

Striker: Lionel Messi- Barcelona 130pts

Lionel Messi is one of the greats but did anyone really expect him to have the most points in European Fantasy League this season? At the beginning of the season he wanted to leave Barcelona but he stayed and they won the Copa Del Rey, not the best standard for the club. But Messi is Messi and he kept scoring and creating chances and has netted an amazing 30 goals and assisted in a further 9.

Striker: Cristiano Ronaldo- Juventus 117pts

The Messi and Ronaldo rivalry lives on despite their ages, they are ranked as the two best strikers in European Fantasy League. Ronaldo will end the Serie A season as top goalscorer and create a record- no other player has finished top of the goalscoring charts in England, Spain and Italy before. No league title for Ronaldo this time but he did win the Coppa Italia and will be raring to go next season. He has scored 29 goals and assisted in another 3.

Tottenham legend Harry Kane wants to leave the club- could the player that has propelled them now destroy them?

On reflection we all saw it coming, that Tottenham’s best player in a decade, Harry Kane, was going to announce that he wanted to leave the club.

There were hints of it last season, just faint rumours but perhaps having Jose Mourinho as manager and a decorated one at that convinced Kane to concentrate on his football. A month ago Mourinho was sacked by Daniel Levy and a month on Levy has learned that his absolute star player Kane wants out. How quick everything changes in football.

This season has had some bright moments for the club but let’s be honest it isn’t a season that will be talked about for too long when everything wraps up on May 23rd. But Tottenham have a chance to qualify for the Europa League and they reached this season’s latter stages of the competition, they also reached the Carabao Cup final. All of this would have been impossible without Kane. Just to show what type of impact the striker has made this season he has scored 22 goals so far in the league and assisted in a further 13. He has been involved in a staggering 55% of the club league goals alone. Take Kane out of the equation and Tottenham absolutely would be in the bottom half of the Premier League.

In the last four years Tottenham could well argue that they have stepped outside of the shadow of their more successful neighbours Arsenal. Finishing higher than them in the league and even reaching the Champions League final in 2019. And yet of course it is Arsenal who have picked up 2 FA Cup’s in that same time period. Tottenham have no trophies for 13 years now despite playing some of the best football in England. That of course was spearheaded by Kane and the worry is if he leaves, which certainly looks like when he leaves, how will Tottenham recover?

In these pandemic times it is unclear if Tottenham will get the £200m plus transfer fee they so desire and the figure may be close to £120m plus a few free transfers. But what deal will Tottenham get? It is very public that the club did not spend the £100m they received from the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid wisely. Tottenham aren’t the only victims of not knowing how to spend their money. The same has quite publicly happened to the likes of Everton and Barcelona recently. Buying a quality player doesn’t mean they will perform as you expect them too anymore.

What would appease the fans when Kane is sold? Is Neymar, Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland arriving? No they are not, and we know this because Tottenham will not be playing Champions League football next season. If any of those players were on the list the losing Kane saga may not seem as bad. But in losing Kane Tottenham won’t just be losing one player of immense quality who guarantees goals and knows the league inside out, they will be losing plenty of Premier League points too, and this could propel the club to move backwards. This would be an horrific situation for the club who have made such fantastic in roads lately and have a brand new stadium.

The next stage will be where will Kane end up. Tottenham would be foolish to sell him to an English club and at least Kane has hinted that he would be open to offers in Spain. But Barcelona and Real Madrid are in huge debt, so those moves look unlikely. Also Kane comes across like he loves English football and the Premier League and will probably not want to move from the country. In that sense and as long as he decides not to play for an English club anymore Kane could be on his way to either Manchester clubs. Surely his priority would lie with City, after all Kane is chasing trophies and time is running out.

For Manchester United they are getting better every season, but perhaps a league title is not on the cards for the club just now or in the next few years. There is also the chance to maybe play for Liverpool. Money plus a Mohamed Salah swap? You never can tell in football. These are exciting times for the neutral but for Tottenham fans there could be despair before hope.

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La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 37

Barcelona are out of the title race! That was the biggest news of the weekend as the club lost yet another game at home this time to Celta Vigo by 2-1.

It means that La Liga is down to 2 teams and it should be an incredible tension filled ride for the final weekend of the season. In 1st place we have Atletico Madrid with 83 points and in 2nd Real Madrid with 81.

Atletico will be play Valladolid away from home and will be the favourites to win that match although it looks a tricky one. As for Real they will play Villarreal at home and be hoping that Atletico will lose or draw.

The relegation battle is also exciting as Elche in 18th place have 33 points but so does Huesca in 17th.

Let’s take a look at the players who shone the brightest in the penultimate week of the championship- did you have them in your team?- note some points also take in week 36 as that was played in midweek.

Goalkeeper: Sergio Asenjo- Villarreal 14pts

Two clean sheets in a row for Sergio Asenjo. But at the weekend Villarreal were able to conquer Sevilla 4-0 and no one quite expected that score. But Asenjo was made to have a busy night and pulled off some remarkable saves, and fully deserves to be included in the team of the week.

Defender: Pau Francisco-Torres- Villarreal 12pts

Two clean sheets for defender Pau who also assisted in a goal when the club played and beat Valladolid last week 2-0. It means that Villarreal are going to have a strong finish to the season and the defender earns a fantastic 12 points in less than a week.

Defender: Alvaro Odriozola- Real Madrid 9pts

Odriozola scored against Granada in midweek as Real Madrid smashed them 4-1. And has picked up a clean sheet at the weekend as Madrid beat Bilbao 1-0 away from home. He’s only played 8 times but has been overseen six clean sheets.

Defender: Raul Albiol- Villarreal 10pts

Villarreal have beaten Valladolid and Sevilla recently and in both matches were able to keep clean sheets and Raul Albiol has been at the heart of that. The veteran player has now helped to keep nine clean sheets so far

Defender: Alberto Moreno- Villarreal 10pts

Villarreal have been the team impressing everyone with 2 wins in a row and no goals conceded in those games as they rise to 5th place. Moreno’s brilliant understanding with Albiol in defence has helped to shape a strong relationship.

Midfielder: Carlos Soler- Valencia 10pts

Carlos Soler is a regular fixture in the team of the weeks now and if you have him you would have seen all the points accumulated by the talented midfielder recently. Soler scored a brilliant 2 goals at the weekend as Valencia beat Eibar 4-1.

Midfielder: Daniel Parejo- Villarreal 6pts

This is a team full of Villarreal players and Daniel Parejo is no exception and he has had a sterling season. Parejo has been involved in no less than 8 goals and with 34 points he is Villarreal’s best ranked midfield player.

Midfielder: David Silva- Real Sociedad 6pts

David Silva has scored just his 2nd goal of the season as Real Sociedad beat Valladolid 4-1. Silva scored a good goal and was absolutely delighted with that as his club try to finish in a Europa League position.

Midfielder: Manuel Trigueros- Villarreal 6pts

Manuel Trigueros scored at the weekend and that was the midfielder’s first goal of the season as Villarreal thumped Sevilla 4-1. The club are in great form now just ahead of their Europa League final meeting with Manchester United and the player will be hoping to star in that game too.

Striker: Carlos Bacca- Villarreal 14pts

You can’t beat the uniqueness of a hat-trick and Carlos Bacca did just that as Villarreal beat Sevilla at the weekend 4-0. Bacca now has 5 goals this season in a campaign which has been disrupted by injury.

Striker: Gerard Moreno- Villarrreal 10pts

Gerard Moreno keeps getting the goals and we have 2 Villarreal strikers in our team of the week. Moreno opened the scoring against Valladolid last week to propel his team forward. Moreno now has a fantastic goal tally of 23 this season and has 103 points and is ranked as one of the best strikers in Europe.

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La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 35

Wow, just wow. The race for the La Liga champions is not for the faint hearted. The top 4 sides all drew this past weekend. First it was Atletico which seemed to let Barcelona in and then it was Barca and that seemed to hand the advantage to Real Madrid who had to beat Sevilla.

However Sevilla almost won that game and were leading Real Madrid 2-1 but Real found a way and the game ended 2-2. It means that with just 3 games left to play Atletico have 77 points and Real Madrid and Barcelona have 75. Sevilla are almost out of the title race now and if Atletico beat Real Sociedad in midweek then Sevilla’s title chances are officially over.

With all that excitement in the bag let’s take a look at the players who made the team of the week.

Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak- Atletico Madrid 7pts

Jan Oblak is believed to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he proved it yet again as Atletico drew 0-0 away to Barcelona in a crucial game for the league leaders. Oblak made some superb saves and in total Barcelona had 7 shots on target but couldn’t find a way through.

Defender: Jose Gaya- Valencia 7pts

Jose Gaya kept a clean sheet as Valencia cruised to a 3-0 win over Valladolid. But Gaya earned some more points as he assisted in one of the goals, that’s his 6th assist of the season so far.

Defender: Mario Hermoso- Atletico Madrid 5pts

Mario Hermoso made some vital tackles as Atletico’s back four was tested to the limit as they managed to keep a clean sheet against Barcelona. Hermoso now has 74 points for the season.

Defender: Serginho Dest- Barcelona 5pts

Serginho Dest has had a good personal season with Barcelona and when he was called into action he helped Barca to keep a clean sheet as they drew 0-0 with Atletico Madrid in a tense game. Dest has helped to keep 10 clean sheets.

Defender: Robin Le Normand- Real Sociedad 5pts

Le Normand helped Real Sociedad to keep a clean sheet as they beat Elche 2-0 at the weekend. That is the 11th time the club have been able to do that when he has been in the team.

Midfielder: Ivan Rakitic- Sevilla 6pts

This was an interesting game for Ivan Rakitic who scored the penalty for Sevilla which seemed to have condemned Real Madrid to defeat. It felt as though Rakitic had done his former club Barcelona a huge favour as he scored a penalty which put them 2-1 up against Real Madrid, but the game ended 2-2.

Midfielder: Jose Luis Recio del Pozo- Eibar 6pts

Also known simply as Recio the midfielder scored the only goal of the game as Eibar won 1-0 against Getafe. It was a tense time too as it was an 89th minute penalty but Eibar with the help of Recio got all 3 points in the end.

Midfielder: Carlos Soler- Valencia 4pts

Carlos Soler is in great form and he earned another 4 points as he assisted in the clubs 2nd goal of the game in which they beat Valladolid 3-0. That was his 7th assist of the season and he has been involved in 16 goals so far this season.

Midfielder: Fernando- Sevilla 4pts

Fernando opened the scoring for Sevilla as they nearly stunned Real Madrid in a game which in the end finished 2-2. That was only the midfielder’s third goal of the season.

Striker: Jose Luis Morales- Levante 8pts

What a great weekend for Jose Luis Morales who scored both of his clubs goals as they drew 2-2 away to Alaves. Morales scored the goals in quick succession but the final results wasn’t to be. He has an impressive 13 goals so far now.

Striker: Maximiliano Gomez- Valencia 8pts

Gomez was able to score 2 goals as Valencia beat Valladolid 3-0 and it was an important win for the home side as they recorded their first victory in five games. Gomez now has seven goals for the season and is valued at 7.5m.

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La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 34

Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona all won and the league title looks like it will go down to the wire! The difference is just 2 points between the three teams with 4 games to play.

One team who look to have bowed out of a surprise title is Sevilla who lost at home to Athletic Bilbao. However they have the consolation prize of 4th place which means they will be playing in the Champions League.

There were just 19 goals scored in match day 34 but the Spanish league remains as thrilling as ever, let’s take a look at the best performing players over this past weekend.

Goalkeeper: Unai Simon- Athletic Bilbao 7pts

Unai Simon had a terrific game as he was under pressure constantly as Bilbao surprised Sevilla away from home to win the game 1-0. He now has 40 points and has had a solid season.

Defender: Stefan Savic- Atletico Madrid 5pts

This was Savic’s 16th clean sheet so far for Atletico Madrid as they nervously beat Elche 1-0 away form home to remain top of the league. Savic maintained his lines well and made some important blockages.

Defender: Rafa- Eibar 7pts

Eibar beat Alaves 3-0 at home and whilst Kike stole the headlines for his hat-trick Rafa did well to firstly back track and keep a clean sheet for the club. Secondly he wasn’t afraid to come forward and that paid off as he assisted for the 3rd goal. That was Rafa’s first assist of the season.

Defender: Kieran Trippier- Atletico Madrid 5pts

It hasn’t been an easy few months for Trippier but he defended well and probably played his best game for Atletico this year. The club are still top of the standings as they beat Elche 1-0.

Defender: Mario Gaspar- Villarreal 5pts

With another 5 points earned Mario Gaspar is now 2nd in the rankings for Villarreal defenders. Villarreal beat Getafe 1-0 and Gaspar has now helped to keep six clean sheets

Midfielder: Marcos Llorente- Atletico Madrid 6pts

Marcos Llorente continues to be so important for Atletico and he scored the only goal which was enough for Diego Simeone’s team to edge past Elche 1-0 and stay top of La Liga. Llorente has scored 12 goals and assisted in 10 in what is turning out to be a vintage season for the midfielder.

Midfielder: Casemiro- Real Madrid 6pts

Real Madrid made heavy weather of Osasuna at home but won the game 2-0. Casemiro scored the winning goal to earn him 6 points. Casemiro has scored 6 goals and is valued at 7.5m and he has been a consistent performer this season.

Midfielder: Carlos Soler- Valencia 6pts

Valencia lost 3-2 against Barcelona but they gave it everything. Carlos Soler at 1-3 down pulled a goal back and for the next ten minutes Valencia could have had a battling draw but it wasn’t to be. Soler has scored 9 goals this season.

Midfielder: Yannick Carrasco- Atletico Madrid 3pts

Carrasco makes the team of the week again but with only 3 points which was good enough. Still he had a solid game and helped to make the difference as he assisted for the 8th time this season in providing Llorente with the only goal of the game as Atletico beat Elche 1-0.

Striker: Kike- Eibar 14pts

What a fantastic weekend for Kike and all of his 3 goals were taken so well as Eibar overpowered Alaves 3-0. Kike scored a fantastic hat-trick to stun the visitors and bottom placed Eibar still have a chance to survive relegation. Can they repeat the trick next weekend and can Kike save them again? Kike has been magnificent for a club that have struggled and he has 12 goals and is valued at 6.5m.s

Striker: Lionel Messi- Barcelona 10pts

Messi again! He saved Barcelona at Valencia as he scored 2 more goals as Barca won 3-2 in a tension packed game. The win means that Barcelona could still win the title and are just 2 points behind Atletico Madrid. Messi has now scored 28 goals in La Liga and with 122 points he has the most points in the fantasy football

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La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 33

The top 4 in La Liga almost couldn’t be closer and just 3 points separates 1st placed Atletico Madrid from 4th placed Sevilla. Though the weekend has given advantage to Barcelona who are 2 points behind Atletico in 3rd place but have a game in hand over them and Real Madrid.

Atletico lost at the weekend and Real Madrid drew against Real Betis. There were wins for Barcelona and Sevilla, and though they will be the underdogs Sevilla can’t be ruled out of winning the title. It has at least been a very exciting season in Spain and this league title could well go down to the wire.

Let’s take a look at the players who made the fantasy team for La Liga this past week and you can check if any of your players have made the selection.

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois- Real Madrid 7pts

Courtois was the only goalkeeper in La Liga to earn the full 7 points. It’s not that other keepers didn’t keep a clean sheet but yellow cards can take points away. Courtois’s club Real Madrid had a poor result from their point of view at the weekend though as they could only draw 0-0 at home to Real Betis.

Defender: Stefan Savic- Atletico Madrid 8pts

This is a team full of Atletico Madrid players and we start with Stefan Savic who was able to earn 8 points this week. Earlier in the week Savic was part of a defence that kept a clean sheet as Atletico beat Huesca. At the weekend the club lost to Athletic Bilbao however Savic did score a goal as they went down 2-1. Despite giving the club hope, it wasn’t to be. That was Savic’s first goal of the season.

Defender: Raphael Varane- Real Madrid 5pts

Raphael Varane helped to keep a 13th clean sheet as Real Madrid drew 0-0 with Real Betis. Varane is the leading defender at the club with a total of 65 points this season.

Defender: Victor Ruiz- Real Betis 5pts

Victor Ruiz has helped to keep seven clean sheets so far for Betis and has 17 points so far for the season. He was solid in defence as Betis pulled off a terrific draw which finished 0-0.

Defender: Nacho- Real Madrid 5pts

Nacho is certainly one of the unsung heroes at Real Madrid and he is always the professional. He earned another 5 points as Madrid kept a clean sheet but not the desired result against Real Betis.

Midfielder: Yannick Carrasco- Atletico Madrid 8pts

Atletico played two games in a week and their first match against Huesca ended with victory. It was also a good game for Yannick Carrasco who scored his 5th goal of the season and kept a clean sheet. The midfielder now has 55 points and has been brilliant value at 6.5m.

Midfielder: Angel Correa- Atletico Madrid 6pts

Angel Correa has been solid this season for Atletico and he made a starring role in their victory over Huesca by scoring a goal. With 73 points Correa is the 2nd best midfielder for Diego Simeone’s team.

Midfielder: Marcos Llorente- Atletico Madrid 5pts

Marcos Llorente was brilliant against Huesca earlier last week as Atletico won 2-0. Llorente assisted in both goals. He has scored 11 goals and made a fantastic 10 assists so far and he is ranked as the best midfield player for the side with 90 points so far.

Midfielder: Portu- Real Sociedad 4pts

Portu scored as Real Sociedad beat Celta Vigo 2-1 earlier last week. Portu picked up another four points to add to his already 59 points for his club. Currently Portu is the best ranked player for his club and is 1 point ahead of Remiro.

Striker: Roberto Soldado- Granada 12pts

Roberto Soldado earned a fantastic 12 points over the week as Granada hammered Eibar 4-1 and he grabbed 2 of those goals. He also scored at the weekend although his side lost 2-1 to Sevilla. Soldado now has 9 goals so far and has acquired 31 points.

Striker: Antoine Griezmann- Barcelona 11pts

It’s not always been an easy time for Griezmann at Barcelona but he has had a good week. Griezmann scored both of Barcelona’s goals at the weekend as they won a very important fixture 2-1 away to Villarreal. Griezmann has now scored 11 goals so far this season in the league.

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£150m? Why wonderkid Haaland isn’t even worth £70m

Move over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo- Erling Haaland is the new kid in town and soon every kid in the playground will be donning his shirt. Which new club that will be is still anyone’s guess but Haaland has taken the headlines by storm and it seems that over the past two weeks everyone has been talking about the Norwegian player who is still only 20.

The hype seems genuine enough, Haaland scores goals, but he is tall, huge in fact, and is quite a presence and his speed is lightning quick, his current club Borussia Dortmund seem to have found a gem of a player.

Haaland has already scored 124 goals in all competitions in his career and this season alone has 33 goals from 33 games. It is stunning and certainly reminds one of Messi and Ronaldo’s records. In short Dortmund are not going to keep him and he is certainly going to be transferred this summer.

In truth at 20 he could probably do with another season in the Bundesliga, but here’s the catch- he can leave next summer for £68m, that is stipulated in his buyout contract. Now that would still be a tidy profit for Dortmund of almost £50m, but of course they want more.

If Haaland was to leave this summer it is possible that he could go for upwards of £150m, that’s the figure that has been talked about. The likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and PSG may just be able to convince their purse strings and in some cases their banks to hand over that kind of money for a player who may well light up world football for the next 15 years.

But let’s face it, it is a gamble.

The Bundesliga with all due respect isn’t the highest bar to judge oneself. True the current European champions are Bayern Munich, but they are almost a one off. Like PSG who reached last year’s final too- it doesn’t mean that particular league is strong. That isn’t to say German football isn’t strong, but currently one would have to question.

Take Timo Werner at Chelsea who was scoring goals for fun in the Bundesliga, when Chelsea were able to snap up the German international for around £60m it looked like a bargain. However Werner has had a poor debut season with the Blues, and quite frankly his confidence looks shot. He may improve next season, then again…. The Premier League, La Liga and Serie A are simply at a higher level, and you can get found out.

It doesn’t seem like Haaland will have any troubles adjusting to a different league but when prices of £150m are being quoted doesn’t someone have to say, well, hang on a second?

What has Haaland proved so far, yes he looks good, yes he can score goals, but he hasn’t done anything significant yet. True he’s young but how about make a mark- because all of the other greats have done so.

Imagine for example in the 2nd leg of Dortmund’s quarter final Champions League tie against Manchester City Haaland makes the difference and helps knock City out of the competition. That would be quite a marker to lay down. No one is expecting Haaland to join his new club loaded with trophies in his resume just yet, but perhaps one would like to see some showing in a big match first.

It is why in reality Haaland is only worth his buyout clause he hasn’t really been able to make that difference not to a team yet, not like Kylian Mbappe for example, although of course Mbappe is in a better team.

Dortmund of course will understand that if they sold Haaland for £70m one day he could be sold on for £200m plus and they don’t want to miss out, that is the business of football. Some players simply are not worth what clubs are prepared to offer.

Ideally everyone should be happy with a smaller fee, it’s still profit for his original club but Dortmund will go for the top price, and honestly you can’t blame them for that. As for Haaland the truth of how great he will be is only going to be revealed next season at his new club.

 

La Liga: Best 11 Players of Week 29

Week 29 looks like it was a turning point in La Liga was a huge blow to Atletico Madrid’s chances of winning the title. Atletico lost 1-0 away to Sevilla and have seen their huge lead cut down. Real Madrid are only 3 points behind and if Barcelona win their game in hand they will only be 1 point behind. Is the writing on the wall for Atletico? It looks increasingly likely.

Barcelona didn’t play at the weekend but they remain the best in form side in La Liga and have earned an incredible 28 points from a possible 30.

Let’s take a look below at the players who impressed the most as La Liga returned this past weekend.

Goalkeeper: Bono- Sevilla 7pts

Bono has been here so many times and is clearly one of the best goalkeeper’s in Spain this season. This was his 13th clean sheet of the season and what it was as Sevilla marched to Champions League qualification as they beat league leaders Atletico Madrid 1-0.

Defender: Ferland Mendy- Real Madrid 5pts

Ferland Mendy has been of Real Madrid’s best defenders this season and he earned another 5 points at the weekend to take his tally to 53. He has helped to keep 11 clean sheets so far.

Defender: Nacho- Real Madrid 5pts

Nacho has 30 points now as Real Madrid beat Eibar 2-0 at home to keep yet another clean sheet and possibly close in on the league title. Nacho made some great judgments on the ball and had a solid game.

Defender: Pedro Lopez- Huesca 5pts

Pedro Lopez showed a lot of maturity at the back for Huesca as they pulled off a terrific result to beat Levante away from home by 2-0. He’s hardly played any games this season and that is why he only has 9 points overall. His value is worth 5m.

Defender: Alberto Moreno- Villarreal 5pts

Alberto Moreno was part of a Villarreal defence that kept a clean sheet as they went to Granada and won 3-0. Moreno now has a total of 5 points given that this was indeed his first game for the club this season.

Midfielder: Marco Asensio- Real Madrid 6pts

Marco Asensio had an interesting game for Real Madrid as they beat Eibar 2-0. He scored the opening goal but it was ruled out by VAR but then a couple of minutes later he made amends for that and scored a proper opening goal.

Midfielder: Casemiro- Real Madrid 4pts

Casemiro has had a solid and professional season with Real and he assisted in the clubs first goal as they beat Eibar 2-0. Casemiro now has two assists for the season and has a total of 40 points so far.

Midfielder: Jesus Navas- Sevilla 4pts

Jesus Navas helped out at the back at times as Sevilla beat Atletico Madrid 1-0. Navas also assisted in the only goal of the game, to round up a very good performance from the midfielder. Currently he is the clubs 4th best midfielder so far.

Midfielder: David Ferreiro- Huesca 4pts

David Ferreiro assisted in Huesca’s goal as they beat Levante 2-0 at the weekend to earn a good 4 points. He has 3 assists now and is ranked at number 1 Huesca midfielder with a total of 23 points.

Striker: Gerard Moreno- Villarreal 14pts

It was a special weekend for Gerard Moreno who doesn’t always get the credit that he deserves. Villarreal beat Granada 3-0 and he scored all the goals to get a hat-trick. Moreno now has 19 goals this season and is 2nd in the top goalscorers.

Striker: Iago Aspas- Celta Vigo 8pts

Iago Aspas had a terrific game as he scored and assisted in the other 2 goals as Celta Vigo beat Alaves 3-1. Aspas has had a good solid season and has appeared in the team of the weeks a few times now. He has 10 goals and has also assisted in a further 10.

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