2014–15 Real Madrid CF season
The 2014–15 season was Real Madrid Club de Fútbol's 111th season in existence and the club's 84th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. It covered a period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. This was also legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas's 16th and last season at Real Madrid and in La Liga.
Season overview
Pre-season
On 25 June 2014, Zinedine Zidane was named as the coach of Real Madrid Castilla and would manage the B team, while Real Madrid confirmed the appointment of Fernando Hierro as an assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti, replacing Zidane.Real Madrid's pre-season began on 14 July. Ancelotti had 22 players at his disposal, including 12 from Castilla. The players who were involved in the 2014 FIFA World Cup were still on vacation.
On 17 July, Madrid signed World Cup winner Toni Kroos on a six-year deal for a fee around €25 million to €30 million. Kroos became Madrid's first summer signing of the season.
Álvaro Morata was sold to Juventus for a fee of €20 million, while Madrid has the option of resigning him for a fee of €30 million after the first year and €36 million after the second. while Denis Cheryshev and Casemiro were loaned to Villarreal and Porto respectively for the upcoming season.
On 21 July, Madrid set off on their pre-season tour of the United States. Nineteen players were among the travelling party, with Ancelotti opting to take nine from Real Madrid Castilla to compensate for the absences of Madrid's World Cup players, who remained on holiday. However, Xabi Alonso, Pepe and Fábio Coentrão did fly to the U.S. and cut their summer breaks short and joined the rest of the team. Jesé stayed in Madrid to go on with his treatment at Valdebebas.
Madrid reached an agreement with Monaco on 22 July for World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodríguez, who signed a six-year contract for a fee of €75 million, becoming the fourth most expensive player in world football, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Luis Suárez.
August
n goalkeeper Keylor Navas was signed from Levante for €10 million following his exuberant performances in the 2014 World Cup.A day later, Jesús Fernández switched sides and joined Levante for a reported fee of €500,000.
In their first competitive match of the season, Madrid played Sevilla in the 2014 edition of the UEFA Super Cup. The game served as the debuts for World Cup stars James Rodríguez and Toni Kroos as Madrid defeated the Europa League winners. On the half hour mark, Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock and helped Madrid to lead 1–0 at half time. In the second half, it was again Ronaldo again who scored and the game ended 2–0 which helped Madrid to capture their second title.
The following day, Madrid had reached an agreement with Milan for the transfer of Diego López to the Italian club.
In the 2014 Supercopa de España against Atlético Madrid, Real finished their home leg with 1–1 after goals from James Rodríguez and Raúl García going into the Estadio Vicente Calderón. Mario Mandžukić shocked Real early on after just two minutes in the second leg with the only goal of the match, which meant that Atlético won the title.
After months of speculation, Ángel Di María completed his move to Manchester United for a British record fee of €75 million on 26 August. The deal also includes a possible of €5.5 million in add-ons.
Xabi Alonso joined Bayern Munich for €10 million on 29 August 2014.
After winning their first league match against Córdoba 2–0 by goals from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid lost their first game in this years league campaign at Real Sociedad 2–4. Even though Los Blancos took the early two-goal lead by Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale, Sociedad tied the game at halftime before they went on to score two more in the second half.
September
On 1 September 2014, Madrid signed Javier Hernández on a season-long loan deal from Manchester United. Real Madrid has the option to buy the player for a fee of €22 million next season. He will be Real Madrid's first Mexican player in 22 years, with Hugo Sánchez being the last one to play there.The match between Real and Atlético was the third meeting of this season already. After the visitors took the early lead, Ronaldo scored the equalizer through a penalty before Arda Turan scored the decisive goal 14 minutes before the end of the match.
In their first Champions League match after winning La Decima, Madrid got off to a good start by defeating Basel 5–1, scoring four goals in 22 minutes during the first half.
Real Madrid then faced Deportivo de La Coruña at the Riazor, then the only stadium in the league at which Ronaldo had not scored in. Real went on to win the match 8–2, with a hat-trick from Ronaldo and a brace each by Bale and Hernández, while James chipped in with a goal. This also marked the first time that Real had scored eight goals on the road in the league. With that, Real scored 13 goals in just two matches in a span of four days. Madrid continued their fine scoring form with a 5–1 win over Elche CF, with Ronaldo scoring four times.
A goal each from Luka Modrić and Ronaldo helped Real beat Villarreal 2–0, with Ronaldo scoring his tenth league goal in only five games.
October
In the Champions League, Madrid took on newcomers Ludogorets Razgrad. After a surprising start, a missed penalty and being down 0–1, Ronaldo and Benzema were able to turn the game around to a 2–1 win.Back to the league campaign, Madrid took on Athletic Bilbao at home and came up with a convincing 5–0 victory, thanks to a hat trick from Ronaldo and a brace from Benzema.
After the international break, Madrid faced Levante at their home stadium. Ronaldo got the scoring going with a penalty and Hernández made it a 2–0 half time lead. After the break, again Ronaldo, James and Isco made it a 5–0 victory.
In the third matchday of the Champions League they visited Anfield to face Liverpool. Ronaldo and a brace from Benzema gave the "all whites" a 3–0 win.
Back to La Liga, Real took on Barcelona in another edition of El Clásico. Despite an early shock by Neymar, Ronaldo was able to tie the game by half-time through a penalty. Pepe and Benzema scored in the second half to give Madrid a 3–1 victory.
Starting the 2014–15 Copa del Rey campaign, Madrid took on Cornellà while resting several first team squad members. Two goals from Raphaël Varane, one from Hernández and Marcelo gave Real a 4–1 victory.
November
The new month started with an away trip to Granada, which was ended successfully in a 4–0 victory after goals from Ronaldo, a Rodríguez brace and Benzema. This marked the seventh straight win for Real.Taking on Liverpool at the fourth matchday of the Champions League campaign, Real was able to get a narrow 1–0 victory, by a goal from Benzema. With this victory, Real booked their spot in the Round of 16 two matchdays before the group stage finished.
Before the international break, the "whites" took on Rayo Vallecano. Bale, who returned from injury and Ramos got Madrid a 2–0 lead, which was reduced to a one-goal lead at halftime. Toni Kroos with his first goal for Madrid, Benzema and Ronaldo lifted Real to a 5–1 victory.
With Modrić sidelined due to an injury, Madrid took on SD Eibar for the first time in club history. Real got a 4–0 victory after a brace from Ronaldo and goals from James and Benzema, which secured their top position in the league.
Thanks to a goal from Ronaldo, Madrid won against Basel in the Champions League, which marked their 15th consecutive win in all competitions.
In an away match at Málaga, Real was able to squeeze out a 1–2 win after goals from Benzema and Bale. This marked their 16th win in a row and their second "perfect" month of the season.
December
In their second leg match against Cornellà, Ancelotti opted to rest regular starters and give other players a chance. The game marked also the return of Jesé, who also scored in a 5–0 victory, alongside a brace from Rodríguez, a goal from Isco and an own goal.Playing with their regular starter team, Madrid took on Celta de Vigo and won 3–0, thanks to a hat-trick by Ronaldo, who scored his 200th league goal for Real Madrid. It's Ronaldo's fourth hat-trick in the season.
Madrid finished up the group stage of the Champions League with a 4–0 victory over Ludogorets Razgrad with goals from Ronaldo, Bale, Álvaro Arbeloa and Álvaro Medrán. With that win, Madrid set a new record in Spanish football by winning their 19th-straight game.
Real Madrid won their 20th consecutive match against Almería 4–1 after a brace from Ronaldo and goals from Isco and Bale.
Their next game took place at 2014 FIFA Club World Cup against Cruz Azul at the semi-finals. Goals from Ramos, Bale, Benzema and Isco secured a 4–0 victory and a place at the final.
The final was played and won against San Lorenzo from Argentina after goals from Ramos and Bale, 2–0. It was the first title for Madrid. It was also their consecutive 22nd win in the current season.
January
The new year started off with an away game at the Mestalla Stadium facing Valencia. Even though Ronaldo got Real in front, Madrid was not able to close the game and lost 1–2. This was the first loss after 22-straight wins.Facing Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey round of 16, the "whites" were not able to come away with a win and lost 0–2.
Against Espanyol, goals from Rodríguez, Bale and Nacho, who scored his first professional goal for Madrid, secured Real a 3–0 victory to get back on track after two consecutive losses.
In the second leg of the Copa Del Rey round of 16, Real went against Atlético Madrid. And with goals from Ronaldo and Ramos, the El Derbi madrileño ended up in a draw with final result being 2–2. Real got themselves out of the competition as the aggregate was 2–4.
Against Getafe, Madrid was able to squeeze a 3–0 victory after second half goals from Bale and a brace from Ronaldo.
In the transfer period, Madrid signed Martin Ødegaard and Lucas Silva. Ødegaard will only train with the first team but play with Real Madrid Castilla.
Starting the second half of the season at Córdoba, Real needed a late penalty converted by Bale to come away with a 2–1 victory. Benzema scored the equalizer in the first half while Ronaldo was sent off by the referee.
A brace from Benzema and goals from Rodríguez and Ramos secured a 4–1 home victory for Madrid against Real Sociedad to finish January.
February
In their first match of February, Real earned a 2–1 win against Sevilla, with goals from Rodríguez and Jesé.Without five regular starters, Real suffered a 0–4 loss against Atlético, with goals from Tiago, a wonderful overhead kick from Saúl in the first half, and goals from Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandžukić in the second half.
Goals from Isco and Benzema gave Madrid a 2–0 victory against Deportivo.
In a rematch of last year's Round of 16 match in the Champions League against Schalke 04, Real secured a 2–0 first leg victory with goals from Ronaldo and Marcelo.
Goals from Benzema and Ronaldo against Elche gave Real a four-point gap at the top of the table.
March
A goal from Ronaldo, which made him the first player to score over 30 goals in five consecutive season in a European top league, was not enough to get past Villarreal, as the game ended 1–1.Madrid visited Bilbao the next matchday and lost 0–1, with a header from Aritz Aduriz in the 26th minute.
Taking on Schalke in the return leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League, Real had their hands full not to get knocked out. Two goals from Ronaldo and another one from Benzema saved Real's victory on aggregate, even though they lost the game 3–4.
A first half brace from Bale gifted Madrid a 2–0 win against Levante before the Clásico.
Real suffered a major setback in the title race after losing to Barcelona 1–2. A goal from Ronaldo was not enough.
April
On 1 April, Madrid confirmed the signing of Porto and Brazil full back Danilo for a fee of €31 million on a five-year deal; he will join the squad at the beginning of the 2015–16 season.Coming out the international break, Real thrashed Granada 9–1 at the Bernabéu in which Ronaldo scored five goals. The other goals came from Bale, a brace from Benzema and an own goal.
Playing at Vallecano, Madrid was held scoreless until minutes after the hour mark before Ronaldo and Rodríguez helped Real to get a 2–0 victory.
Goals from Ronaldo, Hernández and Jesé gave Madrid a 3–0 win over Eibar while resting some key players.
Real visited the Vicente Calderón to play with their local rivals Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-finals in the Champions League. The match ended in a goalless draw. This was the seventh time both teams faced each other this season.
Against Málaga, the "whites" were able to get a 3–1 victory after goals from Ramos, Rodríguez and Ronaldo. The goal by Ronaldo secured him the fifth consecutive year of scoring at least 50 goals.
A late goal from Hernández gave Real their first victory in eight matches against Atlético this year and helped them to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.
A brace from Hernández and goals from Rodríguez and Kroos gave Madrid a 2–4 win at Vigo to keep their title dreams alive.
In a midweek game, Real was able to get past Almería by a score of 3–0, thanks to a goals from Álvaro Arbeloa, an own goal and a wonder goal from Rodríguez.
May
A hat-trick from Ronaldo pushed Madrid to a 3–2 win over Sevilla. This was Sevilla's first home defeat since 13 March 2014, when they lost 2–0 to Betis in the Europa League round of 16, and their first home league defeat since 9 February 2014, when they lost 4–1 to Barcelona.Despite a goal from Ronaldo, Real came up short in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Juventus 1–2.
A 2–2 draw against Valencia, with goals from Pepe and Isco damaged the hopes of winning the league title.
The return leg against Juventus ended in a 1–1 draw and the goal of defending the Champions League title was shattered in the semifinals.
A hat-trick from Ronaldo and a 4–1 victory over Espanyol was not enough to capture the title as Barcelona won their game 1–0 against Atlético Madrid, which assured Real Madrid the second place until the end of the season. This was Ronaldo's seventh hattrick of the season.
In their last match of the season, Real hosted Getafe and defeated them 7–3 with a hat-trick from Ronaldo.
Kit
Supplier: Adidas / Sponsor: EmiratesPlayers
Transfers
In
Total expenditure: €127.5MOut
Total revenue: €115.1MNet income: €12.4M
;Notes
Pre-season and friendlies
International Champions Cup
Group stage
Other friendlies
Dubai Challenge Cup
Competitions
UEFA Super Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
Supercopa de España
La Liga
League table
Results by round
Matches
Copa del Rey
Round of 32
Round of 16
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Knockout phase
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Statistics
Squad statistics
Updated 23 May 2015.Goals
Updated as of 23 May 2015.1 Includes 2014 Supercopa de España, 2014 UEFA Super Cup and 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.