The 2015-16 La Liga season began with reigning champions Barcelona shipping goals aplenty, while Rafa Benitez’s spell as Real Madrid coach started with his team hardly conceding at all.
Those initial impressions proved misleading, however, and the swing in fortunes between the big two was emphasised by Barca’s 4-0 Clasico win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in late November.
Meanwhile, a much-changed Atletico Madrid team took time to gel, with Diego Simeone’s men powering through the autumn but still not looking quite as good as previous year’s sides.
Sevilla, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao had difficult starts to their campaigns, allowing Celta Vigo, Villarreal, Deportivo La Coruna and even Eibar to all ride high in the European spots during the autumn months.
When Barca talisman Lionel Messi was injured in late September, there were widespread worries among Blaugrana fans and pundits.
But Neymar stepped up superbly to take over the leadership of the team — in the 10 La Liga and Champions League fixtures that Messi missed, the Brazilian scored 10 times and gave six assists — revelling in the extra freedom and responsibility and showing he could be an all-round creative player.
Less high-profile players to shine so far in 2015-16 have been Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas, Celta Vigo attacker Nolito, Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega and Deportivo La Coruna forward Lucas Perez. Plus, as always, Atletico Madrid’s outstanding centre-back Diego Godin.
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