Let’s get into what he can bring to Fulham and the Premier League.

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Position: ST
Nationality: Spain
Preferred foot: Both footed
Age: 22

Who is Gonzalo Garcia?

A Spanish centre forward, who can play on the right wing if needed, but primarily a striker. Gifted with unbelievable finishing ability, really strong with both feet, and strong positional sense.

Scoring 6 goals last season in La Liga for Real Madrid, a moderate return. Given some context however, he was behind arguably the best striker in the world currently. A move away was always on the cards.

Garcia burst onto the scene for Real during the club world cup, under Xabi Alonso. Deputising for the injured Kylian Mbappe he managed to score 4 goals in the tournament and really made a name for himself. Proving that Real Madrid can still produce players of immense talent, something which we haven’t really seen over the last 10/15 years.

Style of play

Link up play. It’s what has caught my eye when watching Gonzalo in the past. He is a seriously intelligent footballer and works for the team. Engaging in elite link up play with those around him, I think it’s a match made in heaven for players like Kevin & Oscar Bobb at Fulham. A really busy kind of player who likes to come into midfield positions to free up what goes on beyond him at times. Selfless.

Here in this screenshot, the ball is played straight into Gonzalo’s feet. Now instead of holding the ball up, potentially being crowded out, he has already scanned around and spotted Vini Jr in the space. Flicking the ball through his legs behind him which helps him take two players out the game completely. This creates a chance for Madrid, almost something out of nothing.

It is quick combinations like this, that have Gonzalo gaining admirers across Europe. Being the selfless one in aid of the team to dominate offensive positions.

His finishing is clinical. It really is quite something special when you consider his age, and the fact he hasn’t had that much game time during his time at the Bernabeu.

In the pictures against Real Betis he displays a couple of things. Firstly, the timing of a run, pinning two central defenders. The ball over from Valverde is brilliant, of course it’s Valverde. See the movement from Garcia, right in between both Betis centre backs, backing up his quality attacking positioning. He has really good understanding of space and timing of a situation, putting himself in and around positions to be involved in play, and contributing.

Garcia is also showing top quality technical prowess. The touch on the chest to bring the ball under control quickly, and the volley into the bottom corner of the goal. Not to mention the finish too, it’s clean and super composed.

I remember he scored this goal back in January, immediately thinking if a player like Mbappe had done that, we wouldn’t hear or see the end of it.

Gonzalo is a problem from set pieces. His ability to be in the area for a goal scoring opportunity is to be admired, he positions himself very well. Have a look at these screenshots from the same game against Real Betis (Sorry Betis fans).

Seemingly taking up space, it looks easy enough to mark him and see the set piece out for either a goal kick or a goalkeeper intervention. Gonzalo darts across the defender as the ball comes into the area, giving him a false sense of security.

Only for him then to peel away from the Betis man in one move and head the ball home.

This is definitely something Fulham fans can be excited about, I can see him scoring a few of these next season, tormenting defenders in England with this kind of set up.

Gonzalo Garcia’s biggest strengths

• Finishing

• Aerial dominance

• Hold up play

• Positioning

• Link up play

• Long shots

Pressing from the front

Gonzalo Garcia is known for his high pressing abilities. He is really good at applying defensive pressure, stopping opposing defenders play out from the back and beat presses that have been triggered.

In La Liga 25/26 season, according to GradientSports.com, Garcia applied over 500 defensive pressures. Bare in mind he only played just over 1000 minutes of football for Real Madrid last season.

Gonzalo Garcia in stats

With the good there are always areas to improve on for footballers, especially at the elite levels of the game.

We can see here Gonzalo’s goal conversion, expected assists and aerial statistics are climbing, and very positive. One area of note though is duels. Premier League football is tough, it just is. A super demanding league and schedule. Where strikers are pushed to their limits and met with fierce defensive shapes and individuals. This is definitely an area of his game that does need some work, I’m not saying it’s the be all and end all of the Premier League but for a striker it really helps. Continued physical development for Gonzalo can only be a good thing in England, if he can add this to his game it’ll stand him in good stead.

During his time at Real Madrid, Gonzalo Garcia scored 13 goals in 51 appearances. For Real Madrid Castilla he netted 30 goals in 71. He knows where the goal is, and I genuinely believe his goalscoring ability won’t be an issue in England.

Overall thoughts

I think this is a really interesting and positive signing for Fulham, I really like it. When it was announced that Arbeloa was going to be taking charge of Fulham in the new season, I did think he would probably do a raid on Real Madrid, but probably some of their Castilla players. I didn’t think this one could be pulled out the bag, I’m excited to see what Garcia can bring to the Premier League.

Patience and caution must be advised however for Fulham fans. It’s a new league, new lifestyle and furthermore a totally new environment for a 22 year old kid, who’s spent all his life in Madrid. He hasn’t played that much football at the highest level, in and out the Madrid team off the bench mostly, there’s surely going to be a bedding in phase.

Given time to fully bed in and develop some areas of his game I think we could really see the real deal coming through at Craven Cottage this season. His manager Alvaro Arbeloa is no stranger to Garcia, what he can do and the demands of Premier League football.

All in all a really good signing. Who of course with good performances and contributions will only hold his transfer value, and potentially even develop into a really useful asset for Fulham in monetary terms.

What do you think?

Once again thank you so much for reading, if you’re liking this series so far please don’t hesitate to like and leave a comment!

A World cup winner. Osasuna’s light in a pretty dark season, Victor Muñoz is a Liverpudlian now. The 23-year-old arrives on Merseyside after making quite the name for himself in Spain, following stints at Real Madrid and Osasuna.

Position - LW / RW
Preferred foot - Right, but comfortable on both feet
Age - 23

Signing from Osasuna for a fee of around 40 million euros.

Who is Muñoz?

Predominantly a left winger, Victor Muñoz boasts a host of talents. Being able to play across a front 3 is one of his key attributes. He has featured a few times for Osasuna on the right and as a striker, but mainly on the left wing, where last season he posted a return of 6 goals and 2 assists. It isn’t bad, when you consider the Osasuna side he was apart of finished 17th in La Liga, surviving the drop on the final day of the season.

He arrives in Liverpool as one of Spain’s most promising talents. Unfortunately we weren’t able to see what he can do in this years World Cup due to injury, but I’m sure he’ll find his feet pretty quickly in his new surroundings on Merseyside.

The Catalonian joins the reds with plenty of admirers, one of them being me. So let’s get into it, and go through what Liverpool fans can expect from their new 40 million man.

Style of play

A direct winger, who carries the ball better than most you’re going to see. Seriously forward thinking attacker, who is always up for the challenge of taking on full back and anyone else who stands in his way.

An Impressive 1v1 player / 1v2 player, there have been occasions we’ve seen Victor at a disadvantage in possession, up against 2/3 defenders and he has came away with the ball, something I will show you below.

He sticks out on the flanks like a traditional winger, pulling the full back over to him to stretch and unsettle defensive shapes. This is something that we’ve seen time and again during his time at Osasuna.

Here is Victor Muñoz seemingly in a bit of a sticky situation in the attacking third of the pitch. Due to sheer explosiveness and determination, he blasts past both defensive players.

Quick body movement and pace, he’s gone and good luck catching him. It’s almost unplayable at times. It’s definitely something that I can see being a massive asset in the Premier League, especially under his new boss Andoni Iraola.

Another example of Muñoz’s agility, power and determination. Showcasing low centre of gravity, acceleration and genuine 1v1 dominance, well 1v3. This time against his old employers, Real Madrid.

Here he is again, in that position mentioned above, on the flank dragging players over to him, displaying solid hold up play against one of Spain’s greatest right backs Dani Carvajal.

The hold up, spin away from Carvajal and a flick past him for that extra bit of humiliation, sprinting into the attacking third of the pitch. His ability to hold onto the ball, and hold off defenders with his body all in one motion and then progress the play, is why he has attracted such a big move to England.

Rather than recycling possession, Muñoz likes to link play and progress the attack further up the pitch, this is something that has definitely featured heavily whilst playing more in Primera.

Usually I think, what we’ve became used to with wingers is recycling possession, keeping hold of the ball so other players can join the attack. With Muñoz it’s constantly progressive I absolutely love it, it’s pure confidence in his own game and it’s admirable, a real throwback player.

He plays a flick around the corner, gets the ball back from his teammate and suddenly in this phase of play Osasuna are in a 3v2 situation in their favour. All due to Victor’s presence of mind and willingness to be progressive in an area of the pitch that many would hold and recycle.

Victor Muñoz Biggest strengths

• Ball carrying

• Determination

• Pace

• Agility

• 1v1 situations

• Progressive carries

Defensive contributions

Victor doesn’t tend to go to sleep out of possession. Which has been worth it’s weight in gold, especially for a side like Osasuna. They’ve relied on players like Muñoz to counter press. When possession was lost, his tenacity was mainly a reason as to why they would regain it so quickly, and then be able to create situations where Osasuna could counter attack.

He is relentless in winning the ball back in defensive phases of play, a perfect fit for Iraola and Liverpool.

High pressing, it’s just what he does. Looking at the screenshot, theres a squeeze in the corner. As soon as that ball is recovered Muñoz is ready to turn out on his right, and as we know with that ball carrying ability it spells serious danger for the opposition, he is at the spearhead of the counter every time.

Victor Muñoz stats 25/26

Muñoz leaves defenders for dead, this is reflected in some of his numbers I’ve managed to pull up. I have taken these statistics from The Transfer Flow.

He is up there with some of La Liga’s best in these categories. Crossing, 1v1 dribbling and progressive runs.

It’s no surprise that he is featuring near the top in some of them categories really is it? Given some of the things we’ve gone through in the article so far. 1v1 he’s a beast, the way he brings the attack forward with him is fantastic, it’s eye catching and most certainly brave.

Judging by some of these numbers, it’s easy to see why Liverpool and many other teams across Europe were keen on acquiring Muñoz. And explains why Spain manager Luis de la Fuente was so keen to integrate him into the Spanish national side so quickly.

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Patience is key with Muñoz

He’s 23. Of course are there things he needs to work on. His creative output will be a talking point.

Victor Muñoz has a very high ceiling, depending on what the game situation requires at the time he can play many different positions. Having said this, it could slow his progression down into evolving into a full time left winger for Liverpool. I can see scenarios where he comes off the bench for Iraola’s side perhaps chasing a goal and being deployed anywhere across that front line.

Now this could be a touch outlandish, but why not it’s my scout report. He has slight similarities to Sadio Mane. The pace, the aggression on the ball, confidence and just pure determination to beat a player. Now is he actually the next Sadio Mane? Well, no he isn’t, but there are certainly traits that are similar.

I hope to do many more of these Scout Reports throughout this season. How do you think Victor Muñoz will do in the Premier League?

Thank you all so much for reading

There’s a lot to unpack about this fixture on Sunday evening. Lamine Yamal vs Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni vs Luis de la Fuente and most importantly Spain vs Argentina, a fixture we haven’t seen on a World Cup stage since 1966…

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Spain’s run in the knockouts rounds:

Austria 3-0 win
Portugal 1-0 win
Belgium 2-1 win
France 2-0 win

Spain came into this World Cup with an unshakeable confidence, and rightly so. I think people have forgotten that they’re European Champions after their win against England in Berlin two years ago. Spain boast the best defensive record in the competition so far, having conceded 1 goal across the group stages and the knockouts, that goal was scored by De Ketelaere of Belgium.

The Spanish are like robots it’s a system, sort of similar to having 11 computers on the pitch, something that was even more apparent against Kylian Mbappe and his French side. A serious robust defence from Spain, saw France post an xG of 0.30, their lowest total in the whole tournament. An insane statistic, and actually the lowest total France have posted in a World Cup since records began in 1966.

If Spain win on Sunday, it’ll make them the current holders of the European Championship and the World Cup. Something only Spain themselves, Germany and France have done. Spain achieved this in 2008, 2010 and then went onto win the Euros again in 2012. A historic achievement which only they have done!

Key Players

Aymeric Laporte

The ever present in the heart of that Spanish defence. He has looked like a rolls-royce in what is probably going to be his last World Cup for Spain. A part of the defence that’s kept 6 clean sheets, Mr consistent posting only one below a 7 rating according to Fotmob. Laporte and Cubarsi compliment each other perfectly, Laporte wins the battles and Cubarsi mops it all up.

Mikel Oyarzabal

What else can we say about Mikel. He took A LOT of stick for his opening game performance against Cabo Verde, but I tell you what he’s responded. He’s scored 5 goals in the tournament and assisted once, his best game came against Austria. Scoring twice and showing that he definitely can lead that Spanish front 3. The man for a final, he’s scored in Copa del Rey finals and Euros finals. Can he add to that this Sunday? You wouldn’t bet against him.

Argentina’s run in the knockout rounds:

Cabo Verde 3-2 win
Egypt 3-2 win
Switzerland 3-1 win
England 2-1 win

Although they’ve conceded 7 goals in the World Cup, Argentina have scored the most. The argentines have scored 19 goals, that’s already 4 more goals than they scored in their entire 2022 World Cup campaign, which they went onto win in Qatar…

A win on Sunday would see Argentina join an elite club. Can they become back to back champions? Something only Italy (1934 & 1938) and Brazil (1958 & 1962) have accomplished. It does feel like something that Lionel Messi could do, which is scary. Considering the amount he has achieved in the game of football, is this his final peak…

Argentina boast a 100% win record in the World Cup, unlike Spain they have won all their games. It hasn’t always been so straight forward but they’ve managed to get the job done whenever there has been a question asked. Probably the biggest of questions was asked against England in the semi finals. A firey encounter which saw Argentina come out on top after going a goal down, after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for England.

Key Players

Lionel Messi

Obviously, Leo Messi. I didn’t mention Lamine Yamal for Spain as a key player, well because it’s a bit obvious. But how can we ignore these Leo Messi statistics though…
8 goals, 4 assists, xG 5.3, 25 chances created & 8 big chances created. Carrying Argentina once more?

We don’t get to watch Messi as much anymore since his move to Inter Miami. But I always think about something I saw on Twitter in 2022 and again in 2026. Someone tweeted ‘It’s that time again where Lionel Messi shows everyone he is still the best in the world’.

Against England he didn’t score, but he assisted twice. The second of those assists was absolutely fantastic, weaker foot cross stood up towards the back post, an open goal for Martinez to send Argentina to the final.

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Enzo Fernandez

The Chelsea man has been brilliant. He just grows for Argentina, his influence grows and grows. His passing has kept this Argentina side ticking over, scoring a massive goal in the semi final a whipping shot that flew past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

A consistent goal threat from midfield, which I’m sure will be something Luis de la Fuente will be ensuring his players know all about.

Things you should know 🇦🇷 🏆 🇪🇸

• Spain are the first team in World Cup history to keep 6 clean sheets in one tournament

• Argentina have won their last 14 matches, their longest run in World Cup history

• Spain have won 8 consecutive knockout matches at major tournaments, that’s a European record

• Lionel Messi is 39 years old, and still the best player in the world…🐐

Lionel Scaloni vs Luis de la Fuente

It’s master vs the apprentice in the final

This will be the first time the two have faced off against each other, and what a place to do it, a World Cup final. In 2017, Lionel Scaloni enrolled into the Spanish Federation to complete his coaching badges, it was there he met current Spain boss Luis de la Fuente, who at the time was in charge of Spain’s u19 side.

Luis de la Fuente is aiming to become a World champion for the first time, Lionel Scaloni is aiming for back to back titles. That isn’t too bad for two managers who have never managed a single minute of top flight football between them.

There is genuine respect between the pair from their time working together. Scaloni heaped the praise on the Spain boss, calling him a “great guy’’ also explaining how it’s “a pleasure to see how he speaks, and carries himself’’ Luis De La Fuente responded by saying Scaloni is “a true master and great figure’’.

But who comes out on top?

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Lamine Yamal vs Lionel Messi

The boys from La Masia. Barcelona through and through. And yes we all know about the infamous bath picture. Finally fate has brought them together on the biggest of stages. Both are absolutely no stranger to these types of occasions.

Lamine Yamal at the tender age of 19 has already played in UCL semi finals, European championship finals and now a World Cup final. By his own admission and standards, Yamal hasn’t had the best of World Cups but let’s not forget he was injured coming in this. He needed to be managed into the tournament after picking up an injury towards the end of the season at Barcelona. Completing his first 90 minutes against Portugal on the 6th July, he’s a constant threat is Lamine, and definitely someone who Argentina will be keeping a close eye on.

In an interview over the last few days, Leo Messi has described Lamine Yamal as ‘‘one of the worlds very best young players’’ after talking to Tom Brady about the infamous picture. Messi also went onto say he has been keeping a close eye on Lamine’s progress as he does play for the club he loves dearly. He also described the picture as ‘‘something crazy’’ later stating that ‘‘life is full of surprises’’.

Similar to Scaloni and De le Fuente, the two are facing off for the first time in their careers, and of course it would have to be a World Cup final, the only stage big enough to host 2 of the world’s biggest stars.

Messi vs Lamine comparison at 19 (Taken from The Metro)

Safe to say Lamine has had quite the start to his career already, many more appearances, goals, assists and international appearances. At the same age, the one big honour Messi holds over Lamine is a champions league winners medal, something Messi won in 2006 after Barcelona defeated Arsenal 2-1. Yamal has one more year to even that playing field however…

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Primera Scout prediction

This has got all the attributes to be one of the best finals we could ever see, mainly for the things mentioned above, the reunions.

I am going to go 2-1 Spain. I just don’t think Argentina will have enough defensively to keep out Lamine Yamal and co. Spain won’t do an England, they aren’t going to drop off towards their own goalkeepers 6 yard box, if they get a chance they will take everything, something I genuinely believe Argentina won’t be able to live with.

As ever thanks so much for reading, enjoy the final!

We will go for a 4-3-3 formation, the only formation really worthy in Spain, in my opinion.

Goalkeeper: Joan Garcia - Barcelona

Where to begin, he crossed the divide last summer. It was a risk, but a risk that paid off. Winning the league in his debut season in goal for Barcelona, keeping the most clean sheets this season out of any goalkeeper in Spain. He’s my keeper for sure, and let’s be honest even last season when he was Espanyol’s number one, he was probably in the TOTS then too. 15 clean sheets this season, 4 in front, behind him only Thibaut Courtois & David Soria of Getafe. Joan’s save percentage this season is 78.5%, oh and he’s prevented 10.1 goals this season for Barca (according to FotMob) an insanely good season. Primera Scout’s #1 🫡

Right back: Santiago Mouriño - Villarreal

His debut season for Villarreal, and what a season it’s been for him. Amongst teammates, he ranks top 3 in a lot of defensive categories. Defensive contributions per 90 (10.2) tackles per 90 and recoveries per 90. He is everywhere for Villarreal, some may say a little too eager given he commits the most fouls, has the joint most yellow cards and red cards. However we don’t mind that, we love a little bit of needle, don’t we?!

It was close between Santiago and Marcos Llorente, but we can’t not have a Villarreal player in this team.

Centre back: Eric Garcia - Barcelona

I was never really convinced by Eric Garcia. Watching him in the Premier League a few years ago, his time at Manchester City never really filled me with confidence. The last 18 months however, Eric has been a revelation, and became one of Hansi Flick’s most important players. Amongst team mates Eric ranks top 3 in categories like, interceptions per game, minutes played and tackles per 90. He is such an important piece of that Barcelona jigsaw, similar to Marcos Llorente, Eric can play a number of different positions and has done this season. Featuring 32 times for Barcelona this season in Primera, scoring 1 goal and assisting twice.

Centre back: Pau Cubarsi - Barcelona

Arguably, the best defender in Spain this season. For someone who is still only 19 years of age, it’s incredible. He’s played the most minutes for Barca this season, and has the most accurate passes per match of any other Barcelona player! Dominating defensive categories such as defensive contributions per match, clearances per match and blocks per match. My centre back pairing of him and Eric Garcia complement each other beautifully, shown here by this graphic.

You may be thinking there aren’t a lot of duels being won defensively here, and that’s fair. But, this is where my first honourable mention is about to step in, Gerard Martin.

Gerard has had some season. Playing less minutes than Garcia & Cubarsi but adding steel. Winning more defensive duels than the pair combined. He was very nearly in this team, this season he’s been asked to play a couple of positions across the back line. Debuting primarily as a left back under Hansi Flick, I think Barcelona have found his role at centre back 🏆

Left back: Carlos Romero - Espanyol

Mr consistent this season for Espanyol, Carlos Romero is gaining admirers across Spain. 8 goals contributions this season in Primera. His chance creation is moderate, but his consistency gets him in my team. Third most minutes played for Espanyol, making the most tackles per 90 and 4th on the goalscoring list this season, let’s add some finesse to our back 4.

My left back 💪

Midfield

Onto the midfield now, and these three have been standouts for me. I think they can play anywhere in a three man midfield so we will go through them, in no particular order…

Midfield: Luis Milla - Getafe

Granted Luis Milla did a lot of his heavy lifting last year from August to December. However he is still going in my team, 10 assists this season, in a Getafe side that barely create anything. Getafe have scored 31 goals this season in La Liga, the second lowest in the division, Luis Milla has been involved in 10 of those goals. They’re having a moment right now Getafe, and Milla has probably been at the heart of it. Ahead of the majority of his teammates in categories like xA, accurate passes, chances created, big chances created and above all else assists!

Midfield: Pedri - Barcelona

Is this your first time reading one of my posts? Pedri is my guy. You absolutely cannot have a La Liga midfield without this fella at the centre of it. Starting only 22 matches this season due to injury, Pedri has still managed to rack up 10 goal contributions, with seriously impressive stats. With some pretty overwhelmingly good stats amongst team mates and across the league, he keeps this midfield ticking over. One of the best passers in the league, second at Barcelona for chances created behind only Lamine Yamal. Also showcasing some incredible defensive capability this season, ranking top 3 amongst team mates for most recoveries per 90 and possession won in the final third. Arguably Barcelona’s best player, he’s in the side and Pedri is my captain.

Midfield: Federico Valverde - Real Madrid

Valverde, where do we start with the one man band? Playing everywhere this season for Madrid, he is a machine. Valverde, Pedri & Luis Milla in a 3 man midfield sounds good to me. Five goals this season and 8 assists, Federico lands himself 4th on the goals + assists leaderboards for Real, which in the context of things is quite impressive. Playing right back, right wing and central midfield across the season and still managing to deliver performances for Madrid. The most eye catching of the performances wasn’t actually in the league, it was a hatrick against Manchester City in the champions league, that night he was playing right midfield. He can do it all. He’s in absolutely no question ✅

Forward line

Well, we need goals and creativity. These three I am going to pick have bags of it, and absolutely no one can contest these picks.

Right wing: Lamine Yamal - Barcelona

The best player in the world currently? Lamine needs no introduction, let’s be honest. He walks into any team of the season. 18 years of age he can do no wrong, starting 26 matches this season in Primera, delivering 27 goal contributions (16 goals & 11 assists).

The most big chances created in the league, highest in the xA charts and the most assists in the league.

Injured for the back end of the season, he has still played an integral part in Barcelona going back to back winning La Liga.

Striker: Vedat Muriqi - Mallorca

Muriqi… what a player. 22 goals this season, he is giving Mallorca the best chance of staying in the division. The first Mallorca player since the 2010/11 season to score more than 6 headed goals in the league, if he gets a chance with his head, it’s a goal.

Second top scorer in the league, only behind Kylian Mbappe. A cold blooded goal scorer, he goes right into the team. Lamine assist, Muriqi goal. ⚽️

Left wing: Kylian Mbappe - Real Madrid

I guess a mixed season for Kylian, on and off the pitch. A petition to get Mbappe out of Madrid has reached over 30 million signatures but we aren’t signing it, he’s our top goal scorer. 24 goals & 4 assists for the season, the Frenchman has done all he can for Real this season, some may say not enough.

Top of the goals + assists charts for Madrid, ahead of Vinicius Jr. Amongst team mates he ranks in the top 3 in many offensive categories, big chances created, shots per 90, xA and xG per 90.

Mbappe, Muriqi & Lamine as a front 3. Although Kylian has played primarily as a striker in his time at Madrid, to get into this team he’s playing left wing. I think he’ll be ok with that.

Honourable mentions

Pablo Fornals, He’s created the most chances in Primera this season (82).

Ferran Torres, Barcelona’s top scorer this season with 16 goals 🔥

Aaron Escandell, If it wasn’t for Aaron, Real Oviedo would’ve been relegated around 2 months before they actually were. 3rd out of all La Liga goalkeepers this season for goals prevented and save percentage. Deserves his flowers

Alberto Moleiro, debut season in Villarreal. Replacing Alex Baena wasn’t easy, but he’s made a good go of it, posting 10 goals this season and 5 assists.

Arda Güler, yes an interesting inclusion. I think Arda has had a brilliant season, given all the chaos at Madrid, he’s had a small breakthrough this season. (No this isn’t because I was at the game against Elche when he scored from the half way line👀) 13 goal contributions in 25 starts for Real this season, couldn’t go unnoticed ✅

We have came to the end of my team of the season. Let’s recap it quick…

GK: Joan Garcia

RB: Santiago Mouriño

CB: Eric Garcia

CB: Pau Cubarsi

LB: Carlos Romero

CM: Federico Valverde

CM: Pedri

CM: Luis Milla

LW: Kylian Mbappe

ST: Vedat Muriqi

RW: Lamine Yamal

As ever, thank you so much for reading this article. Do you agree with my picks? Who have I missed out!?

Take care everyone 🙏🏼

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid are chasing their 11th Copa title, and their first since the 2012/2013 season when they face Real Sociedad on Saturday evening in Seville, at Real Betis’ temporary home La Cartuja stadium. Atletico come into the final after quite a mixed bag of results in the league and European action. Defeats to Real Madrid, Barcelona & Sevilla in Primera, however managing to hold their nerve against La Liga leaders Barcelona over two legs in the champions league to reach their first semi final since 2017!

Atletico’s run to the final of the Copa wasn’t without its, let’s say interest moments. A nervy 3-2 win over Atletico Baleares in the round of 32, then a less than convincing 1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruña. Their most convincing win actually came at La Cartuja against Real Betis in the quarter final, blasting past Manuel Pelligrini’s side to secure a 5-0 victory. Then a week later they played Hansi Flick’s Barcelona off the park in a 4-0 victory, a result where all 4 goals came in the first half, but only being the 1st leg of the tie nerves crept in. The second leg Barcelona won 3-0 at the Camp Nou, despite Marc Bernal’s heroics on the night it wasn’t enough, Atletico were heading to the final.

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Team News

Atletico number 1 Jan Oblak should be available after his muscle strain and could feature, although unlikely as Juan Muso has started all 5 Copa del Rey games. David Hancko and Marc Pubil should also be fit, but by the looks and sounds of things it’s a game too quick for Jose Giminez. There does seem to be expectation that Pablo Barrios will be fit after it was confirmed he is back in first team training.

Real Sociedad could be without a couple of their players for Saturdays final. Igor Zubeldia and Alvaro Odriozola have been ruled out. There is good news with the return of winger Take Kubo, Gonzalo Guedes and Euro 2024 final hero, Mikel Oyarzabal.

Head to Head

The last time the two sides met in the Copa del Rey, Real Sociedad ran out 2-0 winners in January 2022. Goals from Adnan Januzaj & then Real Sociedad striker Alexander Sorloth, who will line up against his former side this weekend.

Overall however, Atletico do hold the cards. Unbeaten in their last 9 meetings with Sociedad, winning 6 and drawing 3.

Real Sociedad will be backing themselves though, if omens are anything to go by. They’ve already played Atletico Madrid in a Copa del Rey final in 1987, and won 4-2 on penalties after the game finished 2-2 after normal time.

Real Sociedad

Well let’s be honest, non of us seen this coming in December. Sociedad plummeting in La Liga, change was needed and quick. Pelligrino Matarazzo joined, becoming the first American to manage in La Liga. What a job he has done, Sociedad up to 7th in Primera and fighting for a European place, back where they belong.

Unlike Atletico, La Real have played more games in the competition to reach the final. In the earlier rounds, Sociedad played Negreira winning 3-0, then onto the 2nd round where they played Reus, winning 2-0. The round of 32 if where the other remaining teams come into it, La Real beat Eldense 2-1. Since then they’ve played Osasuna beating them 4-3 on penalties, defeated Alaves 3-2 at Mendizorroza, and of course knocked basque rivals Athletic Club out in the semi final stage, beating their local rivals 1-0 in both legs.

Sociedad will be aiming to win their first Copa del Rey since 2020/2021 season, where again they defeated their rivals Athletic Club in the final. La Real won 1-0 that evening, with a penalty converted by Mikel Oyarzabal, we all know how much of a big game player he is for club and country. England fans know all about that one…

Things you should know…

• Potentially, it’s Antoine Griezmann’s last chance of silverware for Atletico Madrid before his move to Orlando City in the MLS.

• Atletico Madrid’s last triumph in a Copa final was against Real Madrid, they won 2-1 with goals from Diego Costa & Miranda.

• Pellegrino Matarazzo could become the first American to win a trophy in Spain.

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Ones to watch

Ademola Lookman, well what a signing this lad has been since his arrival in January from Italian side Atalanta. Not shy of the big stage, scoring and assisting on his debut against Real Betis in this competition back in February. Lookman has 9 goals contributions in 17 games since his arrival.

Antoine Griezmann, where do we start… an unbelievable player. You can’t help but think he is going to have a say on this tie on Saturday night. Griezmann has scored 5 times this season in the Copa del Rey. He has to start, surely?! Him and Julian Alvarez.

Mikel Oyarzabal, see it’s not all about Atletico. We all know how good Mikel is, he didn’t feature in Sociedad’s 3-3 draw last weekend with Alaves, but he should be fit for this weekend. Oyarzabal has 2 goals in 5 games this season in the cup. But he’s a big game player, he is La Real’s match winner. Don’t be surprised to see him on the scoresheet 👀

Primera Scout Prediction

This is hard. Both teams need this, dare I say it Atletico & Diego Simeone need it more? Although Atletico are in the final of the Copa and semi final of the Champions League, it does feel like Simeone needs this trophy. Their league campaign is done, they’re probably going to qualify for the champions league again next season, but they’re 4 points behind Villarreal who sit 3rd currently.

La Real on the other hand, this would cap off such a resurgence from Christmas until now. Let’s not talk about before the Christmas break where they only won 4 games in the league.

I am big on omens, as mentioned Sociedad have beaten Atletico in the past in a final. But it’s Griezmann’s last showdown against his former club…

Real Sociedad 2-1 Atletico Madrid 🏆

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Right I’m off. Thank you as ever for reading!

Cheeky review of the match 👀

Outside the Bernabeu prior to kick off vs Elche

Real Madrid came into this game knowing a win would put them 1 point behind leaders Barcelona, at least until Sunday afternoon.

Alvaro Arbeloa made 3 changes from the side that beat Manchester City in midweek. Out went Mendy, Trent & Güler. In their place Carvajal, Camavinga & Fran Garcia. No surprises to see Brahim Diaz & Vinicius Jr start again together, after working so well last Wednesday evening.

First half an hour in all honesty was dull, not much between the two sides. That until Antonio Rudiger blasted in Madrid’s first goal of the evening, it felt after this goal the floodgates had opened. Federico Valverde quickly picked up where he left off in midweek with another brilliant goal to make it 2-0 Real Madrid. The ball falling onto his left foot, a lovely fake onto his favoured right and a beautifully curled shot, top corner past the desperate dive of Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro. Real Madrid 2-0 Elche at half time.

The second half kicked off with more of the same for Real Madrid. Brahim Diaz was put through 1-1, nothing in his way other than the Elche goalkeeper and he put it wide. Brahim didn’t look too confident going through on goal, but he should always be scoring that opportunity.

Dean Huijsen scored his second goal of the season and Real Madrid’s third of the night. A brilliant cross from substitute Daniel Yanez, the 18 year old getting his first minutes for Madrid, marked the ocassion with a great assist. Light work for Huijsen, who is looking a lot more assured these last couple of weeks at the heart of Los Blancos defence.

Elche did have the ball in the back of the net, something to give them fans in the corner something to cheer. Sadly it was an own goal on behalf of another Real Madrid substitute, Manuel Angel. He had to go for it, unfortunately for Angel it hits the back of his own net, almost Jamie Carragher like!

It’s 3-1 Real Madrid. The game is beginning to slow down a touch, both sides a little passive almost. Step up Arda Güler, he picks up the ball inside his own half and scores one of the best goals you’re ever likely to see. From inside his own half, he scores. As if the day couldn’t get any worse for Elche’s goalkeeper!

I have been very fortunate to see two goals from footballers inside their own half, Wayne Rooney being the other for Everton against West Ham in 2017.

Arda Güler celebrates with manager Alvaro Arbeloa

The final whistle goes at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid 4-1 Elche. As the crowds were leaving, I couldn’t help but just look around the place for an extra 10/15 minutes. It’s genuinely incredible, if you get the chance to go even for a tour, definitely do it! I wasn’t the only one with the idea to stay behind for a little while, families & groups of friends from across the world were doing the same as me, it was nice to see everyone together for one reason, football!

At the time of writing this, Elche now find themselves in the bottom 3 of Primera, after Mallorca’s dramatic late win over Espanyol today sees them leapfrog Elche and move out the relegation zone. As it stands it looks as though the 3 who were promoted to La Liga last season will be leaving us at the end of this season. Real Madrid tonight find themselves 4 points behind Barcelona, after the Catalans dispatched Sevilla 5-2 at Camp Nou. Captain Raphinha scoring 3 goals to restore that 4 point cushion over Real.

We bought our tickets off Stubhub in the end, although having Madridista Premium, you can very rarely get 2 tickets together at the Bernabeu or the Camp Nou for that matter. Can confirm Stubhub was legit, although paying a touch more than you’d like, it was legit. If you want 2 seats together, I’d definitely recommend doing that, instead of having to ask everyone around you to swap, which I touch upon in the podcast diary entry below.

Audio diary, a trip to the Bernabeu!

If you’d like to have a listen to my audio diary on the Not So Ballers Podcast, click the link above! I hope you enjoy 😄

Lol there’s me taking some pictures after the game! Thanks as ever for reading! 🇪🇸🇪🇸

Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa, is confident top scorer Kylian Mbappe will be fit for their second leg tie against Manchester City next week, but admits tomorrow’s game with Elche comes ‘’too soon’’.

We could see a different Real Madrid side that faced City in midweek, but why change it? Potential minutes for Gonzalo Garcia could be on the cards, but with that in mind Brahim & Vinicius worked so well together on Wednesday night, never change a winning team as they say. Arbeloa alluded to that in his press conference today stating ‘’We’ll field the best possible 11 to win the match’’ he also added ‘’I’m not thinking about anything else’’.

Real Madrid have lost 2 of their last 3 La Liga matches. Disappointing defeats to Osasuna & at home to Getafe. However Madrid will be looking to put that kind of form to bed in the league, although Barcelona are top of Primera, the lead feels fragile. A win tomorrow evening would put Real just a point behind the Catalans, who themselves have a tricky home game on Sunday afternoon, against a Sevilla side who are unbeaten in their last 5 league games.

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Elche have a lot of work to do still. They haven’t won a league match since their 4-0 demolition of Rayo Vallecano on the 21st December. (D4 L6)

Who’d have thought that before Christmas, Elche sitting nervously looking over their shoulder at 18th place, but perhaps the league is just balancing out?

By the end of match day 28, Elche could find themselves in the bottom 3 if they lose, as 18th place Mallorca (a point behind Elche) face Espanyol at home in a much more favourable tie. That leaves Elche to face the daunting task of taking on Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

There is hope for Elche, in the reverse fixture back in November they earned a seriously positive 2-2 draw against Madrid. Elche found themselves in the lead twice, only for Jude Bellingham to step in and rescue a point for Los Blancos.

Players to watch

Federico Valverde. What more is there to say, an unbelievable first half hatrick against Man City in the champions league. Alvaro Arbeloa compared him to Madrid legend Juanito! Valverde has scored 2 goals in his last 4 matches in the league, that’s twice as many as he managed in his last 40 games, clear signs of improvement from him under Arbeloa.

Andre Silva. Elche’s top scorer his season with 7 goals in 21 matches. For Elche to get anything out of this game tomorrow night, they need Silva starting and firing.

Primera Scout Prediction

It’s hard to see anything but a Real Madrid win, isn’t it? A comfortable one at that…

Real Madrid have kept the most clean sheets this season in Primera - 11

Elche haven’t won away from home all season, drawing 4 times and losing 9, conceding 26 along the way.

I can see Madrid making a couple of changes with their second leg against City in mind, Gonzalo Garcia, Asencio & Carvajal will come in you’d think.

3-0 Real Madrid, Vinicius Jr first goal ⚽️🇧🇷

Villarreal’s UCL campaign well, was nothing short of an absolute disaster if we are completely honest. 8 games played, 0 wins, 1 draw and 7 defeats. The worst Champions League campaign in the club’s history. Granted, Villarreal had a tough start to their campaign, Tottenham away, Juventus at home and then Manchester City at home. But then to lose to Copenhagen, Ajax & Pafos, two games of which were at home. No where near good enough for a club like Villarreal, considering where they’re currently sitting in Primera (4th) it’s seriously confusing. The club who got to the semi final of this competition under Unai Emery in 2022, now exit with a whimper.

UCL in numbers

Goals scored: 5 goals (The joint lowest in the competition)
Goals conceded: 18 goals.
UCL finish: 35th.

Stand out results

Copenhagen 3-2 loss (Home)
Ajax 2-1 loss (Home)
Juventus 2-2 draw (Home)
Pafos 1-0 loss (Away)

Primera Scout rating: F

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid’s campaign started with a 3-2 defeat at Anfield, having been 2-0 down inside 6 minutes, they fought back through a Marcos Llorente brace, only to be undone by a Van Dijk header in the last minutes of the game. They couldn’t buy a win in England, losing to Liverpool 3-2 and then going down 4-0 at the Emirates to Arsenal. Amongst all of this however, some really impressive wins against PSV, Inter Milan & Frankfurt. Sadly it wasn’t enough to get them through to automatic qualification. Atleti played 8, won 4, drew 1 and lost 3 times. The more notable loss came in their last game of the UCL group phase against Bodo/Glimt, a horrendous 2-1 defeat at the Metropolitano, leaving Atletico fans booing their team at full time with manager Diego Simeone stating ‘‘Winning changes everything, trophies are the only way to turn boos into cheers’’.
Given how events unfolded during the final round of fixtures in the Champions League, even if Atleti would’ve beaten Bodo/Glimt they’d have still fallen short of automatic qualification. But to lose on home soil, again no where near good enough and kind of reflects what we’ve seen from them these past 6 weeks in all competitions.

Atletico will face Club Brugge in their qualification matches. The first leg is set to be played on the 18th February.

UCL in numbers

Goals scored: 17 (8th most in the UCL this season)
Goals conceded: 15
UCL finish: 14th

Stand out results

Bodo/Glimt 2-1 loss (Home)
Inter Milan 2-1 win (Home)
Frankfurt 5-1 win (Home)
Arsenal 4-0 loss (Away)

Primera Scout rating: D

Real Madrid

Where do we even begin with Madrid’s Champions League campaign? All I kept thinking when Real were playing Benfica was ‘just avoid defeat in Portugal and you’re through’ surely, right? Well as we probably all know by now, they lost 4-2 at Benfica in their last game, with the oppositions goalkeeper scoring their fourth goal, blasting the Portuguese side into the play off qualifiers.

Madrid won 5 and lost 3 of their 8 UCL play off matches. Quite similar to their city rivals Atletico, Real simply couldn’t beat English opposition. A 1-0 defeat at Anfield during Xabi Alonso’s time in charge, and a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the Bernabeu to Pep Guariola’s Manchester City. A mixed bag for Real Madrid, who changed manager half way through their campaign. Alvaro Arbeloa overseeing a 6-1 win over Monaco, and then of course THAT defeat in Portugal. You can’t help but feel if Alonso was still in charge they wouldn’t have to worry about more qualifying matches to progress…

Funnily enough, Madrid have been drawn to face Benfica AGAIN in their play off matches, with the 2nd leg at the Bernabeu many Real Madrid fans saying this should see them over the line, we shall see.

It’s not all doom and gloom however for Madrid, striker Kylian Mbappe is the top scorer in the competition with 13 goals so far, they’ve also scored the 4th most goals in the Champions League up to now.

UCL in numbers

Goals scored: 21
Goals conceded: 12
UCL Finish: 9th

Stand out results

Liverpool 1-0 loss (Away)
Monaco 6-1 win (Home)
Benfica 4-2 loss (Away)
Man City 2-1 loss (Home)

Primera Scout rating: E

Athletic Club

Athletic’s UCL campaign begun with a home game against Arsenal. Losing 2-0 to the north London side, they battled well, but it always felt like it was never going to be enough, especially to gain momentum throughout the competition. Disappointing defeats in Dortmund and a costly 0-0 with Slavia Prague didn’t help their case, Slavia remember finished 34th in the Champions League standings. The UCL tie after the Slavia Prague match, Athletic Club drew 0-0 with PSG at San Mames, a brilliant result, something even their manager couldn’t quite believe. Ernesto Valverde was quoted as saying ‘‘Unai Simon clearly kept us in this game’’. The spaniard made 5 excellent saves. PSG leaving San Mames with an xG of 2.05. A massive win in Italy against Atalanta on match day 7, a spirited second half comeback saw Athletic Club run out 3-2 winners. This was the second of their 2 wins in this season in the Champions League. Athletic lost 4 and drew 2.

They have had a slightly underwhelming UCL campaign, Athletic. But they had their chance to shoe horn themselves into the Champions League play offs last week against Sporting, at home. They fumbled their opportunity, after an early Oihan Sancet goal, it was quickly cancelled out by Sporting, only for Athletic to regain the lead through Guruzeta. To take the lead twice at home and not come away with a precious 3 points just summed up their campaign, not ruthless enough when it mattered most.

UCL in numbers

Goals scored: 9 (Ranked 27th for goals scored in UCL competition)
Goals conceded: 14
UCL Finish: 29th

Stand out results

PSG 0-0 draw (Home)
Atalanta 3-2 win (Away)
Sporting 3-2 loss (Home)
Slavia Prague 0-0 loss (Away)

Primera Scout rating: C-

Barcelona

Barcelona’s campaign got off to a winning start against Newcastle at St James’ park, thanks to two brilliant goals from Marcus Rashford. The catalans won 5 matches, drew 1 and lost 2. One of these losses came at Stamford Bridge, a 3-0 drubbing by the Londoners, it felt like a sobering moment for Hansi Flick, Ronald Araujo sent off in the first half, it was a calamity of a night for the Flick’s men. In spite of this, they went onto win their next 3 games following the Chelsea defeat. Good performances and wins over Slavia Prague, Frankfurt & Copenhagen saw them qualify automatically. Time will tell whether they’ve got what it takes to win the competition, but they’ve started really well, and have left themselves with a brilliant chance to progress. Even with their high line and defensive frailties, they’re probably the or one of the most attacking teams in Europe, they’ll always find a way.

Barca have scored 22 goals in the Champions League so far, 18 of which were from open play, the most in the group phase, and of course they’ve forced more offsides than any other team in the competition, the high line working, for now.

UCL in numbers

Goals scored: 22 (2nd most in the competition)
Goals conceded: 14
UCL finish: 5th

Stand out results

Chelsea 3-0 loss (Away)
Newcastle 2-1 win (Away)
Olympiacos 6-1 win (Home)

Primera Scout rating: B

Are any of the Spanish sides your favourite to win the Champions League? Let me know who in the comments…

As ever thanks so much for reading, hope you’ve enjoyed me going on for about 6 minutes of reading time!

Xabi Alonso has left Real Madrid. News outlets are reporting different things. It’s either he was fired, or Xabi himself decided to leave. All we know is, Alvaro Arbeloa will be taking charge for the foreseeable future in Madrid. Alvaro Arbeloa may perhaps go back to Real Madrid Castilla in the near future, but for now he’s the head coach of his beloved Real Madrid. And what an opportunity that is, he leaves with Castilla in 4th position in Primera Federación.

Alonso’s stocks were rather high you’d have to say. Manager of Bayer Leverkusen, he broke Bayern Munich’s 11 year dominance in Bundesliga, bringing Leverkusen their first Bundesliga title ever, having been runners up on 6 occasions. It’s moments like that, when giants of football like Real Madrid come knocking. In his unveiling in May 2025 as Real Madrid head coach, Alonso said ‘‘I want a team that transmits emotion, energy, ambitious play and connects with the fans’’ no more than 7 months later, it’s over.

It feels harsh on Alonso. I say this because of many reasons but mainly for the simple fact that he has a 74% win percentage at Madrid in La Liga. Only Carlo Ancelotti in 23/24 season achieved 76% more in the last ten years!

Xabi’s win percentage at Real Madrid in all competitions is 70.6%. Some of the names above him in the list make for interesting reading. I took this screenshot from the ‘Opta Jose’ X account earlier today.

Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho above him with their win percentages, it’s not a bad list to be apart of at all if you ask me. Alonso leaves Madrid 2nd in Primera, having won 14 games, drawing 3 times and only losing twice. 41 goals scored and 17 goals conceded during his time as head coach.

So, where did it all go wrong for Alonso in Madrid? Was it their defeat to Barcelona in the Supercopa last Sunday, or does it run a little deeper? Reports emerging today suggest he had lost the dressing room some months ago, certain players growing ‘miserable and tired’ of Alonso’s constant ‘tactics work’. According to Marca in Spain, none of the Madrid players would take these messages seriously, which drove Alonso crazy. ‘Paid too much attention to every little detail’ is a line I have been reading quite a lot these last 24 hours regarding Alonso’s time as Real Madrid head coach, but if we are being honest, statistically anyway, it seemed to be making a difference:

Real Madrid 24/25 (after 38 games)

Points per game: 2.21
Goals per game: 2.05
Goals conceded per game: 1.00

Real Madrid 25/26 (after 19 games)

Points per game: 2.4
Goals per game: 2.16
Goals conceded per game: 0.9

Each percentile this season is positive compared to last season, especially when we look at the pressing, physicality and defending. But then there is one, and it’s something that we all think about when we think about Real Madrid. At least when they’re attacking, and that is counters. In my view, Madrid fans want to see fast, high tempo attacking football, with ALL the world class attacking players at their disposal. It did always feel that in Xabi Alonso’s system, well, the one he was trying to implement at Madrid, it was all about control and pressure. Certain players want freedom, not roles and responsibilities within the team, take Mbappe for example. Kylian Mbappe isn’t a forward who is going to press, and win the ball off a defender. But he was adapting to it, picking his moments, and you can see this in the pressures applied by the whole team, not just Mbappe. And that is exactly where Xabi Alonso’s football ideals begin: pressing. Take a look at the difference in pressure from the 24/25 Madrid team to the 25/26 Madrid team, it’s night and day.

Final thoughts

Missing out on Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad was massive, I thought it at the time he went to Arsenal, and it’s ringing even more true now. Alonso tried a couple of quick fixes in the short term. Güler was playing more centrally, Valverde was playing a bit of everywhere (as ever), Dani Ceballos was tried in the role. It just never felt sustainable, it’s clear Xabi Alonso was let down by his recruitment team in the summer of 2025.

Xabi tried to coach a team, that cannot be coached. I alluded to this earlier, some of those world class players that Real Madrid have just want to play, without responsibility. As we know player power runs deep at Real Madrid, Vinicius Jr’s outburst at being substituted in el Classico being a reminder. Vini did apologise, but left Xabi Alonso off his apology list.

The injuries

All season Alonso has been without key players. Players dropping in and out of the side due to either injury or suspension. Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Eder Militao, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Dani Carvajal. Having these types of players and the abilities of these players injured on a consistent basis is never good. Everything needs context, and to talk about Alonso’s time in Madrid without discussing the horrendous injury luck would be doing him a disservice, he’s been painfully unlucky at times.

What’s next for Xabi Alonso?

Alonso’s stocks remain high, as mentioned above statistically he’s one of the best Real Madrid managers of recent years in terms of winning football matches. I don’t believe anything that’s happened these past 7 months will deter any club across Europe in approaching Xabi, should they require his skills. I don’t think it’ll be long before we see Alonso again in the dugout, personally I think it’ll be in the premier league, though…

As ever, thanks so much for reading!

I thought he was brilliant the second half of last season at Aston Villa. Big goals in the FA Cup, Premier League and crucial assists in the Champions League against PSG. But it’s the Champions League where Rashford wants to play. At the end of last season when Villa didn’t get UCL football, the rumours began to float. I remember the ‘Rashford future undecided after Villa UCL exit’ headline from ESPN. With this in mind, it’s hard to argue with a player of Marcus Rashford’s capabilities, if he wants to be playing Champions League football you can’t stop him just look at some of these numbers across his entire UCL career so far.

Across his whole UCL career,
Matches played: 41
Goals: 16
Assists: 6

22 goal involvements in 41 matches, not bad at all. That’s at least 1 goal involvement every 2 matches, a return that can’t be ignored.

Marcus Rashford got quite a bit of stick in the end when he played in England, and to be honest some of it was strange, and pretty unjust in fairness. I don’t think we will see him back on these shores for quite a while yet. Not because of the stick in England, he’s probably used to it by now, I'm talking pure footballing terms, he has definitely exceeded expectations from the beginning of the season to now. When the move was first announced it wasn’t met with much enthusiasm. The critics were quick to chirp; where’s he going to play? how does he get in that attacking line up? and he will only get a game if Lewandowski is injured. On the face of it, those comments were probably justified, especially given how Barcelona scored 102 goals in La Liga in the 24/25 season, no team across Europe’s top 5 leagues scored more. But that was last season, and every great team needs depth, and that’s where the signing of Marcus was always a smart one!

It’s safe to say Rashford has been a great signing so far for Barca, but non more so because of the hamstring injury to Raphinha at the end of September in Barca’s 3-1 win over Real Oviedo. In La Liga for Barcelona, Rashford has been in brilliant form. Actually at the time of writing this piece on Marcus he is currently on 6 assists for the season so far, no other player has more in Europe’s top 5 leagues. There is no doubt he has benefitted from some miss fortune for Raphinha, however he’s been on hand to pick up the pieces for Barca going forward and contributed massively so far.

Above is a shot and goal guide of Marcus Rashford in La Liga for Barcelona this season. Even myself thought he would probably play striker to keep Lewandowski fresh. Hansi Flick has definitely seen things differently and thankfully so, look at how disciplined Rashford has been, sticking out to that left wing position (his preferred position) creating chances and scoring. Even with Robert Lewandowski picking up an injury Rashford stuck to that left wing position, at the striker position for Barcelona we’ve seen Ferran mainly and even a debut for the 17 year old Toni Fernandez. Safe to say Flick trusts Rashford to be his main left winger currently with Raphinha being out injured. However moving him into a more central area clearly isn’t on his mind, and in reality it would unbalance Barcelona’s attacking structure massively.

Revisiting what was mentioned above about Rashford in the Champions League, have a look at some of his stats this season in the UCL for Barca.

For Barcelona in UCL

Matches played: 4
Goals: 4
Assists: 1

5 goal contributions in 4 matches. Last season for Aston Villa he played 4 UCL matches and assisted twice, he’s thoroughly surpassed those figures already having played the same amount of games for Barca, granted he was playing in the latter stages of the competition for Villa last season against tougher opposition.

Let’s be honest once Raphinha is fully fit he comes straight back into the starting 11 for Barcelona. He was ranked 5th on the Ballon d’Or list, how couldn’t he come straight back in? This season before his injury Raphinha played 6 La Liga matches, scoring 3 times and assisting twice. But it does give Hansi Flick a selection headache. It is a nice headache to have, two brilliant players for one position, isn’t this what Barcelona have been missing for some time now? Proper strength and depth finally! Marcus has proven to be more than just a stand in for Raphinha, he adds good competition for his place, he’s proven he can push him, keeping him on his toes. On the flip side of this, it’s also shown Barcelona and Raphinha that he doesn't need to be rushed back into action, Raphinha can fully recover from his injury and not be hurried back to fitness.

Here is to more Marcus Rashford goals, assists and all round just brilliant performances. We’ve needed a strong Marcus Rashford, I feel like we are starting to see him again, I wonder if we will see a similar season to his brilliant 22/23 Premier League season with Manchester United where he scored 30 goals in all competitions, assisting 9 times?!

As ever thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoy the articles so far!

I’m going to go through a couple of players in this piece, what I’ve liked about them so far and some of their most impressive statistics. Let’s get into it!

Etta Eyong - Levante

What a signing. Etta Eyong has been brilliant so far for Levante. I must admit I was shocked when Villarreal let him leave, he’d already played 3 games for Villarreal, scoring once and assisting twice before his move to Levante. Perhaps they couldn’t guarantee him games long term, or it was an FFP type of situation. Whatever the situation, it’s been an inspired move. For Levante so far this season:

Goals: 6
Assists: 3
Chance creation: 8
Fouls won: 14
xG: 5.2

I think my favourite statistic so far about Etta Eyong this season is, all of his goals this season have came inside the box. That suggests a couple of things, firstly it suggests that his team are creating big chances for him, and he is in the correct areas to take these chances. Also take a look at his xG and his actual goals this season, they’re practically the same. According to StatMuse, Etta Eyong’s shot conversion is 25% having taken 25 shots, scoring 6 goals which is considered a high and efficient return. He is currently ranked 3rd in the shot conversion rankings, only behind Lewandowski and Julian Alvarez.

A massive player in Levante’s bid for survival.

Arda Güler

If you have been keeping up with a couple of articles I’ve written, you’ll know how much I rate this guy. Under his new coach Xabi Alonso, Arda Güler has been fantastic. He’s elegant on the ball, a smooth operator and it hasn’t gone unnoticed across Europe. I recently read a TransferFlow article in which they were describing him as potentially ‘the best number 10 in world football’ if he carries on his current numbers. Here are some quick stats of his La Liga season so far:

Matches: 10
Goals: 3
Assists: 4
xA: 2.5
Chances created: 25
Recoveries: 33

There has been a change of position this season for Arda Güler. Last season as we know he did still make an impact, however it was more of an off the bench impact and he’d be out on the right wing. This season under Xabi Alonso this has drastically changed, he is playing more in the midfielder/number 10 positions. Now perhaps this may be because of the injury to Jude Bellingham (who is now back fit) but he has still been deployed there this season and has performed really well. Looking back to the Clasico last weekend in Madrid, Güler and Bellingham were both in the same starting line up, with Bellingham playing more out at right midfield. Time will tell as to whether both can play in the same side together from the start, can’t wait to see what Xabi Alonso does!

(Arda Güler’s heat map this season 25/26)

Andre Silva

Now this choice is a little left field but, hear me out. Elche are flying in La Liga currently sitting 8th. They've scored 10 goals this season from open play, Andre Silva has scored nearly half of them goals (4).

Here’s a little selection of stats that I thought yeah, he’s cooking:

xG: 4
Chances created: 9
Goals: 4
Duels won: 32
Fouls won: 14

If Elche are going to stay in Primera division, this fella is going to be such an important piece of that plan. Arriving from Germany in July, having only scored 1 goal in 8 games, his stocks were low. However his manager Eder Sarabia is certainly getting the best out of him and we do love to see it, let’s be honest. I am thoroughly backing Silva to be sitting on at least 8-10 goals by the end of the season, and that could genuinely be the difference between Elche’s survival and them being relegated back to Segunda. Go on Andre lad.

Pedri

I’m not going to say much on Pedri. We all know how good he is and how good he has been. He is such an important component in that Barcelona midfield and to Hansi Flick’s system. He passes the stats tests, he passes eye tests with flying colours. Paul Scholes actually posted on social media after Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Newcastle at St James’ park saying ‘My new Favourite Footballer’

(Above is Paul Scholes’ instagram post regarding Pedri)

Having said all this about Pedri, he is now injured for a month. I would probably say I lean more towards Barcelona from the big 2/3 in Spain and I am gutted! There’s quite an injury crisis at Barcelona currently, with at least 6/7 first team players now injured. Dani Olmo, Pedri, Raphinha, Gavi and Joan Garcia to name a few.

Pedri is Barcelona’s computer. He keeps them ticking over so effortlessly and he will be a huge miss for them over the next month or so. Here are a few of his stats from this season so far:

Matches: 10
Goals: 2
Assists: 1
Pass accuracy: 91%
Chances created: 25
Touches: 1066
Recoveries: 64

According to FotMob, Pedri is sitting joint second in La Liga for chances created. Level with Arda Güler, only Kylian Mbappe is ahead of the two midfielders. Let’s hope that his injury isn’t too bad, and he’s back in that Barcelona line up quicker than expected. We all want to see Pedri play football.

As ever thank you very much for reading! Please let me know in the comments who has impressed you so far this season. I have left a good few players out. Honourable mentions must go to Kylian Mbappe, Luis Milla, Julian Alvarez amongst others. Please let me know who yours are!

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Arriving in Madrid in July 2023, he made 10 appearances in La Liga for Real. Scoring an impressive 6 times. With only 15 shots, his xG was 1.44 which isn’t bad at all for an 18 year old at the time. All of the goals inside the box, some lovely finishes. You could start to see the player developing almost instantly, after impressing so much at Fenerbache the previous season. He signed a 6 year deal, and was dubbed the ‘Turkish Messi’ by GOAL.com. Quite the praise if you ask me, he wasn’t that bad Messi, was he?

Guler won the Champions League in May 2024 too, although he wasn’t given any actual minutes at all in the Champions League that season, he became the first Turkish player to win the competition. Arda made his actual debut in the Champions League the following season in September against Stuttgart. Strange really, getting absolutely no minutes in any games in that campaign. Suppose it’s hard to get a player into the side when the likes of; Vini Jr, Bellingham and Rodrigo are all firing like they were. Guler was quoted as saying he was ‘embarrassed’ to be even lifting the trophy that night at Wembley, saying ‘I didn’t feel like I contributed much at all’ I suppose he is right, he didn't play a single minute all campaign…

Last season we got to see a lot more of Arda Güler, finally!

In fairness to Carlo Ancelotti, he has never been one to fully trust in youth. Arda featured 28 times in La Liga last season. Scoring 3 times and bagging 4 assists. However only making a total of 14 starts, the numbers aren’t too bad considering this. He played a total of 1,247 minutes in Primera for Los Blancos. In what was a disappointing season for Real Madrid in terms of silverware success, it was a decent enough start for Guler, but he should’ve still played more games.

Last season he was featuring a lot more across the right hand side of the pitch, more in the RW position. (Heat map for the season below)

As we can see, a lot more of a right side presence in the 24/25 season. Coming inside on that brilliant left foot of his, crosses into the box and shots outside the box too. Interestingly enough, out of his 3 goals scored last season in Primera only 1 of them was from the right hand side of the pitch, the other two were more towards the left hand side of the box.

If we compare the above heat map to this one below;

This heat map is from this current La Liga season (25/26). As we can see here a lot more touches across both sides of the pitch, also a few more in his own half. Something that Xabi Alonso has asked him to do, drop deeper for the ball in those central midfield pockets and carry the ball more. Quoted as saying ‘I play better in midfield’. He has started really well in a slightly different role this season. Adding 1 goal and 1 assist so far. Having said that he is getting on the ball more, starting attacks and bringing Madrid further forward up the pitch. Carrying the ball is one of Arda’s greatest strengths, why not use this to their advantage?

Don’t be surprised to see him slot into that central midfield position more often for Real, especially under Xabi Alonso. His dribbling, movement and close control makes him perfect for the role, which in all honesty has been left wide open since the retirement of Toni Kroos. Personally I do believe this will be his position going forward a lot more, in that central midfield area.

Data taken from DataMB shows just how impressive he has started in these opening 3 games of the season.

• forward passes

• carrying

• key passes

• progressive passes

Again something that Real Madrid have been missing since the start of last season.

If there is anyone currently in world football that knows a good central midfielder when they see one, it’s Xabi Alonso. Featuring there nearly all of his career, one of the very greatest to ever do it. Arda has got a great teacher to take him to that next level.

As ever thanks so much for reading. Here’s to another successful Arda Güler campaign! What a baller.

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We all know what Trent is capable of. His offensive play is second to non, 6 assists & 3 goals last season in 28 starts for Liverpool. Going forward he is one of the best in the business. However this season in Madrid I am very interested to see what he can do.
I am already seeing pockets of Madrid fans unhappy with his defensive contributions in pre season.

Can we be fair though, and write the Club World Cup off?
A draining campaign with Liverpool, eventually winning the Premier League. Contract sagas practically all season too. Playing for England before joining up with Real Madrid, more games added to a very turbulent season for him.
(Also I am a blue and I find this quite funny for the red half of Merseyside).
In the last 4-5 seasons in all competitions, Real Madrid have had to suffer to enjoy success. On the other hand we don’t know if this trend will continue now, with new manager Xabi Alonso in charge it may change. Where will he fit into Xabi’s plans?
Will Alonso opt for his more German approach to his management career? 3 at the back. He deployed this in Leverkusen quite often.

Could we see Trent in a more midfield looking role for the new season. The manager has certainly flirted with the idea in pre season.

Carlos Alvarez

This lad is good. He plays on the right wing, but can play across a couple of positions including RW, RM and AM. Playing 42 times last season for Levante, scoring 7 goals and assisting his team mates 11 times. He was such an important player in Levante’s promotion back to Primera.

I love how busy he is, there is very rarely a dull moment when he picks up the ball.
Carlos’ dribbling skills are brilliant, with a dribble success rate of 59% across the season in La Liga 2.
Some significant strengths to look out for this season in La Liga…

- Dribbling
- Passing
- Shooting
- Vision
- Agility

I cannot wait to see him in Primera, a really exciting player with plenty to offer the league and his team. Good luck Levante.

Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford is a good player, we all know it.
Unfortunately Manchester United are just a bit of a graveyard for talent the last few seasons. He needed a new challenge, it is a positive step for him and I think it’s a good move Barcelona.

I am genuinely surprised by some of the reactions to his signing, it’s low risk for them, also he covers near enough every position up the top end of the pitch.
In the Premier League last season, he featured 25 times, scoring 6 and assisting 3 times, across Manchester United and Aston Villa.
I am excited to see what Marcus can bring to Spain. Will we see less of Lewandowski now given the arrival of Rashford? He is the first Englishman since Gary Lineker to wear the Barcelona jersey, nearly 40 years on.

Let’s not forget it’s a World Cup year, he has made no secret about his desire to be back in the England set up, I think we will see a decent return from Marcus this season.

Alberto Moleiro

This is a good signing for Villarreal. Having lost Alex Baena to Atletico Madrid this summer, they needed a replacement and I think Alberto is more than suitable.
Scoring 6 times last season in La Liga and assisting once, he will know these numbers need to be upped, but he is on the right trajectory to achieving that. No disrespect to Las Palmas, the chances he created last season were not being converted. Alberto created 41 big chances last season for Las Palmas. 41 big chances created and only 1 assist? I will let you all be the judge of that one. They got relegated too. He will probably operate in the left midfield position, or just left of a 3 man midfield from what I’ve seen of Villarreal’s pre season campaign.

Definitely a player to keep an eye on. He has got the quality of players around him now to start raising his goal contribution numbers, let’s hope he can this season!

Cesar Tarrega

A beast of a centre half. Strong in the tackle, and reads the game superbly well. Every time I see him he’s making a brilliant tackle or making an interception!

Definitely a bright light in a pretty dark campaign for Valencia last season, who did manage to stay up. However they spent 25 weeks of the season in the relegation zone!
Cesar is more than confident carrying the ball out of defence, with a dribble success last season in La Liga of 84%. As mentioned above his tackling and aerial ability are big features of his game. Cesar was also selected to play in the European U21s championships this summer for Spain. He featured 4 times, his side winning twice out of 4 games played. Also scoring an impressive goal, out jumping the opposition goalkeeper and scoring the winner in the 90th minute.

With Valencia seemingly a lot more settled coming into this new season, he is definitely on my ones to watch. I do expect to see him kick on this season.
Tarrega is also generating some interest from other European clubs. Let’s see how he gets on this season.

Nico Williams

Of course, Nico Williams.

What a player, he has made the list mainly because of his summer saga. Is he moving to Barcelona? Is he staying? Signing a new deal with Athletic Club is the best thing he could’ve done, and he did! I think this season he will have the bit between his teeth, massively. By his standards last season was quiet, 5 goals and 5 assists.
However his chances created were up on previous seasons, also successful dribbles and crosses also very positive. I am fully backing Nico to double his goal contributions this season. I have that feeling for him. Now his contract is settled, he is settled again. I just want him to start shooting more often. All of his goals last season in La Liga were inside the box, take a leaf out of Lamine’s book and just hit it!

Watch this space. Come back and see me in May…

Gonzalo Garcia

Goes without saying, he’s got something Gonzalo Garcia. Real Madrid have seen this and tied him down to a new contract. Unsurprisingly after such a good Club World Cup, repaying Xabi Alonso’s faith scoring 4 goals and assisting 1. You can read more about him in an article I wrote a month or so ago now.

He will definitely get minutes across the season, Xabi Alonso likes him and why wouldn't he? Xabi said in pre season Gonzalo reminds him of a young Raul!
Historically his previous manager Carlo Ancelotti didn’t really care for younger players, I think Alonso is quite the opposite. Gonzalo is probably the only the only number 9 at Real Madrid currently, excluding the injury to Endrick of course.
I’m confident this season of a healthy return for him. He’s strong in the air, very physical striker and definitely isn’t shy to have a shot!

Gonzalo Garcia Article

Marc Casado

I realllllly like Marc Casado.
He had such a promising season coming into the side fully under Hansi Flick, but it was cut short by injury. I was gutted!!!
Primarily playing the role just in front of the back 4. Defensive midfield or central midfield are his main two positions.

- Duels won
- Possessions won
- Forward passes completed

Such a promising player. Probably my favourite on this list, honestly.
I think it’s because he just gets stuck into challenges, and that’s not something I’m used to seeing, especially coming from a Barcelona midfielder.

Marc Casado and Gavi returning from injury this season, is a selection headache for Hansi Flick, but obviously a good one. Two quality players in that Barcelona midfield, to go alongside the other 4/5 quality players. Keep an eye out for Casado, I’m not sure if he will start too much this season given the midfield arsenal that Barcelona possess, but he definitely deserved a shoutout.

Proper player.

Alex Baena

Hold on Antoine Griezmann, help is on the way!
Alex Baena is potentially the replacement for Antoine Griezmann in the long term. Villarreal’s loss is Atletico’s gain!

Alex Baena had to be on this list, he is too good. Playing all kinds of positions for Villarreal, LW, LM, AM & ST. Last season in La Liga his numbers were good, they’re always good.

La Liga 24/25
- Matches: 32
- Goals: 7
- Assists: 9

Atletico have signed a great player, a lethal crosser of the ball and a very intelligent footballer, he created 95 chances last season at Villarreal. Bringing that kind of quality into this Atletico Madrid side can only be a positive, playing alongside the likes of Sorloth, Alvarez, Griezmann and Guiliano Simeone. I am anticipating his assists at least being in double figures.

Again come back to me in May and we will see.

Comment your players you’re looking out for this season!

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I have seen a lot on social media lately about Barcelona’s number 10 stories, the PR fantasy around it, and to one degree I can agree, Barcelona really know how to push something, but lets be honest have you actually seen the list of players who have worn the infamous number 10 jersey for Barcelona in its history?
Yeah, the list is mad we are talking about the likes of Ronaldinho, Guardiola, Stoichkov, Romario, Maradona, Kubala, Leo Messi and of course the great Luis Suarez who won the Ballon D’or at Barcelona in 1960 whilst wearing the illustrious number 10 jersey.

As so many people have done since his arrival in the first team, I am going to refrain from comparing Lamine to Leo Messi. As Lamine has said in the past, ‘it is unbelievable to be compared to Leo Messi, but it isn’t fair.’
Lamine Yamal definitely wants to be his own player and not a ‘New Messi’ as he said in an interview last week when receiving his new number. Important to remember too, this lad is still a teenager! (I keep reminding myself of this)
Patience is still needed, although playing with such a mature swagger already at such a young age, anything can happen in football as we’ve unfortunately witnessed with the likes of Ansu Fati.
However, Messi and Yamal will face off against each other in March 2026, Spain vs Argentina in ‘Finallissima’ definitely one to add to the watchlist.

La Liga 24/25 Lamine Yamal

Matches: 35, starts 31
Goals: 9
Assists: 13
xG: 9.8
xA: 11.6
Chances created: 16
Successful dribbles: 161
Recoveries: 123

In what was his most anticipated La Liga season to date, Lamine delivered by scoring massive goals. The pick of the bunch for me being in the Bernabeu, that lovely touch across his body onto his right foot, smashing it into the roof of Andriy Lunin’s net.
Even bigger performances in the Copa Del Rey & the Champions League too, bringing Barcelona to within a whisker of a UCL final appearance, and yes I still am firmly in the camp of he did the right thing by trying to wrap the game up with his shot that smacked the inside of Inter Milan’s goal, personally I don’t want to see players like Lamine Yamal taking the ball to the corner flag!
Not to mention his 2 brilliant assists in the final of the Copa against Real Madrid back in April, in all honesty he didn’t break a sweat that night and still kind of ran the show? Alien.

Above are some statistics from Lamine’s La Liga season, take a look at the percentile’s. Progressive carries, successful dribbles, assists, key passes and accurate crosses. Nearly all of them are in the 90’s, for a player who is so young producing these types of statistics is just insane, only comparable last season to the likes of Mo Salah, Vini Jr & former Barcelona wide man Ousmane Dembele.
Of course Lamine Yamal’s performances need to be watched properly and enjoyed he’s an edge of your seat type of footballer, sometimes you can phase in and out through football matches, well I know I certainly can at times. However not when Lamine picks up the ball in the attacking third I am fully watching, reminds me of another little fella not so long ago for Barcelona.
I know people aren’t always keen and 100% on statistics, but these ones above are just incredible and cannot go unnnoticed, to be posting these types of numbers is just beautiful viewing.

In all competitions last season for Barcelona

Matches: 55
Goals: 18
Assists: 21

Rise of Lamine into the first team

Joining La Masia in 2014, he officially became a part of the infamous Barcelona academy at the age of 7.
In April 2023, he was given his debut by Barcelona manager at the time and club legend Xavi Hernandez against Real Betis, becoming Barcelona’s youngest ever debutant, which strangely enough is still his only senior appearance at the Camp Nou as not long afterwards renovations began at Barcelona’s home ground.

It does feel like he has been around for a long time, but in actual fact he’s only properly been around for 2 years really.
Playing such important roles for his national team in Euro 2024, not just making up the numbers at his tender age.
Yamal was scoring important goals against giants of international football like France in the semi finals at the age of 16, and what a goal it was too, curling left footed shot post and in, pick that one out Mike Maignan.
Then of course winning the final with Spain, defeating England 2-1 in Berlin.

Winning all kinds of team trophies and individual awards along the way too, beating away some pretty heavy competition to win the Kopa trophy in October 2024, receiving the award over the likes of Arda Guler, Pedri and Jude Bellingham to name a few.
Fast forward to May 2025 Espanyol vs Barcelona.
Barcelona need 3 points to guarantee winning the La Liga title once more in their neighbours back yard, step forward Lamine Yamal with a goal that is becoming quite the trademark now for him, in off the right hand side, left footed shot that screamed past his now teammate Joan Garcia, definitely similarities to his famous goal against France back in 2024.

I think we can all agree that Lamine Yamal is a generational talent, who does continue to rewrite history.
Becoming the youngest goalscorer in UCL history with a goal against Porto, also he is the youngest player ever to feature in the European Championships too.

Having re read this a few times now it does come across as some serious fan boy mail to Lamine Yamal and that’s ok, he is a baller who we all should enjoy watching him play football, I know I will :)

As ever thanks so much for reading!

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Featuring only 3 times last season under Carlo Ancelotti it was hard to see a way in for Gonzalo at Madrid, especially with that French fella up top, who in fairness broke the goalscoring records of any Real Madrid player in their debut season.
But fast forward to June and the beginning of the club World Cup, it just seemed as though business as usual, Mbappe would be playing in his usual position he’s taken up for Real Madrid this season, number 9 position perhaps interchanging with Vinicius here and there.

It hasn’t really gone down like that, Mbappe having been hospitalised with a stomach virus opened up and major door for Gonzalo Garcia, who in fact grabbed the chance with both hands and scored on his CWC debut against Al Hilal in a 1-1 draw.

The 21 year old has made quite an impact at the Club World Cup so far, featuring 4 times for Xabi Alonso’s side scoring 3 times and assisting once, posting an xG of 2.05.
It isn’t bad at all, especially for someone that had been making up the numbers all season in truth under Carlo Ancelotti.
Only last week his coach Xabi Alonso remarkably said ‘Gonzalo Garcia reminds me of Raul in some movements’ I mean it’s not bad praise at all is it, Raul did score over 200 goals for Madrid, having said that it was Raul himself who gave Garcia his debut for Real Madrid’s B side Castilla in 2022.

Last season playing a lot of his football for Real Madrid Castilla, Gonzalo scored 25 goals in 36 matches, this being a record equalling tally of goals in one season in Primera RFEF, he really is an impressive player.
Gonzalo posses a terrific dribbling ability, he’s really confident taking shots from distance, a clinical finisher, really aggressive in the air and technically very good.
I’m also a big fan of this way he has of bringing team mates into play with him, something i’ve noticed during this Club World Cup and some videos I've watched of him for Castilla.
People may say well come on it’s for Real Madrid B, it can’t be that hard. And they may be right, but at the end of the day it’s still impressive, and he’s certainly proving his worth and repaying Alonso’s faith in him at this Club World Cup.

Madrid almost certainly could’ve used Gonzalo a bit more this season.
His manager at the time Carlo Ancelotti decided to use him against Leganes in the Copa del Rey, giving him all but 10 minutes to showcase what he could do off the bench, he again took that chance by scoring the winner in the 93rd minute, sending Madrid to the semi final.
Scoring a brilliant header too, again showcasing his aerial ability, a really intelligent and exciting player.

I mentioned about the players certainly not needing more football, perhaps for a player like Gonzalo Garcia it’s exactly what was needed, granted Kylian Mbappe was out of action, but there was an opportunity there for him and he’s certainly taken it, potentially putting Real Madrid’s out and out number 9 issues and worries to bed?
I really hope so they’ve needed a top academy graduate for a few years now, could this be their man, early indications are suggesting yes.

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Griezmann himself didn’t play too bad in all fairness, scoring a goal early on in the first half, sadly ruled out for handball.

Antoine Griezmann 24/25 La Liga stats

Appearances: 38 (29 starts)
Goals: 8
Assists: 7
xG: 6.7
xA: 6.5
Successful dribbles: 15
Recoveries: 93
Chances created: 48

Not a bad return at all, 15 goal contributions in 29 starts, we all know how good Griezmann has been in his career, I’m not going to bore you with the details. However, it’s Griezmann’s form post-Christmas this year that has sprung to my attention, especially in La Liga.

La Liga 2025

Goals: 1
Assists: 3

Post-Christmas, Griezmann only completed 90 minutes 4 times in 20 Primera matches. From March 2025 - May 2025 he completed a 90 minute match all but once against Espanyol! Pre-Christmas though, he was amongst it fully, 7 goals in La Liga registering 4 assists too.

There is some definite evidence of a burn out after the winter break, on the other hand Antoine has played A LOT of minutes this season in La Liga, 3rd most in fact this season for Atletico Madrid of their outfielders.

(Image below)

Always something to take into consideration, it’s demanding. Not to mention he has played in 4 different competitions this season for Atleti if we include the Club World Cup, clocking up a pretty impressive 56 appearances in all competitions, this does show in some aspects how important he still is too Diego Simeone.

Maybe though, the shift in dynamic at Atletico has a part to play, what with Alvarez & Sorloth coming in, maybe we could see a bit less of Griezmann next season, coming on a bit more from the bench to take advantage of opposition tired legs?
Granted this does seem to be the route that Simeone has been taking with Griezmann already. Not to mention that contract extension he’s just signed until June 2027, he’ll still play an important role, surely!

The image below is Griezmann’s heat map for the 24/25 season. It’s a demanding role he plays for Atletico Madrid, to be apart of Diego Simeone’s side you need minimum requirements of energy, power and pace. It is always going to be difficult to sustain that same energy that he once had, more importantly we need to realise Antoine is 34 now, having played a lot of football in his career, the frenchman only retired from international football in 2024 after 10 years in the France national side. A grand total of 137 caps and 44 goals leaving him as the 3rd highest capped player for France & the 4th highest goalscorer in French history, oh and the small matter of winning a World Cup in 2018.

Griezmann does play a variety of positions throughout games for the good of the team. Of course, his main roles being attacking midfield and striker, but starting attacks, sometimes receiving the ball on the turn off his defenders, drifting out wide to receive the ball, crosses into the box.
He’s an infectious player, someone that when he gets the ball everyone seems to sit up and watch, the game stops with him for that moment. Not many players possess such aura like him, as you can tell I’m a big fan. I can understand why Atletico haven’t really entertained the thought of selling him or phasing him out the picture.

Arrival of Julian Álvarez

There’s no denying that the arrival of Julian Álvarez has definitely had an impact on Griezmann. I’d say overall it’s a positive impact, probably taking the pressure off Griezmann himself, not leaving him feeling like he always has to open the door for Atleti in matches and win them games.

The pair play well together with Alvarez actually stating in an interview back in December as saying ‘Griezmann makes everyone around him play better’ that’s some high praise off someone who has won 2 premier leagues, 1 champions league and a World Cup.

I had Atletico Madrid down as champions of Spain during that famous win in Barcelona back in December 24. (Which I’m sure/hope many of us did)
I won’t reopen the wounds for our Atletico friends but we all know how it ended, either away to Getafe or in that infamous 2 touch penalty shootout at the Metropolitano…

I have chosen to compare Alvarez and Griezmann because I feel they are very similar players.

Let’s put some respect on Alexander Sorloth’s name before I continue though, 20 goals in his debut season for Atletico and their top scorer in Primera, I described him in February as ‘Simeone’s enforcer’ he’s brilliant, I wish my club would’ve signed him way back when.

There isn’t much difference between Griezmann and Alvarez at all largely stats wise. The areas that I would say stick out to me though are overall attacking contributions, Alvarez performed much better in these areas than Griezmann, higher xG, higher goals per game ratio and more shots registered on target.

Griezmann left column, Alvarez right column

Now please understand that this is in no way shape or form any slander towards the great Antoine Griezmann, I am simply trying to figure out where does the burn out come from? It’s a trend because even in the 23/24 season the same thing happened, especially in the league. In the same breath, is it burn out though? Are we just seeing a changing of the guard at Atletico as mentioned previously, Griezmann is 34, he has played over 2,400 minutes this season alone in Primera, the minutes clocked on his body over the last decade, mentally and physically that must be tough right?
Changing of the guard could have something to do with it, looking into Alvarez’ stats throughout the whole season, he has recorded the most goal contributions in a season for Atletico Madrid since Antoine Griezmann himself in the 17/18 season (29G 13A)

With all this in mind, it’ll be something I will be definitely keeping an eye on next season, as I’m sure many Atleti fans will be too and Spanish football fans alike. Perhaps he may start slow next season, will this mean he will finish strong? Or if he starts fast like previous seasons, will he tail off again in the new year of 2026?

I have more questions than answers as you can probably tell, I hope you enjoyed the article, any feedback is alllllways appreciated, thanks so much.

Here is to a 25/26 campaign filled with Antoine bangers.

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