ANALYSIS: Where have all the good goleadores gone in La Liga?

As Williot Swedberg approached the Real Betis box slowly and gingerly, as if dipping his toe in for temperature, you might be forgiven for thinking he wasn't going anywhere. The Swedish youngster dropped Sergi Altimira, cut back with his right and then rolled out with his left – he might have waved to the ex-Getafe midfielder on his way past the ex-Getafe midfielder – but Swedberg was lucky to played for Celta Vigo. He could rely on Anastasios Douvikas to tap home a goal at the far post that was almost too easy to celebrate.

That was the second for the Galicians in the weekend's match in La Liga, where Betis were also lucky to count Vitor Roque among their ranks. The Brazilian, who finally feels like a footballer again as his anniversary on Spanish soil approaches, is starting to satisfy his thirst for goals. If he wasn't a natural striker, he might not have sustained his run for that extra second to allow Carl Starfelt to move out of the way and release a pass for Johnny Cardoso to find him on the penalty spot.

It's not that common in Spain's top division these days. You don't have to go back to Ray Davies to ask: where have all the good nines gone? Former Celta 'adviser' Luis Campos, current sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain, lacked the commitment in a relationship where Os Celestes ultimately wanted more, but his big contribution was signing Douvikas and Jorgen Strand Larsen. They plan to more than double their money on the Norwegian, and you can't bet on them doing the same with their Greek, who is averaging a goal every 114 minutes this season.

Goalscorers have always been expensive. But while the world worries about their number six, and has its moral intellect thwarted by the undervaluation of midfielders compared to strikers (unless you vote for the Ballon d'Or, that's for another day), your classic number nine are actually becoming more and more valuable. Just ask Rayo Vallecano.

Over the past three seasons, Rayo have spent a good sixteen million euros on Raul de Tomas and Sergio Camello, and you can probably add a good chunk of that to Radamel Falcao's wages. In transfer fees alone, this accounts for 51% of their total expenditure. The Colombian is gone and is replaced in both status and contribution by James Rodriguez. But while Vallecas roared, then shouted, then sighed at their attacks, Rayo never looked like scoring in their 3-1 defeat to Las Palmas. They have performed relatively well this season, but only thirteen goals in twelve games explain their twelfth position. Swinging between comedy and Kafka, only Las Palmas defender Scott McKenna could break their duck, in a nightmarish repeat of a scene etched in the eyes of the Vallecanos in the first third of the season.

After just two minutes, Camello created an opportunity through hustle and bustle that few forwards possess, but which no predator would have missed. With a season-high 34 shots, not one went in from Rayo. With a remarkable three wins out of four, Diego Martinez has continued his revival in Las Palmas, thanks to the form of Alberto Moleiro and Fabio Silva in front of goal, but the concern will be how long can that continue if their four central strikers have three goals in have the League. Summer signing Oli McBurnie has hit less often than Scotland international team-mate McKenna in the near future, and last season the Canaries almost didn't make it out alive because of that exact problem.

Search the bottom half of La Liga, that's what you have to do to find goals. Eight teams from the Spanish top flight cannot muster more than one goal per match. Apart from penalties, only Moleiro, Juan Cruz (Leganes), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla) and Borja Iglesias from the bright and enterprising Celta side are on course to break the ten-goal barrier this season.

Goals are precious, but it never felt so difficult to find someone to score them, did it? Ten years ago between the 2012-2015 seasons, Spanish football would treat you to 2.71 goals per match, an increase of 0.21 on average over the 2022-25 seasons, including this season. Over the past three seasons, players have scored more than ten Liga goals 41 times, representing an average of 10.7 different teams. If you go back to ten years ago, the same metrics give you 65 players who netted, and 13 teams could expect someone to go for more than double figures.

It is a deficit attributed to Pep Guardiola's change in style at several points, even as more Spanish sides in the mid and bottom of the table have sketched out Diego Simeone's blueprints over the past decade. The arrival of Samu Aghehowa in the Spanish national team offers nervous hope that Spanish football, which has struggled to recruit number nines, can start producing them.

Samu recently made his debut for the Spanish national team and the 12-year gap between him and captain Alvaro Morata is quite noticeable. Morata succeeded a generation that ended with Fernando Torres, but was never pushed. Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente has tried with Abel Ruiz, who averages a goal every five games during his career, but tellingly the Spanish alternatives are Joselu Mato, a year older, and the red-hot Ayoze Perez, a years younger. a side that is otherwise full of youth products that De la Fuente has seen come through in the youth side. A parallel was also illustrated at Alaves last season, when Luis Garcia Plaza alternated between playing Samu and 34-year-old Kike Garcia.

Even behind Samu, Leeds United's Mateo Joseph has impressed for the under-21s but remains relatively shy of goal in the Championship. If you look through the Spanish age groups, the top talents are still midfielders and slick centre-backs with even cleaner passing.

Robert Lewandowski said this week that nowadays the number six position is more important than a goalscoring number nine. He should know: the 36-year-old is seven goals shy of his total from last season, but the biggest difference in his Barcelona team is the emergence of Marc Casado and Pedri as a good starter in midfield. Lewandowski's improvement is symbiotic with what's happening behind him, but there's no escaping the fact that his goals earn points from all their promising play.

One of the key shifts from La Liga's post-salary cap and post-pandemic spending has been a shift towards what Spain does best: bringing in young talent ready for the top level. Still, you're much more likely to go for gold and polish off a good number six, at least in La Liga. If you're in Spain, you're much better off investing in a number nine with goals in mind and ice in your veins.