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Capping off weeks of anticipation, gameweek 1 of the 2021-22 season of the Spanish first-division - La Liga - officially got underway on the 13th of August, with Valencia hosting Getafe. La Liga's big three - Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona - were also in action over the weekend and hit the ground running.
Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 away win at Deportivo Alaves, while their cross-town rivals and defending champions Atletico Madrid picked up a narrow 2-1 away win at Celta Vigo. Barcelona also hit four goals, winning 4-2 against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.
Although the league season is in its infancy, many stars fired on all cylinders on the first matchday itself, registering match-winning performances for their respective teams. Today, we will talk a little about the performances of the La Liga stars, and tell you who shone the brightest. Now, without further ado, let us take a look at the
5 best performers of matchweek 1 in La Liga 2021-22
#5 Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has been a constant source of inspiration since signing for the club in 2012. So it was perfectly natural for him to step up in the absence of his midfield companion, Toni Kroos.
Modric was responsible for dictating the tempo of the match. He did not allow Deportivo Alaves any breathing room and was dropping deep regularly to fetch the ball. With his distribution, he immaculately connected the two halves of the team, finishing the match with 75 completed passes. If that was not enough, he also completed three dribbles — the highest on the pitch.
Luka Modric’s highlight came in the second half when he swung the ball in for Nacho inside the area and saw the defender tuck it in. It was the perfect depiction of Luka Modric’s vision and awareness — aspects Real Madrid will count on over the course of the La Liga campaign.
#4 Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid)
While Real Madrid and Barcelona enjoyed relatively easy runs in the opening match week of La Liga 2021-22, defending champions Atletico Madrid had to fight tooth and nail to book the maximum points at Celta Vigo.
Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa may not be a Golden Boot contender in La Liga, but the player has plenty of quality to help his team. For his first goal, he combined with Thomas Lemar to set himself up just outside the box. He smashed the ball into the top-right corner to give Atletico the lead.
His second goal came just five minutes after Atletico Madrid conceded the equalizer. This time, Koke’s exquisite ball found Correa inside the box, who made no mistake slotting the ball into the far corner. Thanks to Correa's brace, Atletico booked their first win of the season.
#3 Eric Lamela (Sevilla)
Former Tottenham Hotspur man Eric Lamela did not get the chance to start the La Liga opener for Sevilla. However, that did not stop him from making a telling impact, coming off the bench.
Lamela was substituted in for Oussama Idrissi before the start of the second half and the Argentine took the opportunity with both hands.
It only took him 10 minutes to get on the scoresheet for Sevilla. His shot took a nasty deflection inside the box to beat the Rayo Vallecano keeper. His second and Sevilla’s third goal of the night came with just over three minutes to play. Lamela took part in Sevilla’s fast-breaking counter and got on the end of Youssef En-Nesyri’s low cross to book his first brace in the Spanish top-flight.
#2 Martin Braithwaite (Barcelona)
The departure of Lionel Messi has not been easy on 26-time La Liga winners Barcelona. They are being forced to rewrite their game plan from scratch and do not have the luxury of going trophyless for a season. Thankfully, their first game of the season had no signs of the catastrophe that had befallen, and it was mostly down to one man — Martin Braithwaite.
Martin Braithwaite is not the most revered name in the Barcelona dressing room. Regardless, it was his tenacity that allowed Barcelona to nick all three points against Real Sociedad at home. Braithwaite scored his first in injury time of the first half, guiding Frenkie de Jong’s ball past the Sociedad keeper.
His well-taken second came in the second forty-five — again through a headed effort. The Denmark international was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on Remiro’s botched clearance, which ultimately helped Barcelona pick up a 4-2 win at Camp Nou to get their La Liga campaign off to a flyer.
#1 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema, who was on the scoresheet at Deportivo Alaves, was Los Blancos’ and La Liga’s player of the week. With Sergio Ramos gone and Marcelo left out of the starting XI, Karim Benzema was awarded the captain’s armband, and he did its reputation no harm.
The Frenchman, who is coming into La Liga on the back of four goals at UEFA Euro 2020, looked sharp from the get-go and put the Alaves defenders under pressure. He could not find the back of the net in the first half, but came out all guns blazing in the second forty-five minutes.
It took Benzema only three minutes after the restart to put Real Madrid ahead. The 33-year-old was neatly set up by Eden Hazard and he made no mistake from close range. His second goal came just past the hour mark, from a rebound. Fernando Pacheco did well to stop his first attempt but the second was well out of reach. A convincing Karim Benzema-performance was all Real Madrid needed to cruise to a comfortable La Liga victory away from home in their very first match of the league season.
