The 2020-21 La Liga season has come to a close after an enthralling campaign that saw one of the most exciting title battles in recent memory. Atletico Madrid won the Spanish League title, beating favorites Barcelona and Real Madrid after a 2-1 victory over Real Valladolid on Matchday 38. Los Blancos came incredibly close to defeating their city rivals, putting up an unbelievable battle until the very final game. Real Madrid, led by Zinedine Zidane, were ultimately two points short of Los Rojiblancos' 86 points. After a mid-season recovery led by the captain, Lionel Messi's Barcelona were back in the La Liga race. However, their fight for La Liga was short-lived, as they were knocked out of the title race by Celta Vigo in a 2-1 defeat. Sevilla comfortably qualified for the Champions League after an exciting campaign. Real Sociedad and Real Betis grab the two Europa League spots after finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. The La Liga 2020/21 saw Eibar, Real Valladolid and Huesca get relegated to the second division. Here we take a look at five takeaways for the recently concluded La Liga season.
1. Atletico Madrid lifts their second La Liga title this decade.
Simeone led Los Rojiblancos to win the La Liga only for the second time in this century after beating Real Valladolid away from home on the deadline. They grabbed 86 points from as many games this season. Atletico had a bright start to their campaign as they led the tale for most of the campaign. They had a considerable lead with them this time, but they dropped many points in January and February. This gave Barcelona and Real Madrid the chance to catch up the lead. But in the end, they ran out winners.
2. Barcelona’s defensive woes ended their title hopes
The Catalans had an awful start to the La Liga campaign, with players still trying to adapt to the new system of play under Koeman. Messi didn’t impress much in the first half of the campaign, and on one occasion, Barcelona were 14th in the table. However, they made a brilliant comeback as Messi started scoring. But they were let down by their terrible defense as they dropped many points after taking the lead. They need to work on their defense and need some reinforcements at the back in the transfer window.
3. High-flying Cadiz impress
Newly-promoted side, Cadiz didn’t have a strong squad like other teams. They haven’t been in the top-tier for a long time, and they didn’t want to let go of this opportunity this time around. According to the Transfermarkt, Cadiz had the least squad value in La Liga. Their squad value is just 38.4 million euros. They managed to beat Barcelona and Real Madrid this season, with a squad value of 823 million euros and 745 million euros, respectively. They managed to win 44 points this season and finished 12th in the league.
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4. Sevilla breaks the club record of most points
The Andalusian side comfortably finished fourth and sealed the Champions League for the next season. The 131-year-old club had just two points less than Barcelona, who finished third. Sevilla ended with 77 points when Papu Gómez scored a stoppage-time winner. That is one more than the previous record set by the team in 2014-15 when it was coached by Unai Emery, who is now coaching Villarreal. This way, Sevilla set a new club record for points in the Spanish league by defeating Alavés 1-0 in the season's last match.
5. Eibar’s Golden period ends with relegation
Eibar, or Sociedad Deportiva Eibar as they say it in Spain, finished last in the league with 30 points from 38 games. They were relegated to the second division after a poor campaign. However, they had a chance to stay up, but they failed to convert against Barcelona after taking 17 shots and lost the game. Eibar earned their first promotion to La Liga in 2014 after winning 1-0 against Alves in the second division. Eibar finished 18th in their maiden season in the top-level, resulting in relegation. After the season, however, the 13th-placed Elche was relegated to the second division due to financial malfeasance, and Eibar was reinstated. Eibar finished 14th in its second top-flight season under new coach José Luis Mendilibar. The team improved from 10th position in 2016–17 to 9th place the following season. They finished 12th in the 2018-19 season and 14th in the 2019-20 season. However, after spending seven years in the top-tier, they go down.
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