Only one player has created more chances than Lionel Messi in La Liga this season
For quite some time, Lionel Messi has been the most creative player in La Liga, selflessly setting up his Barcelona teammates.
The Argentinian magician has recorded 46 assists since the start of the 2016/17 campaign, more than any other La Liga player – eight ahead of second-placed Luis Suarez.
He has also created more chances than any other La Liga player in that period, with 313 in total. Dani Parejo is second-highest with 259.
Most chances created in La Liga in 2019/20
- Jose Campana: 58 chances created.
- Lionel Messi: 55 chances created.
- Martin Odegaard: 54 chances created.
- Santi Cazorla: 54 chances created.
- Sergio Canales: 52 chances created.
Of Messi’s 313 chances created since 2016/17, 55 have come this season, more than any of his Barcelona teammates and most La Liga players. However, there is one who has managed to be more ‘creative’ than Messi in La Liga in 2019/20.
Since their return to La Liga in 2017/18, Levante can usually be found flirting with relegation. But they’ve always managed to avoid the drop into the Segunda Division. The 2019/20 season looks set to unfold in familiar fashion for Levante as they currently sit 13th in the table, eight points above the relegation zone. But in Jose Campana, they have a midfielder trying his best to propel them up the table.
Campana is currently enjoying his fourth season with the Valencia-based club having joined from Sampdoria in August 2016 and helped the club return to La Liga.
His first campaign in La Liga saw the Spaniard record four assists from 49 chances created. This increased to nine assists from 59 chances created last season.
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This season, Campana has already created 58 chances, just one off his previous best, and more than any other La Liga player, also averaging 2.26 per 90 minutes and adding five assists.
It’s a far cry from Campana’s unsuccessful spell in the Premier League Crystal Palace in 2013/14. The Spaniard joined the Eagles from Sevilla in July 2013, having come through the club’s academy and signed a four-year deal at Selhurst Park.
He would play just six times and never completed a full 90 minutes – although he did record two assists – before being loaned to FC Nurnberg in January 2014. Returning to the Eagles in the summer of 2014, Campana was quickly sold on to Sampdoria and forgotten about at Selhurst Park.
