Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Moleiro headline our La Liga mid-season XI | OneFootball

L'Équipe reports that after 17 rounds Barcelona lead La Liga by four points from Real Madrid, with Espanyol Barcelona the early surprise for their defence. Their mid-season best XI lines up in a 4-4-2.

Villarreal boast the league’s best defence with 15 conceded, one fewer than both Madrid clubs, and Luiz junior, with seven clean sheets from his outings, gets the gloves. Club-mate Juan Foyth takes the right-sided centre-back slot, averaging four recoveries per match, a benchmark matched only by Eder Militao.

Militao partners him and underpins Real’s rearguard in their push for second. Marcos Llorente at right-back and Carlos Romero on the left provide energy and end product, combining for three goals and six assists. Pol Lozano of Espanyol Barcelona has committed the most fouls across Europe’s top five leagues.

The midfield of Pedri and Pablo Barrios inside, with Lamine Yamal and Alberto Moleiro wide, averages 21 years of age. Pedri and Yamal already have Euro 2024 and a Champions League semi-final behind them. Barrios is a Champions League regular, while Moleiro, 22, has over 150 senior games for Villarreal and Las Palmas.

Yamal and Moleiro have combined for 13 goals and nine assists, among the most decisive winger pairings in Europe. Despite two injuries that cost him six matches, leaving Pedri out would feel impossible given his vision, passing and two-way influence.

Barrios is the driving force in Diego Simeone’s defence-minded side, one of the few who carries the ball forward. His 1,305 La Liga minutes place him among the three most-used outfielders by the coach.

Up front, Kylian Mbappé leads the line as La Liga’s top scorer on 18. The France international has 94 caps, is central to Real’s position, and without him they would be in a very different situation. He is paired with Ferran Torres, who has relegated Robert Lewandowski to the bench and, with 11 goals, is proving he can be the number nine for a European giant.

Source: L'Équipe