Each and everyone of the teams in La Liga has played 18 games now, with Barcelona unsurprisingly leading the pack. What really stands out is that Los Blaugranas did not have the best start of the season, but ended up finding the way to make their opponents surrender time and time again.
Furthermore, the partnership between Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez has been quite productive in the ongoing season, with both footballers leading the goalscoring charts. Their antics have seen them sending the ball to the back of the net 28 times, which is something that only three other teams have been capable of doing.
28 - @FCBarcelona strikers Lionel Messi (16) and Luis Suárez (12) have scored 28 @LaLigaEN goals this season, more than 16 teams in the competition. Duet. pic.twitter.com/mvH2JKalZa
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 6, 2019
In fact, Messi's influence in the team's performance has also eclipsed the entire goalscoring haul accomplished by Real Madrid and Atlético, as these numbers below will show.
Lionel Messi has now contributed to as many goals in La Liga this season as Real Madrid have scored.
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) January 7, 2019
Staggering. pic.twitter.com/mEJJqW1tSI
Pichichi race
In the early weeks of the season, Christian Stuani was the man calling the shots in the Spanish top flight. Now, Messi and Suárez have taken over, with no sign of them being interested in stopping.
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La Liga standings after 18 games
Barcelona is now five points above Atlético, with Sevilla and Alavés completing the tournament's top four. Regarding Real Madrid, their season seems to be going nowhere, even with Solari's appointment. Will Los Blancos end the competition away from Champions League spots?
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 31 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 67 | 20 | +47 | 78 | WWWWD | |
| 2 | Barcelona | 31 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 62 | 34 | +28 | 70 | WWWWD | |
| 3 | Girona | 31 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 63 | 39 | +24 | 65 | LWLWL | |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 31 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 59 | 36 | +23 | 61 | WWLLW | |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 32 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 58 | DDLWW | |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 31 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 50 | DWWWL | |
| 7 | Valencia | 31 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 47 | WWDLW | |
| 8 | Real Betis | 31 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 45 | WLLLL | |
| 9 | Villarreal | 31 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 49 | 54 | -5 | 39 | DLWWW | |
| 10 | Getafe | 31 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 37 | 43 | -6 | 39 | DLWLD | |
| 11 | Osasuna | 31 | 11 | 6 | 14 | 36 | 44 | -8 | 39 | LWLLW | |
| 12 | Las Palmas | 31 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 29 | 35 | -6 | 37 | LLLLD | |
| 13 | Sevilla | 31 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 44 | -5 | 34 | WWLDW | |
| 14 | Deportivo Alavés | 31 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 32 | LLLWL | |
| 15 | Mallorca | 31 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 36 | -11 | 31 | LDWLW | |
| 16 | Rayo Vallecano | 31 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 38 | -13 | 31 | DDWLD | |
| 17 | Celta de Vigo | 31 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 33 | 46 | -13 | 28 | LDWLW | |
| 18 | Cádiz | 31 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 41 | -20 | 25 | LWLWD | |
| 19 | Granada | 32 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 33 | 61 | -28 | 18 | DWLLL | |
| 20 | Almería | 31 | 1 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 62 | -32 | 14 | DLWDL |
