Football has returned!

And so with it, comes the NextGoalWinner POTM awards. In just a few rounds of matches across Europe, we have seen some incredible drama, some hits and some misses. With plenty of goals, drama and highlights, we are in for one hell of a season coming up.

Taking the European POTM award from the top 5 leagues (except Premier League which has it’s own recognition), we have a newcomer and admittedly a player I hadn’t fully been aware of until looking through the results in August.

29 year old Betis forward Borja Iglesias has taken the first award of the season for his huge influence in helping Real Betis to 9 points from 9 as he netted 4 times in the 3 La Liga games to start his season off in a fantastic run of form. Although not always being the standout superstar in the games he played, his goals and contributions were crucial in 2 of the 3 wins, as they were the difference to claim the victory and get Betis off to a flying start. Although not one of the traditional superstar names you would expect to claim these awards, Iglesias was terrific throughout the month and if he can continue this run of form, Betis could pose a serious threat in La Liga and Europe when they enter the Europa League in September.

If you have anything to add to our NextGoalWinner POTM decision, or disagree with our pick, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.

Match By Match

August 15th: Real Betis 3-0 Elche – Just 28 minutes into the season saw Iglesias on the scoresheet to set Betis on track for their first comfortable victory over a poor Elche side who are expected to struggle this season. The 29 year old led the line well, playing out 79 minutes of the game, netting once, creating 1 big chance, and drawing 4 fouls (most of any player). Although not the standout star of his side, as winger Juanmi took most of the plaudits for his brace, however Iglesias was pivotal in starting the game off in the right manner and allowing his side to the comfortable victory.

August 20th: Mallorca 1-2 Real Betis – The second game of the month and season really allowed Iglesias to shine, as his penalty brace helped his side claim the win over Mallorca and continue their winning start to the season. Although Betis were favourites for this one, it was a much tougher challenge for Pellegrini’s side. Iglesias really led his side with not only his goals, but with his full performance, playing 79 minutes yet again, he maintained 100% shot accuracy, 100% long ball accuracy, made 2 recoveries and drew 3 fouls. With a FotMob rating of 8.6/10, he took the player of the match award and continued his scoring run and Betis’ winning run.

August 26th: Real Betis 1-0 Osasuna – Both the winning run and scoring run continued for Betis and Iglesias, as he netted the decisive goal in their 1-0 win over Osasuna, to make it 3 wins from 3, and 4 goals in those games for the Spanish forward, which has edged him to the European POTM award for August. His goal scoring run, and also influence on getting his side to 9 point from 9 has edged him to the top of this award rankings, and have Betis looking a real threat for the season ahead. Again, Iglesias wasn’t the start player in his side in the game, however his 7.7 rating brings an average of 8.06/10 across the whole month, while the goal yet again was the difference for his side. Being brought off in the 75th minute, he maintained 100% shot accuracy, 100% tackle success, 100% aerial duel success and another big contribution to help his side claim the victory.