Iago Aspas not only continued his spectacular form in Celta Vigo's recent stirring 2-2 draw with Barcelona, but he also kept up his remarkable scoring record vs. the Catalan giants.
Following his strike against Barca, Aspas has now bagged eight goals in his last five appearances and four in his last four outings vs. the mighty Blaugrana.
His performance was about much more than just his smoothly taken goal, however, as he provided a constant source of menace to Ernesto Valverde's backline. Using his inventive movement, technical qualities and his strong relationships with his teammates, the Spaniard always provided a key attacking weapon for the Galician outfit.
From his attacking post, Celta manager, Juan Carlos Unzue, granted the 30-year-old plentiful freedom to undertake his responsibilities, allowing him to move freely across the attacking third to create vital numerical and positional superiorities for his team. Whether by creating 3v2 overloads in wide areas, dropping deep to serve as a valuable link between midfield and attack or pushing up and causing dangerous 5v4 advantages vs. Barca's backline with his runs in behind, this aspect of his performance was vitally important for Celta.
The constantly buzzing Aspas' spatial awareness was perfectly illustrated in the lead up to his opening goal, where his brilliantly timed and directed run instigated the passage that led to him finishing home Maxi Gomez's saved shot.
It was hardly surprising then that another instinctive forward run from the former Liverpool battler proved the catalyst for Celta Vigo's second, where he latched onto possession following his purposeful depth run and supplied a precise assist for Gomez to slot home.
Another way he contributed so influentially to the cause came courtesy of his technical skills, which he used to connect, construct and animate his side's play and by incisively putting his razor sharp dribbling to good use. Indeed, his creativity and overall immense attacking output was aptly depicted by the fact he created four clear cut chances, unleashed two shots, successfully completed three dribbles and won one aerial duel.
Alongside the likes of Pione Sisto and Gomez, Aspas has been the heartbeat of the Sky Blues' dynamic frontline, and his showing against the league leaders further evidenced his quality. With Valencia up next in La Liga, Aspas will look to put the second placed side to the sword too. And on current form, it would take a brave to man to bet against him doing exactly that.
Although the man who's already scored nine this term admits it'll be a major milestone if he can surpass his tally of 26 goals in all competitions from 2016/2017, Aspas is optimistic about doing so, while also hoping to exceed his figures to give himself every chance of being selected for next year's World Cup. "It will be very difficult to overcome the numbers of last season, although I do not set limits," he explained to Marca.
Who knows, if he can keep up his eye-catchingly high levels of consistency, a place in Julen Lopetegui's Spanish World Cup squad would be the perfect reward for all his exemplary work come season's end.
