The third week of the La Liga season brought with it one of the most stunning upsets from around the soccer world so far in 2016 as Barcelona fell to newly promoted Alaves in front of their home fans. The shocking victory introduced some potential future stars in Ibai Gomez and Deyverson up front while there was certainly plenty of offense from the league including five goals from Real Madrid in another lopsided victory. Here is a look at the top individual La Liga fantasy performances by position from this past weekend.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao earned its first three points of the season thanks in big part to the performance of its goalkeeper over the weekend. Arrizabalaga stopped all three shots he faced in a 1-0 clean sheet victory over Deportivo La Coruna to edge out Villarreal’s Sergio Asenjo for top La Liga fantasy honors at his position. Athletic Bilbao is now in 14th place in the standings with just three points. They’ll have to put up more weeks like this if they hope to get out of the basement.
Honorable Mention: Sergio Asenjo, Villarreal
D: Jaume Costa, Villarreal
Villarreal also registered its first victory of the season after opening the year with a pair of draws, and Costa had a major impact in the successful outcome. Costa scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 2-0 win over Malaga and then did an excellent job at the defensive end as Villarreal blanked its opponent for the second time in three games to open the La Liga season.
Honorable Mention: Pepe, Real Madrid; Juanfran, Atletico Madrid; Danilo, Real Madrid
M: Ruben Castro, Real Betis
Real Betis overcame a stiff challenge from Valencia to earn its first win of the season on Saturday thanks in big part to the play of their midfielder Castro. Castro scored two goals on five shots including the game-winning goal in the second minute of second-half injury time. The late goal absolutely stunned Valencia and it put Castro over the top with the best fantasy score among La Liga fantasy midfielders this past weekend. Real Betis has scored just five goals so far this season while allowing eight. Those eight goals are the second-most in La Liga.
M: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Danilo All scored for Real Madrid in a 5-2 win over Osasuna but none of those players registered multiple points on the scoresheet over this past weekend while Kroos did. The veteran midfielder recorded a pair of assists and finished with two shots to secure a spot on this list. Real Madrid has been the best team in the league in terms of La Liga fantasy purposes. They have managed to score 10 goals in just three games, which ties them with Las Palmas for the most in the league.
Honorable Mention: Koke, Atletico Madrid; Nacho Cases, Sporting Gijon; Luka Modric, Real Madrid
F: Antoine Griezmann, Atletico Madrid
No La Liga player was more dominant from a La Liga fantasy perspective over the weekend than Griezmann, who scored two goals and added an assist with three shots on target in a 4-0 win over Celta Vigo. Griezmann’s first two goals of the year could be a strong sign of things to come for the veteran striker as he looks to build off an impressive performance at the Euro Cup with a chance to lead Atletico up front this year. His timing couldn’t have been better as Atletico earned its first victory of the season after opening with a pair of draws.
F: Ibai Gomez, Alaves
There wasn’t a more stunning outcome in the world of soccer over the weekend than newly promoted Alaves upsetting Barcelona with a 2-1 win at Camp Nou. Gomez scored the game-winning goal in the 64th minute and finished with three shots on target to prove that he deserves a spot on this list among the top La Liga fantasy forwards this past weekend.
Honorable Mention: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid; Duje Cop, Sporting Gijon; Deyverson, Alaves
