Parejo is the centre of gravity for Valencia Valencia Team's leader and top scorer

One of LaLiga Santander's star performers this season has been Dani Parejo, who has not only led Valencia by example but is also their top scorer.

There was no better proof than at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano, where he scored a superb free-kick to equalise and then almost made it 2-1 with a rifled shot which caused a fingertip save from Jan Oblak.

He has now scored 60 goals in 324 games in the top flight of Spanish football, with 52 of those goals coming in 255 games for Valencia.

With five goals this season, he has scored one more than Maxi Gomez, though all five have come from set pieces: four from penalties and one from a free-kick. Parejo has now scored 10 free-kicks for his club, one less than Mario Kempes.

With five goals in eight games, having missed the first game of the season through suspension, he is enjoying the most prolific run of his career to date, the next best being when he scored three goals in nine games in 2014/15, ending the season with 13 goals.

In the second half against Atletico Madrid, Parejo played on the left of a three-man midfield, not as advanced but influencing play at all times, reverting to a second pivot when Geoffrey Kondogbia went off, and dictating the tempo of the game to find a Valencia equaliser.