Ranking the 5 best La Liga players from GW 1
Capping off weeks of anticipation, gameweek 1 of the 2021-22 season of the Spanish first-division - La Liga - officially got underway on the 13th of August, with Valencia hosting Getafe. La Liga's big three - Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona - were also in action over the weekend and hit the ground running.
Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 away win at Deportivo Alaves, while their cross-town rivals and defending champions Atletico Madrid picked up a narrow 2-1 away win at Celta Vigo. Barcelona also hit four goals, winning 4-2 against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.
Although the league season is in its infancy, many stars fired on all cylinders on the first matchday itself, registering match-winning performances for their respective teams. Today, we will talk a little about the performances of the La Liga stars, and tell you who shone the brightest. Now, without further ado, let us take a look at the
5 best performers of matchweek 1 in La Liga 2021-22
#5 Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has been a constant source of inspiration since signing for the club in 2012. So it was perfectly natural for him to step up in the absence of his midfield companion, Toni Kroos.
Modric was responsible for dictating the tempo of the match. He did not allow Deportivo Alaves any breathing room and was dropping deep regularly to fetch the ball. With his distribution, he immaculately connected the two halves of the team, finishing the match with 75 completed passes. If that was not enough, he also completed three dribbles — the highest on the pitch.
Luka Modric’s highlight came in the second half when he swung the ball in for Nacho inside the area and saw the defender tuck it in. It was the perfect depiction of Luka Modric’s vision and awareness — aspects Real Madrid will count on over the course of the La Liga campaign.
#4 Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
While Real Madrid and Barcelona enjoyed relatively easy runs in the opening match week of La Liga 2021-22, defending champions Atletico Madrid had to fight tooth and nail to book the maximum points at Celta Vigo.
Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa may not be a Golden Boot contender in La Liga, but the player has plenty of quality to help his team. For his first goal, he combined with Thomas Lemar to set himself up just outside the box. He smashed the ball into the top-right corner to give Atletico the lead.
His second goal came just five minutes after Atletico Madrid conceded the equalizer. This time, Koke’s exquisite ball found Correa inside the box, who made no mistake slotting the ball into the far corner. Thanks to Correa's brace, Atletico booked their first win of the season.