2019–20 La Liga Explained

Competition:	La Liga
Season:	2019–20
Winners:	Real Madrid 34th title
Relegated:	Leganés Mallorca Espanyol
Continentalcup1:	Champions League
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:	Real Madrid Barcelona Atlético Madrid Sevilla
Continentalcup2:	Europa League
Continentalcup2 Qualifiers:	Villarreal Real Sociedad Granada
Matches:	380
Total Goals:	942
League Topscorer:	Lionel Messi (25 goals)
Best Goalkeeper:	Thibaut Courtois (0.59 goals/match)
Biggest Away Win:	Alavés 0–5 Barcelona (19 July 2020)
Highest Scoring:	Villarreal 4–4 Granada (17 August 2019)
Longest Wins:	Real Madrid (10 matches)^[1]
Longest Unbeaten:	Atlético Madrid (16 matches)
Longest Winless:	Athletic Bilbao Espanyol (10 matches)
Longest Losses:	Espanyol (8 matches)
Attendancecalc:	4630608
Prevseason:	2018–19
Nextseason:	2020–21

The 2019–20 La Liga season, also known as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 89th since its establishment. The season began on 16 August 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude on 24 May 2020.

Barcelona were the two-time defending champions, after winning their 26th title in the previous season. Osasuna, Granada and Mallorca joined as the promoted clubs from the 2018–19 Segunda División. They replaced Rayo Vallecano, Huesca and Girona, who were relegated to the 2019–20 Segunda División.

On 12 March 2020, both La Liga and the Segunda División were suspended for at least two weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league became suspended indefinitely on 23 March.^[2] The season recommenced on 11 June, with matches being played every single day until 13 July; all games in the penultimate round were held on 16 July, with all final round matches being played on 19 July.^{[3] [4]}

On 16 July, Real Madrid secured a record-extending 34th league title with one match remaining, following their victory against Villarreal.^[5]

Teams

Promotion and relegation (pre-season)

A total of 20 teams contested the league, including 17 sides from the 2018–19 season and three promoted from the 2018–19 Segunda División. This included the two top teams from the Segunda División, and the winners of the play-offs.

Teams relegated to Segunda Division

The first team to be relegated from La Liga were Rayo Vallecano. Their relegation was ensured on 5 May 2019, after Valladolid beat Athletic Bilbao 1−0, suffering an immediate return to the Segunda División.^[6] The second team to be relegated were Huesca, who were also relegated on 5 May 2019 after a 2−6 home defeat to Valencia, also suffering an immediate return to the second tier.^[7] The third and final relegated club were Girona, who concluded their two-year stay in La Liga in a 1−2 away loss at Alavés on 18 May 2019.^[8]

Teams promoted from Segunda División

Osasuna (on 20 May 2019) and Granada (on 4 June 2019) were the two teams directly promoted from Segunda División, both after a two-year absence.^{[9] [10]} The third and final team to earn promotion to La Liga was play-offs winner Mallorca, after coming back from a 2-goal deficit against Deportivo La Coruña on 23 June 2019. Mallorca returned after a six-year absence from Spain's top flight, spending one of those years in the Segunda División B and achieving two consecutive promotions.^[11]

Stadiums and locations

! Team !! Location !! Stadium !! Capacity

Alavés	Vitoria-Gasteiz	Mendizorrotza	^[12]
Athletic Bilbao	Bilbao	San Mamés	^[13]
Atlético Madrid	Madrid	Wanda Metropolitano	^[14]
Barcelona	Barcelona	Camp Nou	^[15]
Celta Vigo	Vigo	Abanca-Balaídos	^[16]
Eibar	Eibar	Ipurua	^[17]
Espanyol	Barcelona	RCDE Stadium	^[18]
Getafe	Getafe	Coliseum Alfonso Pérez	^[19]
Granada	Granada	Nuevo Los Cármenes	^[20]
Leganés	Leganés	Butarque	^[21]
Levante	Valencia	Ciutat de València	^[22]
		Camilo Cano, at La Nucía
Mallorca	Palma	Visit Mallorca Stadium	^[23]
Osasuna	Pamplona	El Sadar	^[24]
Real Betis	Seville	Benito Villamarín	^[25]
Real Madrid	Madrid	Santiago Bernabéu	^[26]
Real Sociedad	San Sebastián	Reale Arena	^[27]
Sevilla	Seville	Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán	^[28]
Valencia	Valencia	Mestalla	^[29]
Valladolid	Valladolid	José Zorrilla	^[30]
Villarreal	Villarreal	Estadio de la Cerámica	^[31]

Personnel and sponsorship

! Team! Manager! Captain! Kit manufacturer! Shirt sponsor(s)

				, BOJ
	(interim)
	Javier Aguirre
				Betfred, Blau Hotels, Roc Hotels, OK Cars, Air Europa, Juaneda
	(interim)
				Škoda

1. On the back of shirt.

2. On the sleeves.

3. On the shorts.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Real Betis	Quique Setién^[32]	Mutual consent	19 May 2019	Pre-season	Rubi^[33]	6 June 2019
Alavés	Abelardo^[34]	Resigned	20 May 2019	Asier Garitano^[35]	21 May 2019
Sevilla	Joaquín Caparrós^[36]	End of contract	23 May 2019	Julen Lopetegui^[37]	4 June 2019
Espanyol	Rubi	Signed for Real Betis	6 June 2019	David Gallego^[38]	6 June 2019
Valencia	Marcelino^[39]	Sacked	11 September 2019	10th	Albert Celades^[40]	11 September 2019
Espanyol	David Gallego^[41]	7 October 2019	19th	Pablo Machín^[42]	7 October 2019
Leganés	Mauricio Pellegrino^[43]	Resigned	21 October 2019	20th	Javier Aguirre^[44]	4 November 2019
Celta Vigo	Fran Escribá^[45]	align=center rowspan=7	Sacked	3 November 2019	18th	Óscar García^[46]	4 November 2019
Espanyol	Pablo Machín^[47]	23 December 2019	20th	Abelardo^[48]	27 December 2019
Barcelona	Ernesto Valverde^[49]	13 January 2020	2nd	Quique Setién	13 January 2020
Real Betis	Rubi^[50]	21 June 2020	14th	Alexis Trujillo (interim)^[51]	21 June 2020
Espanyol	Abelardo^[52]	27 June 2020	20th	Francisco Rufete (interim)^[53]	27 June 2020
Valencia	Albert Celades^[54]	29 June 2020	8th	Voro (interim)^[55]	29 June 2020
Alavés	Asier Garitano^[56]	5 July 2020	15th	Juan Muñiz^[57]	5 July 2020

League table

Standings

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

• First goal of the season:
  Aritz Aduriz for Athletic Bilbao against Barcelona (16 August 2019)^[58]
• Last goal of the season:
  Coke for Levante against Getafe (19 July 2020)^[59]

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[60]
1	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	25
2	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	21
3	Gerard Moreno	Villarreal	18
4	Luis Suárez	Barcelona	16
5	Raúl García	Athletic Bilbao	15
6	Iago Aspas	Celta Vigo	14
	Lucas Ocampos	Sevilla
8	Ante Budimir	Mallorca	13
9	Álvaro Morata	Atlético Madrid	12
10	Santi Cazorla	Villarreal	11
	Willian José	Real Sociedad
	Joselu	Alavés
	Jaime Mata	Getafe
	Lucas Pérez	Alavés
	Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid
	Roger	Levante

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists^[61]
1	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	21
2	Mikel Oyarzabal	Real Sociedad	11
3	Santi Cazorla	Villarreal	9
4	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	8
	Portu	Real Sociedad
	Luis Suárez	Barcelona
	Roberto Torres	Osasuna
8	Éver Banega	Sevilla	7
	José Campaña	Levante
	Luka Modrić	Real Madrid
	Jesús Navas	Sevilla
	Fabián Orellana	Eibar
	Rodrigo	Valencia

Zamora Trophy

The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio. A goalkeeper had to have played at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.^[62]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals against	Matches	Average
1	Thibaut Courtois	Real Madrid	20	34	0.59
2	Jan Oblak	Atlético Madrid	27	38	0.71
3	Unai Simón	Athletic Bilbao	29	33	0.88
4	David Soria	Getafe	37	38	0.97
	Tomáš Vaclík	Sevilla	31	32

Hat-tricks

See main article: List of La Liga hat-tricks.

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Round
data-sort-value="Messi, Lionel"	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Celta Vigo	4–1 (H)	9 November 2019	13
data-sort-value="Messi, Lionel"	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Mallorca	5–2 (H)	7 December 2019	16
data-sort-value="Joaquín"	Joaquín	Real Betis	Athletic Bilbao	3–2 (H)	8 December 2019	16
data-sort-value="Messi, Lionel"	Lionel Messi^4	Barcelona	Eibar	5–0 (H)	22 February 2020	25

⁴ – Player scored four goals.

Discipline

^{[63] [64] [65]}

Player

• Most yellow cards: 15
  • Gerard Piqué (Barcelona)
  • Damián Suárez (Getafe)
• Most red cards: 2
  • Zouhair Feddal (Real Betis)
  • Nabil Fekir (Real Betis)
  • Lee Kang-in (Valencia)
  • Clément Lenglet (Barcelona)
  • Allan Nyom (Getafe)
  • Facundo Roncaglia (Osasuna)

Team

• Most yellow cards: 130
  • Getafe
• Most red cards: 9
  • Espanyol
  • Real Betis
• Fewest yellow cards: 71
  • Levante
• Fewest red cards: 0
  • Valladolid

Match ball

On 15 April 2019, Puma announced their official partnership with La Liga to manufacture the official match ball for the Liga de Fútbol Profesional. This ended La Liga's 23-year partnership with Nike.^[66]

Average attendances

Matches played under closed doors are not included in the table.

Awards

Monthly

Month	Player of the Month		Reference
	Player	Club
September	Martin Ødegaard	Real Sociedad	^[67]
October	Karl Toko Ekambi	Villarreal	^[68]
November	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	^[69]
December	Luis Suárez	Barcelona	^[70]
January	Thibaut Courtois	Real Madrid	^[71]
February	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	^[72]
June	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	^[73]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Spanish Primera División Performance Stats – 2019–20 . ESPN . 8 October 2019.
2. Web site: Acuerdo de la Comisión de Seguimiento del Convenio de Coordinación RFEF-LaLiga. rfef.es. 23 March 2020. 23 March 2020. 28 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200528064505/https://www.rfef.es/noticias/acuerdo-comision-seguimiento-del-convenio-coordinacion-rfef-laliga. dead.
3. Web site: LaLiga establece el horario oficial de partidos para el regreso del fútbol en España. LaLiga. es. 31 May 2020.
4. News: Fernández . Sergio . Sin apretones de manos, el árbitro siempre a dos metros, mascarillas en el banquillo, gel hidroalcohólico, suplentes a la grada... . 10 April 2023 . Marca . 10 June 2020 . Madrid . es.
5. News: Real Madrid win 2019/20 LaLiga Santander. 16 July 2020. LaLiga. 17 July 2020.
6. Web site: Rayo Vallecano relegated after Real Valladolid secure big win. Sport. 5 May 2019. 1 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190701233347/https://www.sport-english.com/en/news/laliga/rayo-vallecano-relegated-after-real-valladolid-secure-big-win-7439656. dead.
7. Web site: Huesca relegated by 6-2 Valencia thrashing. BBC Sport. 5 May 2019.
8. Web site: Girona: descenso tras una temporada en caída libre. AS. 14 May 2019.
9. Web site: Osasuna are back in LaLiga Santander. La Liga. 20 May 2019. 1 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190601124458/https://www.laliga.es/en/news/osasuna-are-back-in-laliga-santander. 1 June 2019. dead.
10. Web site: Granada head back up to LaLiga Santander. La Liga. 4 June 2019. 1 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190604211000/https://www.laliga.es/en/news/granada-head-back-up-to-laliga-santander. 4 June 2019. dead.
11. Web site: RCD Mallorca return to LaLiga Santander. La Liga. 23 June 2019. 1 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190701222004/https://www.laliga.es/en/news/rcd-mallorca-return-to-laliga-santander. 1 July 2019. dead.
12. Web site: Mendizorroza . Deportivo Alavés. 22 April 2018. es.
13. Web site: The Stadium. Athletic Bilbao. 1 July 2019.
14. Web site: Wanda Metropolitano. Atlético Madrid. 1 July 2019.
15. Web site: Facilities - Camp Nou. FC Barcelona. 1 July 2019.
16. Web site: Facilities. Celta Vigo. 1 July 2019.
17. Web site: El Eibar inicia la próxima semana la reubicación de los abonados para la próxima temporada. SD Eibar. es. 21 May 2019.
18. Web site: Facilities - RCDE Stadium. RCD Espanyol. 1 July 2019. 18 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151218073440/https://www.rcdespanyol.com/en/instalations. dead.
19. Web site: Datos Generales. Getafe CF. 16 May 2016. es.
20. Web site: Datos del Club. Granada CF. es. 1 July 2019.
21. Web site: Facilities - Butarque. CD Leganés. 1 July 2019.
22. Web site: Estadi Ciutat de Valencia . StadiumDB . 20 July 2018.
23. Web site: Son Moix Iberostar Estadi (Son Moix). StadiumDB. 13 July 2019.
24. Web site: Instalaciones - Estadio El Sadar. CA Osasuna. es. 1 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190716130202/https://www.osasuna.es/el-club/instalaciones.html. 16 July 2019. dead.
25. Web site: Estadio Benito Villamarín . Real Betis . es . 4 July 2018.
26. Web site: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Real Madrid CF. 7 March 2016.
27. Web site: Facilities - Anoeta. Real Sociedad. 1 July 2019.
28. Web site: Sevilla F.C. . Sevilla FC . 10 April 2016 . es.
29. Web site: Facilities - Mestalla. 1 July 2019.
30. Web site: Estadio José Zorrilla. Real Valladolid. es. 30 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20181004064128/http://www.realvalladolid.es/elclub/estadiojosezorrilla/. 4 October 2018. dead.
31. Web site: Estadio de la Cerámica. Estadio de la Cerámica. 1 July 2019. es. 12 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190712220432/https://estadiodelaceramica.villarrealcf.es/es/informacion. dead.
32. Web site: Real Betis and Quique Setién part ways. Real Betis. 19 May 2019.
33. Web site: Rubi, new Real Betis head coach. Real Betis. 6 June 2019. 6 June 2019.
34. Web site: Querejeta confirms Abelardo's goodbye . Marca.com. 23 April 2019 . 15 March 2019.
35. Web site: Asier Garitano será el nuevo entrenador del Deportivo Alavés. Asier Garitano will be the new coach of Deportivo Alavés. Deportivo Alavés. es. 21 May 2019. 21 May 2019.
36. Web site: Joaquin Caparros replaces Pablo Machin as Sevilla coach. LaLiga.es. 15 March 2019. 15 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190402204757/https://www.laliga.es/en/news/joaquin-caparros-replaces-pablo-machin-as-sevilla-coach. 2 April 2019. dead.
37. Web site: Julen Lopetegui appointed new Sevilla coach. sevillafc.es. 4 June 2019. 4 June 2019.
38. Web site: Gallego, nou entrenador del RCD Espanyol de Barcelona. Gallego, new manager of RCD Espanyol de Barcelona. ca. 6 June 2019. 6 June 2019.
39. Web site: Comunicado Oficial. Valencia CF. 11 September 2019.
40. Web site: Official Statement Albert Celades. Valencia CF. 11 September 2019. 11 September 2019.
41. Web site: End of David Gallego's stage. RCD Espanyol. 7 October 2019. 7 October 2019.
42. Web site: Machín, new coach of the RCD Espanyol of Barcelona. RCD Espanyol. 7 October 2019. 7 October 2019.
43. Web site: Mauricio Pellegrino no continuará al frente del C.D. Leganés. Mauricio Pellegrino will not continue to lead C.D. Leganés. es. CD Leganés. 21 October 2019. 21 October 2019.
44. Web site: Javier Aguirre, nuevo entrenador del C.D. Leganés. Javier Aguirre, new coach of CD Leganés. es. CD Leganés. 4 November 2019. 4 November 2019.
45. Web site: Official: Celta Vigo sack Fran Escriba. Marca. 3 November 2019. 3 November 2019.
46. Web site: Óscar García, new RC Celta manager. RC Celta. 4 November 2019. 5 November 2019.
47. Web site: Official: Fin de la etapa de Pablo Machín. es. RCD Espanyol website. 23 December 2019. 23 December 2019.
48. Web site: Abelardo, nou entrenador del RCD Espanyol de Barcelona. RCD Espanyol website. 27 December 2019. 27 December 2019. ca.
49. News: Barcelona sack Ernesto Valverde and appoint Quique Setien. BBC Sport. 13 January 2020. 13 January 2020.
50. Web site: OFICIAL: el Betis destituye a Rubi. Official: Betis dismisses Rubi. es. besoccer. 21 June 2020. 21 June 2020.
51. Web site: Alexis Trujillo, entrenador del primer equipo. Alexis Trujillo, first team coach. es. Real Betis. 21 June 2020. 21 June 2020.
52. Web site: OFICIAL: el Espanyol despide a Abelardo. Official: Espanyol says goodbye to Abelardo. es. besoccer. 27 June 2020. 27 June 2020.
53. Web site: Abelardo is dismissed and Rufete will train Espanyol. sportsfinding. 27 June 2020. 27 June 2020.
54. Web site: Valencia sack boss Albert Celades. Colin. Millar. 29 June 2020.
55. Web site: Valencia sack Albert Celades. 29 June 2020. MARCA in English.
56. Web site: El Deportivo Alavés destituye a su entrenador, Asier Garitano. Deportivo Alavés dismisses his coach, Asier Garitano. es. Deportivo Alavés. 5 July 2020. 5 July 2020.
57. Web site: Juan Ramón López Muñiz, entrenador hasta final de temporada. Juan Ramón López Muñiz, coach until the end of the season. es. Deportivo Alavés. 5 July 2020. 5 July 2020.
58. Web site: Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Barcelona: La Liga opener – as it happened. The Guardian. 16 August 2019.
59. Web site: Levante 1-0 Getafe: results, summary and goals. AS. 19 July 2020.
60. Web site: All leaders in Goals. 26 June 2020. La Liga. 2 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201002101734/https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/leaderboard/all-leaders?stat_competition=laliga-santander&stat=total_goals_ranking. dead.
61. Web site: All leaders in Assists. 26 June 2020. La Liga. 26 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200926053836/https://www.laliga.com/en-GB/leaderboard/all-leaders?stat_competition=laliga-santander&stat=total_assists_ranking. dead.
62. Web site: Trofeo Zamora La Liga Santander - MARCA.com. MARCA.com. 4 September 2017.
63. Web site: Leaderboard Yellow Cards Liga de Fútbol Profesional. La Liga. 8 October 2019. 12 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210312012618/https://www.laliga.com/en-ES/leaderboard/all-leaders?stat_competition=laliga-santander&stat=total_yellow_card_ranking. dead.
64. Web site: Leaderboard Red Cards Liga de Fútbol Profesional. La Liga. 8 October 2019. 8 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108052757/https://www.laliga.com/en-ES/leaderboard/all-leaders?stat_competition=laliga-santander&stat=total_red_card_ranking. dead.
65. Web site: Generals Liga de Fútbol Profesional. La Liga. 8 October 2019. 2 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210202005436/https://www.laliga.com/en-ES/stats. dead.
66. Web site: PUMA BECOMES OFFICIAL PARTNER OF SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE "LALIGA". Puma. 15 April 2019. 16 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190416025404/https://about.puma.com/en/newsroom/corporate-news/2019/2019-04-15-puma-becomes-official-parnter-of-spanish-laliga. dead.
67. Web site: Martin Ødegaard, September Player of the Month in LaLiga Santander. 3 October 2019. 4 October 2019. La Liga.
68. Web site: Toko Ekambi named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for October . La Liga . 13 November 2019 . 7 November 2019.
69. Web site: Lionel Messi named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for November. 6 December 2019. La Liga.
70. Web site: Luis Suárez named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for December. 6 January 2020. La Liga.
71. Web site: Thibaut Courtois named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for January. 10 February 2020. La Liga.
72. Web site: Leo Messi named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for February. 6 March 2020. La Liga.
73. Web site: Karim Benzema, LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for June. 10 July 2020. La Liga.