There are no more games to be played this year in La Liga, and Barcelona dominated almost every single category. Los Blaugranas ended 2018 with a 2-0 win against Celta, reassuring their spot as the best team in the Spanish top flight in the ongoing season.
Their top-spot finish in 2018 was fueled by a massive performance, as usual, by Lionel Messi. The footballer had a hand in quite a few goals for Los Blaugranas in the past 12 months, as thes numbers will show you.
48 - Leo Messi has been involved in 47.6% of 147 @FCBarcelona goals scored in 2018 in all competitions (47 goals and 23 assists). Omnipresent. pic.twitter.com/EWwMwkkLsl
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 24, 2018
But Messi's great shape also made his team-mates even better, since they topped not only their Spanish peers in all categories, but most of Europe when it comes to scoring goals.
1 - Barcelona have scored 102 league goals in 2018, more than any other big five European League team. Productive. pic.twitter.com/JhIauCYM0d
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 22, 2018
If you needed more numbers to believe our claims, Barcelona's consistency is shown by this specific stat.
Barcelona lost only 5 games in 2018, their lowest number of losses in a calendar year since 2012. pic.twitter.com/wuW5Y4pzuD
— Leo Messi (@LioneIMessiTeam) December 24, 2018
Pichichi Race
Lionel Messi missed a couple of games due to an injury, but he managed to end the year with a four-goal cushion over his nearest competitors, including his team-mate/friend Luis Suárez.
With goals, Messi ends the year as top scorer in #LaLigaSantander! pic.twitter.com/rqOn4f5UTs
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) December 23, 2018
La Liga Standings after 17 games
Real Madrid and Villarreal will play their pending match as soon as 2019 begins, since their postponed game is set to be played on January 3rd.
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 34 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 74 | 22 | +52 | 87 | WWWWW | |
| 2 | Girona | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 73 | 42 | +31 | 74 | WWWLW | |
| 3 | Barcelona | 34 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 70 | 43 | +27 | 73 | LWLWW | |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 63 | 39 | +24 | 67 | WWLWW | |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 61 | WLDDL | |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 54 | WLDDW | |
| 7 | Real Betis | 33 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 49 | DWWLL | |
| 8 | Valencia | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 37 | 38 | -1 | 47 | LLWWD | |
| 9 | Villarreal | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 55 | -1 | 45 | WWDLW | |
| 10 | Getafe | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 41 | 47 | -6 | 43 | LWDDL | |
| 11 | Osasuna | 33 | 11 | 6 | 16 | 37 | 49 | -12 | 39 | LLLWL | |
| 12 | Deportivo Alavés | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 31 | 38 | -7 | 38 | WWLLL | |
| 13 | Sevilla | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 46 | -4 | 38 | DWWWL | |
| 14 | Las Palmas | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 30 | 43 | -13 | 37 | LLLLL | |
| 15 | Rayo Vallecano | 33 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 27 | 42 | -15 | 34 | LWDDW | |
| 16 | Mallorca | 34 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 27 | 40 | -13 | 32 | LDLLD | |
| 17 | Celta de Vigo | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 50 | -13 | 31 | LWLDW | |
| 18 | Cádiz | 34 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 23 | 49 | -26 | 26 | LDLLW | |
| 19 | Granada | 33 | 4 | 9 | 20 | 36 | 61 | -25 | 21 | WDWLL | |
| 20 | Almería | 33 | 1 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 67 | -35 | 14 | LLDLW |
