La Liga Matchday 1 Insight: Stats, Trends, and More

17/08/22 1071

With Matchday 1 of the 2022/23 La Liga season in the books, it’s time to analyse the all the key statistics and emerging trends from the opening round.

In this piece, we cover home and away trends, goal stats, and players who caught the eye on Matchday 1. Before we go any further, though, let’s check out the results.

La Liga Matchday 1 Results

• Osasuna 2-1 Sevilla
• Celta Vigo 2-2 Espanyol
• Valladolid 0-3 Villarreal
• Barcelona 0-0 Rayo Vallecano
• Cadiz 0-1 Real Sociedad
• Valencia 1-0 Girona
• Almeria 1-2 Real Madrid
• Athletic Club 0-0 Mallorca
• Getafe 0-3 Atletico Madrid
• Real Betis 3-0 Elche

Seven teams made a winning start – Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis, Real Madrid, Osasuna, Real Sociedad and Valencia. Of those sides, Villarreal, Atletico and Betis scored over 2.5 goals en route to victory.

Real Madrid needed to second-half goals to come from behind to beat newly-promoted Almeria. Meanwhile, Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by Rayo Vallecano – despite racking up 68% possession and 21 shots.

Home and Away Trends

• Home wins: 3 (30%)
• Away wins: 4 (40%)
• Draws: 3 (30%)

Interestingly, Matchday 1 of the 2022/23 La Liga campaign dished up more away wins than home wins. Villarreal, Sociedad, Real Madrid, and Atletico all triumphed on their travels at the weekend.

Osasuna, Valencia and Betis won on home soil, dispatching Sevilla, Girona and Elche, respectively. There were also three draws, meaning six teams sit on one point ahead of Matchday 2.

La Liga Matchday 1 Goal Stats

• Both teams scored: 3 (30%)
• Over 2.5 goals: 6 (60%)
• Under 2.5 goals: 4 (40%)
• Over 3.5 goals: 1 (10%)
• Under 1.5 goals: 4 (40%)
• Clean sheets: 9 (90%)

Only 30% of games saw both teams score, while only one clash – Celta Vigo 2-2 Espanyol – produced over 3.5 goals. It is also worth noting that four games dished up under 1.5 goals, including two goalless ties.

Remarkably, nine sides kept a clean sheet on the opening weekend. Villarreal, Atletico, Betis, Sociedad, Valencia, Athletic, Barcelona, Mallorca and Vallecano all achieved shutouts on Matchday 1.

Standout Players

• Juanmi, Real Betis: 2 goals
• Alvaro Morata, Atletico Madrid: 2 goals
• Alex Baena, Villarreal: 2 goals
• Joao Felix, Atletico Madrid: 3 assists

Three players bagged a brace on the opening weekend – Betis’ Juanmi, Atletico’s Alvaro Morata and Villarreal’s Alex Baena. Elsewhere, 15 other players opened their account for the season.

However, the standout display of Matchday 1 came from Joao Felix. The Portuguese starlet assisted all three of Atletico’s goals against Getafe, setting up both of Morata’s strikes.