Ten key points from first half of La Liga
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With half the games now played, FC Barcelona are second in the league with 44 points. Messi is the team's top goalscorer
Barça have finished the first half of the league with 44 points from 14 wins, three defeats and two draws.
Luis Enrique has used 22 different players. The injured Vermaelen is the only outfield player not to have featured, while goalkeepers Ter Stegen and Masip have played in other competitions but not the league. Munir and Sandro of Barça B have also been used.
The only two players to have featured in all 19 games are Claudio Bravo and Leo Messi. The Chilean has played the full 90 minutes of every game, while the Argentinian only sat out the first half at Real Sociedad.
Barça have by far the best defensive record in La Liga. Claudio Bravo has only conceded nine goals, an average of just 0.49 a match.
Barça’s 48 goals make for an impressive average of 2.5 a game. Of these, 24 have been scored with the right foot, 16 with the left, seven with the head and on Sunday night Deportivo provided the first own goal of the campaign.
The final quarter of an hour has been the most effective period, with 15 goals coming after the 76th minute.
Leo Messi leads the goalscoring at Barça with 19, followed by Neymar on 12. Against Deportivo, the Argentinian got his third hat-trick of the season and the 30th of his career. He also got three against Sevilla and Espanyol. Messi also leads the team in assists, with eight.
Eleven different Barça players have scored goals so far this league season. In addition to Messi and Neymar, goals have also come courtesy of Rakitic (3), Pedro (3), Piqué (2), Suárez (2), Sandro (2), Jordi Alba (1), Munir (1), Busquets (1) and Xavi (1).
All six of the different strikers that have appeared have found the target at least once. Messi, Neymar, Suárez, Pedro, Munir and Sandro have 39 goals and 21 assists between them.
Barça lead La Liga in passes. They have completed 13,029, an 88.2% effectiveness rate. The top passer is Sergio Busquets, with 1,336, while the leader in passes in the opposition’s half is Leo Messi with 1,026.
Neymar has been on the receiving end of the most fouls. In 16 games, he’s been fouled 49 times. Barça are heading for a fifth consecutive Fair Play Award after committing less fouls than any other side in La Liga, 194, and also being shown the fewest yellow cards, 32.