Baena & Ayoze: The Dynamic Duo Behind Villarreal's Rise to Third in LaLiga

As of now, Villarreal CF stands at third place in the league with 17 points. The team has been impressive in front of goal, netting 17 times already this season. Their goal-scoring prowess puts them just behind Barça and on par with Real Madrid. It comes as no surprise that key players are stepping up and leading the team during this successful run.

In the case of Marcelino’s squad, it’s Álex Baena and Ayoze Pérez who are truly standing out.

The two Spain internationals have hit the ground running to begin the new campaign, and are leading the Castellón-based team to win after win. In the case of Ayoze Pérez, the Canary Islander has scored six goals already, meaning top scorer Robert Lewandowski is the only player with more so far in LALIGA EA SPORTS.

As for Baena, he is the player with the most assists in the top five major European leagues in 2024, with 13, surpassing the likes of Kevin de Bruyne.

This term, Baena already has five assists, the same as Lamine Yamal, the other player with the most assists in the competition. In Villarreal CF’s recent win against RCD Espanyol, both he and Ayoze Pérez were key to the victory, as there were two assists from Baena for two goals for Ayoze Pérez.

Between them, they turned the scoreboard around to earn a 2-1 win and three more points. Then, in the Monday night game against UD Las Palmas, Baena scored and assisted, earning the MVP prize.

Álex Baena and Ayoze Pérez, fresh from winning Euro 2024 with Spain

Both players have continued where they left off, as they enjoyed a dream summer by winning the European Championship with the Spanish national team.

Furthermore, Baena also became an Olympic champion at Paris 2024, helping Spain earn further success. It was also a busy summer for Ayoze Pérez, since he joined Villarreal CF by completing a transfer from Real Betis. He has settled in brilliantly, and is hoping to lead his new team back to Europe, and possibly to the Champions League.

The Canary Islander is averaging 0.86 goals per game, practically one per outing, taking into account that he joined the team just two days before the start of the new LALIGA EA SPORTS season, meaning he wasn’t immediately a starter.

Together with Lewandowski, he is the player to have secured the most points for his team with his goal contributions. Now that he is in such good form, he is even a regular in Luis de la Fuente’s squad lists and started in Spain’s game against Serbia last international break.

He and Baena will hope to make the next Spain squad and continue their good form in the next international break.