Luis Rioja named LaLiga SmartBank Player of the Month for February

Luis Rioja has received the LaLiga SmartBank Player of the Month Award for February. The Deportivo Alaves midfielder was instrumental in his team’s unbeaten run last month, taking three victories and a draw which keep them very much in the fight for promotion to LaLiga Santander.

The Sevillian was the top performer for the month thanks to his four goals and two assists during February. He kicked off the month by playing in a teammate to score in the 2-0 victory over SD Eibar, before finding the back of the net and assisting in the 4-1 win away to Real Zaragoza. However, he saved his best performance for UD Ibiza, netting a hat-trick in the game which saw his side run out 4-2 winners.

The Deportivo Alaves midfielder follows in the footsteps of SD Eibar’s Stoichkov, who won the award in January. Rioja’s stellar performances saw him come out on top in the final voting ahead of Pepe, of FC Cartagena, and Myrto Uzuni, of Granada CF.