| Competition: | La Liga |
| Season: | 2014–15 |
| Dates: | 23 August 2014 – 23 May 2015 |
| Winners: | Barcelona 23rd title |
| Relegated: | Elche Almería Córdoba |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Barcelona Real Madrid Atlético Madrid Valencia Sevilla (as Europa League champions) |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Villarreal Athletic Bilbao |
| League Topscorer: | Cristiano Ronaldo (48 goals) |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Claudio Bravo (0.51 goals/match) |
| Biggest Home Win: | (5 April 2015) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (2 May 2015) |
| Highest Scoring: | (20 September 2014) (5 April 2015) (23 May 2015) |
| Matches: | 380 |
| Total Goals: | 1009 |
| Longest Wins: | 12 matches[1] Real Madrid |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 14 matches Barcelona |
| Longest Winless: | 20 matches Córdoba |
| Longest Losses: | 10 matches Córdoba |
| Highest Attendance: | 98,760[2] Barcelona 2–1 Real Madrid (22 March 2015) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 3,500 Getafe 2–1 Celta Vigo (26 January 2015) |
| Attendance: | 10,161,726 |
| Average Attendance: | 26,741 |
| Prevseason: | 2013–14 |
| Nextseason: | 2015–16 |
The 2014–15 La Liga season (known as the Liga BBVA for sponsorship reasons) 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 (110 goals scored and 21 conceded), originally set by Real Madrid in the 2011–12 season. Barcelona won the title with 94 points, two more than Real Madrid.[3] [4]
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 (Eibar and Deportivo La Coruña) 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.[5]
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.[6]
Córdoba won the promotion play-off against Las Palmas and returned to the top level after 42 years.[7]
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almería | Almería | Juegos Mediterráneos | 21,350 | |
| Athletic Bilbao | Bilbao | San Mamés | 53,289 | |
| Atlético Madrid | Madrid | Vicente Calderón | 54,907 | |
| Barcelona | Barcelona | Camp Nou | 99,786 | |
| Celta Vigo | Vigo | Balaídos | 31,800 | |
| Córdoba | Córdoba | El Arcángel | 21,822 | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | A Coruña | Riazor | 34,600 | |
| Eibar | Eibar | Ipurua | 6,000 | |
| Elche | Elche | Martínez Valero | 36,017 | |
| Espanyol | Barcelona | Power8 Stadium | 40,500 | |
| Getafe | Getafe | Coliseum Alfonso Pérez | 17,393 | |
| Granada | Granada | Nuevo Los Cármenes | 23,156 | |
| Levante | Valencia | Ciutat de València | 26,354 | |
| Málaga | Málaga | La Rosaleda | 30,044 | |
| Rayo Vallecano | Madrid | Vallecas | 14,708 | |
| Real Madrid | Madrid | Santiago Bernabéu | 81,044 | |
| Real Sociedad | San Sebastián | Anoeta | 32,076 | |
| Sevilla | Seville | Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán | 45,500 | |
| Valencia | Valencia | Mestalla | 55,000 | |
| Villarreal | Villarreal | El Madrigal | 25,000 |
1. On the back of shirt.
2. On the sleeves.
3. On the shorts.
4. Barcelona makes a donation to UNICEF to display the charity's logo on the club's kit.
5. Málaga makes a donation to UNESCO in order to display the charity's logo on the club's kit.
6. Additionally, referee kits are now being made by Adidas, sponsored by Würth, and Nike has a new match ball, the Ordem LFP
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celta Vigo |  Luis Enrique | Resigned | 15 May 2014 | Pre-season |  Eduardo Berizzo | 2 June 2014 |
| Málaga |  Bernd Schuster | End of contract | 16 May 2014 | Javi Gracia | 30 May 2014 | |
 Javier Aguirre | 16 May 2014 | Sergio González Soriano | 28 May 2014 | |||
| Barcelona | Gerardo Martino | Resigned | 17 May 2014 | Luis Enrique | 19 May 2014 | |
| Lucas Alcaraz | End of contract | 28 May 2014 | Joaquín Caparrós | 28 May 2014 | ||
| Levante | Joaquín Caparrós | Signed by Granada | 28 May 2014 | José Luis Mendilibar | 30 May 2014 | |
| Valencia | Juan Antonio Pizzi | Sacked | 2 July 2014 |  Nuno Espírito Santo | 4 July 2014 | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | Fernando Vázquez | 8 July 2014 | Víctor Fernández | 10 July 2014 | ||
| Córdoba | Albert Ferrer | 20 October 2014 | 20th |  Miroslav Đukić | 20 October 2014[9] | |
| Levante | José Luis Mendilibar | 20 October 2014 | 19th | Lucas Alcaraz | 21 October 2014[10] | |
| Real Sociedad | Jagoba Arrasate | 2 November 2014 | 19th | David Moyes | 10 November 2014[11] | |
| Almería | Francisco | 9 December 2014[12] | 17th | Juan Ignacio Martínez | 12 December 2014[13] | |
| Getafe |  Cosmin Contra | Signed by Guangzhou R&F | 18 December 2014[14] | 13th | Quique Sánchez Flores | 5 January 2015[15] |
| Granada | Joaquín Caparrós | Sacked | 13 January 2015[16] | 20th | Abel Resino | 19 January 2015[17] |
| Getafe | Quique Sánchez Flores | Resigned | 26 February 2015[18] | 13th | Pablo Franco | 11 March 2015[19] |
| Córdoba | Miroslav Đukić | Sacked | 16 March 2015 | 20th | José Antonio Romero | 16 March 2015[20] |
| Almería | Juan Ignacio Martínez | 5 April 2015[21] | 18th | Sergi Barjuán | 6 April 2015[22] | |
| Deportivo La Coruña | Víctor Fernández | 8 April 2015 | 17th | Víctor Sánchez | 8 April 2015 | |
| Granada | Abel Resino | 1 May 2015[23] | 19th | José Ramón Sandoval | 1 May 2015[24] | |
On 2 May, Córdoba were relegated with three games left to play in the season, after losing 0–8 at home against Barcelona.[25] Eight days later, Villarreal confirmed sixth place and an entry into the UEFA Europa League with Joel Campbell's winning goal against Elche.[26]
Barcelona, playing with a three-man attack of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez under new manager Luis Enrique,[27] 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.[28] Real Madrid secured second place on the same day as Barcelona won the title, with a 1–4 win at Espanyol.[29] In the end, Barcelona amassed 94 points, while Real Madrid finished just two points behind, with 92.
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.[30] [31] [32] 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.[33]
Despite finishing the season in the 13th position, on 5 June, Elche was relegated to Segunda División due to its financial struggles.[34] Newcomers Eibar, who finished the season in the 18th position, took Elche's place in 2015–16 La Liga.
Luis Alberto for Málaga against Athletic Bilbao (23 August 2014)
Marcelo for Real Madrid against Getafe (23 May 2015)The Pichichi Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the player who scores the most goals in a season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[35] [36] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 48 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 43 |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 22 | |
| Neymar | Barcelona | ||
| 5 |  Carlos Bacca | Sevilla | 20 |
| 6 | Aritz Aduriz | Athletic Bilbao | 18 |
| 7 | Alberto Bueno | Rayo Vallecano | 17 |
| 8 | Luis Suárez | Barcelona | 16 |
| 9 |  Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 15 |
| 10 | Sergio García | Espanyol | 14 |
| Jonathas | Elche |
See main article: List of La Liga hat-tricks.
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | Deportivo La Coruña | 8–2 (A) | 20 September 2014 | Report | ||
| Cristiano Ronaldo4 | Real Madrid | Elche | 5–1 (H) | 23 September 2014 | Report | |
| Barcelona | Granada | 6–0 (H) | 27 September 2014 | Report | ||
| Real Madrid | Athletic Bilbao | 5–0 (H) | 5 October 2014 | Report | ||
| Barcelona | Sevilla | 5–1 (H) | 22 November 2014 | Report | ||
| Real Sociedad | Elche | 3–0 (H) | 28 November 2014 | Report | ||
| Real Madrid | Celta Vigo | 3–0 (H) | 6 December 2014 | Report | ||
| Barcelona | Espanyol | 5–1 (H) | 7 December 2014 | Report | ||
| Atlético Madrid | Athletic Bilbao | 4–1 (A) | 21 December 2014 | Report | ||
| Barcelona | Deportivo La Coruña | 4–0 (A) | 18 January 2015 | Report | ||
| Levante | Málaga | 4–1 (H) | 7 February 2015 | Report | ||
| Barcelona | Levante | 5–0 (H) | 15 February 2015 | Report | ||
| Alberto Bueno4 | Rayo Vallecano | Levante | 4–2 (H) | 28 February 2015 | Report | |
| Barcelona | Rayo Vallecano | 6–1 (H) | 8 March 2015 | Report | ||
| Levante | Almería | 4–1 (A) | 4 April 2015 | Report | ||
| Cristiano Ronaldo5 | Real Madrid | Granada | 9–1 (H) | 5 April 2015 | Report | |
| Santi Mina4 | Celta Vigo | Rayo Vallecano | 6–1 (H) | 11 April 2015 | Report | |
| Barcelona | Córdoba | 8–0 (A) | 2 May 2015 | Report | ||
| Real Madrid | Sevilla | 3–2 (A) | 2 May 2015 | Report | ||
| Real Madrid | Espanyol | 4–1 (A) | 17 May 2015 | Report | ||
| Real Madrid | Getafe | 7–3 (H) | 23 May 2015 | Report |
La Liga's governing body, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the La Liga Awards.[38]
| Recipient | |
|---|---|
| Best Player | Lionel Messi (Barcelona) |
| Best Coach | Luis Enrique (Barcelona) |
| Best Goalkeeper | Claudio Bravo (Barcelona) |
| Best Defender | Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) |
| Best Midfielder | James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) |
| Best Forward | Lionel Messi (Barcelona) |
| Team of the Year[39] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper |  Claudio Bravo (Barça) | ||||||
| Defence | Dani Alves (Barça) | Gerard Piqué (Barça) | Nicolás Otamendi (Valencia) | Jordi Alba (Barça) | |||
| Midfield |  Grzegorz Krychowiak(Sevilla) | James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) | Ivan Rakitić (Barça) | ||||
| Attack | Lionel Messi (Barça) | Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid) | Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) | ||||
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |||
| September | Nuno Espírito Santo | Valencia | Nolito | Celta Vigo | [40] | |
| October |  Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | [41] | |
| November | Ernesto Valverde | Athletic Bilbao | Carlos Vela | Real Sociedad | [42] | |
| December | Nuno Espírito Santo | Valencia | Luciano Vietto | Villarreal | [43] | |
| January | Unai Emery | Sevilla | Antoine Griezmann | Atlético Madrid | [44] | |
| February | Nuno Espírito Santo | Valencia | Alberto Bueno | Rayo Vallecano | [45] [46] | |
| March | Ernesto Valverde | Athletic Bilbao | Vitolo | Sevilla | [47] [48] | |
| April | Carlo Ancelotti | Real Madrid | Antoine Griezmann | Atlético Madrid | [49] [50] | |
| May | José Ramón Sandoval | Granada | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | [51] [52] | |