After three months of no action and dealing with the confinement of sitting at home amidst a pandemic that pushed football and every other sporting activities into the backseat, La Lia 2019-20 sees daylight again. The Spanish top-flight football season, frozen since March 11 after Real Madrid club’s basketball players tested positive for coronavirus, will return back into action on June 12 with the Seville derby. As the season resumes, only this time without spectators and in empty stadiums with little or no celebrations, take a look at the top-five goalscorers and assist makers of the current season before it came to a halt. La Liga New Schedule for Restart: Check Out Fixtures, Match Timings in IST of Spanish Football League 2019-20 Season.

Barcelona led the La Liga 2019-20 points table with 11 rounds still to play when football in Spain froze due to COVID-19. The defending league champions led second-placed Real Madrid by two points while Sevilla and Real Sociedad occupied the other two spots in the top-four. Barcelona were on 58 points from 27 matches. Barcelona Begin La Liga Title Defence at Mallorca on June 13, Real Madrid to Host Eibar the Following Day.

Top Goalscorers

Lionel Messi, unsurprisingly, led the race for the golden boot with 19 strikes in just 22 games at least four fewer than the next best Karim Benzema, who netted 14 times. The Argentine looks set to win a fourth consecutive Pichichi trophy, awarded to the top goalscorer for each La Liga season. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner, in case he achieves it, could equal Hugo Sanchez’s record of four successive Pichichi trophy and also overtake Telmo Zarra as the highest winner of the golden boot in La Liga.

Sr No Name Club Goals Scored Games Played Goals Per Match
1 Lionel Messi Barcelona 19 22 0.86
2 Karim Benzema Real Madrid 14 26 0.54
3 Luis Suarez Barcelona 11 17 0.65
4 Gerard Moreno Villarreal 11 25 0.44
5 Lucas Perez Deportivo Alaves 11 26 0.42

Top Assist Makers

Messi once again leads the list which explains his importance at Barcelona and the club’s play revolves around the diminutive genius. Despite playing only 22 times this season in the league, the Argentine tops the goal as well as assists charts. But the surprise in the lot is Real Sociedad midfielder Portu, aka Cristian Portugues Manzanera. He is one of the many reasons why Real Sociedad are placed fourth in the team standings. And although Martin Odegaard and Mikel Oyarzabal have walked with most limelight, Portu has been one of the unsung heroes of Sociedad’s campaign this season.

Sr No Name Club Assists Games Assist Per Match
1 Lionel Messi Barcelona 12 22 0.55
2 Portu Real Sociedad 8 24 0.33
3 Luis Suarez Barcelona 7 17 0.41
4 Rodrigo Moreno Valencia CF 7 21 0.33
5 Roberto Morales C.A. Osasuna 7 26 0.27

It is no surprise that both Messi and Suarez, despite the injury-hampered seasons, lead the goals and assists lists for Barcelona. They have been one of the prime reasons for Barcelona leading the La Liga points table and staying on course for a third successive league title. Meanwhile, La Liga 2019-20 season will resume on June 12 and end by June 19 with matches held on every day of the week.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 03, 2020 04:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).