Barcelona successfully defended their title by a solitary point

The 2015-16 season of the Spanish Primera Division went down to the wire as Barcelona and Real Madrid battled it out to the death, with the Blaugrana emerging victorious thanks to a victory against Granada.

Los Blancos decided to make a managerial change midway through the campaign as Rafa Benitez was replaced by club legend, Zinedine Zidane, who would go on to win the Champions League in his first season as boss, even if he lost the title by a single point. It was a memorable season for Luis Suarez, who netted 40 goals and became the first player since 2009 to win the top goalscorer award who wasn’t Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Rayo, Getafe, and Levante, meanwhile, all suffered the fate of relegation. It was a tumultuous campaign for Valencia who employed television pundit Gary Neville for an ill-fated period as boss in December.

CHANGES

At the end of the 2015 season, Real Madrid opted to terminate the contract of Carlo Ancelotti despite the Italian having secured a Champions League title, a Copa del Rey title, the Club World Cup, and the European Super Cup during his tenure as boss. The decision to replace him with Benitez polarised the Blancos fans, with his alleged instinct to play defensive football. He would only last until January.

Pre-season saw the big guns flex their financial muscle, as Barca and Real Madrid spent a combined 136 million euros on new signings. However, their individual outlays were eclipsed by Atletico, who forked out 136 million euros on new arrivals, with the likes of Jackson Martinez and Yannick Carrasco joining the Colchoneros.

The return of Real Betis and the atmospheric Seville derby was welcomed with the Beticos gaining promotion alongside Las Palmas and Sporting Gijon.

SUMMARY

In the previous campaign in 2014-15, Barcelona claimed the treble and started their defence of the league with a tough away fixture to Athletic Club, who had only recently demolished them 5-1 over two legs in the Spanish Super Cup. On this occasion,…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/barcelona-successfully-defended-their-title-by-a-solitary-point-la-liga-in-2015-16/69

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-08-02 13:00:00

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