The cream of September

After a passionate September in which football returned to its throne, the LFP.es editorial team have selected eleven standout players from the first stretch of the competition.

Keeper

The only unbeaten goalkeeper in the competition: Claudio Bravo. The Chilean international has not taken long to settle between the sticks at FC Barcelona, the team that top the table, partly thanks to his key saves. The South American keeper is 21 minutes short of beating Pedro Artolá’s record of 560 minutes unbeaten at the start of the 1977/78 season If Bravo remains unbeaten against Rayo Vallecano, it will be a new record for the start of the championship. 

Defence

Our defence is made up of four players: Dani Carvajal, João Miranda, Nicolás Otamendi and José Luis Gayà. The Madrid player has made a place for himself as a right-back in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans. His contributions, both in defence and going forward, are vital to the Whites’ balance, as they look to win it all yet again. For his part, Miranda has managed to become Club Atlético de Madrid’s top goal-scorer, proving vital on set-pieces and dominating in the air. Valencia CF provide the rear-guard with two players. Otamendi has got off to a good start in the Liga BBVA, proving essential to the solidity at the back for Nuno Espírito and is already one of the stars of the Ché. It is a similar story for Gayà, one of the new young guns from Valencia’s seemingly bottomless academy.

Midfield

Creativity, balance and sound football is born in the centre of the pitch, which is why LFP.es have chosen three superstars for the position. Valencia are back to their best thanks to one of their newcomers: André Gomes. The Portuguese player has started every match and has already found the back of the net. When it comes to goals and playmaking, Ivan Rakitić cannot be overlooked. Despite his late arrival this season, Barcelona’s new star has won the confidence of Luis Enrique and the Camp Nou faithful: two goals in six matches and a total of 565 passes, more than anyone else in the competition, are proof of his worth. Denis Suárez completes the trio of midfielders. He burst onto the scene at Sevilla FC, where he is on loan, and has proved vital to the Andalusian side’s top-four position after a month and a half of competition.

Up front

Cristiano Ronaldo providing the most. The Portuguese player has played some sublime football in recent weeks, with a hat-trick against RC Deportivo de La Coruña, putting four past Elche CF and finding the net once against Villarreal CF. Meanwhile, one of the revelations of La Liga, Paco Alcácer, has also made it into our dream team thanks to his contributions to Valencia CF, averaging 0.7 goals per match with four in six games, three of them coming in the past month. In September, Neymar Jr has undoubtedly been one of the stars of the championship. The Azulgrana number 11 has scored six goals in the last three weeks of competition, lighting up the Camp Nou in his second season with the team.

Super-subs

Not everyone could make the team, but LFP.es wanted to give a special mention to players such as Sergio Álvarez, RC Celta de Vigo’s keeper, who has settled in goal at the Balaídos at the hand of Eduardo Berizzo. The Cameroonian Stephane M'Bia, who has returned to Sevilla in style, becoming one of Unai Emery’s go-to players and, of course, Lionel Messi, who on matchday six of the championship reached 401 goals as a professional. Also, Alberto Bueno and Léo Baptistão, as the stalwarts of a Rayo Vallecano that is looking to stay in the Spanish topflight for another season.