2014–15 La Liga


The 2014–15 La Liga season was the 84th season of the premier association football league in Spain. The campaign began on 23 August 2014 and ended on 24 May 2015.
Barcelona won its 23rd title on 17 May 2015 after defeating defending champions Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, and also equalled the all-time record goal difference of +89, originally set by Real Madrid in the 2011–12 season.

Teams

Promotion and relegation (pre-season)

A total of 20 teams contest the league, including 17 sides from the 2013–14 season and three promoted from the 2013–14 Segunda División. This includes the two top teams from the Segunda División, and the winner of the play-offs, Córdoba.
Eibar became the first club from Segunda División to achieve promotion to La Liga after its 1–0 victory over Alavés on 25 May 2014. Eibar made their La Liga debut in the 2014–15 season.
Deportivo La Coruña won promotion back to La Liga after one season in Segunda División with a 1–0 victory over Real Jaén on 31 May 2014.
Córdoba won the promotion play-off against Las Palmas and returned to the top level after 42 years.

Stadia and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
AlmeríaAlmeríaJuegos Mediterráneos21,350
Athletic BilbaoBilbaoSan Mamés53,289
Atlético MadridMadridVicente Calderón54,907
BarcelonaBarcelonaCamp Nou99,786
Celta VigoVigoBalaídos31,800
CórdobaCórdobaEl Arcángel21,822
Deportivo La CoruñaA CoruñaRiazor34,600
EibarEibarIpurua6,000
ElcheElcheMartínez Valero36,017
EspanyolBarcelonaPower8 Stadium40,500
GetafeGetafeColiseum Alfonso Pérez17,393
GranadaGranadaNuevo Los Cármenes23,156
LevanteValenciaCiutat de València26,354
MálagaMálagaLa Rosaleda30,044
Rayo VallecanoMadridVallecas14,708
Real MadridMadridSantiago Bernabéu81,044
Real SociedadSan SebastiánAnoeta32,076
SevillaSevilleRamón Sánchez Pizjuán45,500
ValenciaValenciaMestalla55,000
VillarrealVillarrealEl Madrigal25,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Managerial changes

Overview

On 2 May, Córdoba were relegated with three games left to play in the season, after losing 0–8 at home against Barcelona. Eight days later, Villarreal confirmed sixth place and an entry into the UEFA Europa League with Joel Campbell's winning goal against Elche.
Barcelona, playing with a three-man attack of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez under new manager Luis Enrique, won the title on 17 May with a goal by Messi to defeat holders Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. It came exactly a year after Atlético had won their league title at Barcelona's Camp Nou. Real Madrid, with profound inconsistency in the second half of the season, secured second place on the same day as Barcelona won the title, with a 1–4 win at Espanyol.
The battle for the Champions League was settled in the last ten minutes of the season. Valencia, in fourth place with 74 points, went into the last match of the season at relegation-threatened Almería, facing all three possibilities of direct qualification to the group stage of the Champions League, qualification to the play-off round, or missing out on the Champions League altogether. Valencia won the match 3–2 to secure fourth place, as Atlético Madrid, three points ahead, drew at Granada. Sevilla, with a 3–2 win at Málaga, achieved a record 76 points total without Champions League qualification, finishing fifth. Sevilla however qualified for the Champions League by winning the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final.
Earlier in the season, on 7 February, Atlético Madrid achieved a 4-0 victory over city rivals Real Madrid. It was Real's biggest loss since a 5-0 loss to Barcelona in November 2010.
Despite finishing the season in the 13th position, on 5 June, Elche was relegated to Segunda División due to its financial struggles. Newcomers Eibar, who finished the season in the 18th position, will take Elche's place in 2015–16 La Liga.

League table

Positions by round

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Luis Alberto for Málaga against Athletic Bilbao
Marcelo for Real Madrid against Getafe

Top goalscorers

The Pichichi Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the player who scores the most goals in a season.
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid48
2 Lionel MessiBarcelona43
3 Antoine GriezmannAtlético Madrid22
3 NeymarBarcelona22
5 Carlos BaccaSevilla20
6 Aritz AdurizAthletic Bilbao18
7 Alberto BuenoRayo Vallecano17
8 Luis SuárezBarcelona16
9 Karim BenzemaReal Madrid15
10 Sergio GarcíaEspanyol14
10 JonathasElche14

Top assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Lionel MessiBarcelona18
2 Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid16
3 Luis SuárezBarcelona14
4 NolitoCelta Vigo13
4 James RodríguezReal Madrid13
6 Karim BenzemaReal Madrid10
6 KokeAtlético Madrid10
8 Gareth BaleReal Madrid9
8 Denis CheryshevVillarreal9
8 IscoReal Madrid9
8 Sergio GarcíaEspanyol9

Zamora Trophy

The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with least goals-to-games ratio. Keepers must play at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.
RankNameClubGoals AgainstMatchesAverage
1 Claudio BravoBarcelona19370.51
2 Diego AlvesValencia29370.78
3 Sergio AsenjoVillarreal31340.91
4 Iker CasillasReal Madrid35321.09
5 Gorka IraizozAthletic Bilbao38341.12

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateReference
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridDeportivo La Coruña8–2 20 September 2014
Cristiano Ronaldo4Real MadridElche5–1 23 September 2014
NeymarBarcelonaGranada6–0 27 September 2014
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridAthletic Bilbao5–0 5 October 2014
Lionel MessiBarcelonaSevilla5–1 22 November 2014
Carlos VelaReal SociedadElche3–0 28 November 2014
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridCelta Vigo3–0 6 December 2014
Lionel MessiBarcelonaEspanyol5–1 7 December 2014
Antoine GriezmannAtlético MadridAthletic Bilbao4–1 21 December 2014
Lionel MessiBarcelonaDeportivo La Coruña4–0 18 January 2015
David BarralLevanteMálaga4–1 7 February 2015
Lionel MessiBarcelonaLevante5–0 15 February 2015
Alberto Bueno4Rayo VallecanoLevante4–2 28 February 2015
Lionel MessiBarcelonaRayo Vallecano6–1 8 March 2015
David BarralLevanteAlmería4–1 4 April 2015
Cristiano Ronaldo5Real MadridGranada9–1 5 April 2015
Santi Mina4Celta VigoRayo Vallecano6–1 11 April 2015
Luis SuárezBarcelonaCórdoba8–0 2 May 2015
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridSevilla3–2 2 May 2015
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridEspanyol4–1 17 May 2015
Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridGetafe7–3 23 May 2015

4 Player scored four goals
5 Player scored five goals
– Home ; – Away

Discipline

LFP Awards

Seasonal

La Liga's governing body, the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the LFP Awards.
Recipient
Best Player Lionel Messi
Best Coach Luis Enrique
Best Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo
Best Defender Sergio Ramos
Best Midfielder James Rodríguez
Best Forward Lionel Messi

Monthly

Number of teams by autonomous community