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In contrast to the Premier League, La Liga has been often stereotyped for being a two-horse race between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The two giants of the Spanish Premiera Division have swept away most of the titles without being offered much competition, particularly in the last few years.But this season has witnessed a resurgent Atletico Madrid side who have defied all the odds and to the surprise of many, challenged both their city and Catalan rivals for the title. While Real Madrid are out of the race due to the slip ups in their previous games, Atletico and Barcelona both go into the final matchday playing against each other; knowing that the title is well out there for the taking.In what has been a fascinating season for quite sometime, we take a look at the 5 closest La Liga seasons where the outcomes were decided on the final game of the campaign based on minor yet significant details.
#5 2002/03 - Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
| POS | TEAMS | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 78 |
| 2 | Real Sociedad | 76 |
While Barcelona were struggling in the middle of the table , Florentino Perez added Ronaldo to his squad of Galacticos and Real became even more intimidating for other opponents. Boasting a cluster of world class players like Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Raul and many more, they were the favourites to lift their 29th league title.
However, the championship became a club match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, who without being inside the forecast of favourites, endured a great season. The pulse within Raynald Denoueix’s Real Sociedad lasted throughout the season.
Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao in their final game and finished on 78 points to win the La Liga trophy. Sociedad fell two short and ended their season with 76 points. It was a monumental effort from their end.
#4 1991/92 - FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
| POS | TEAMS | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 55 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 54 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 53 |
Real Madrid & their neighbours Atletico were the early season pace setters, whilst Barcelona had a dreadful start losing three of their first five matches. An important point at the Bernabeu in week six seemed to get their season back on track, but by week seven, Real Madrid had taken over from Atletico at the top of the league and started to build a commanding lead.
In fact, Los Merengues won 12 of their first 13 fixtures, with their first defeat coming in week 16, a 0-2 reverse to Atletico at the Vicente Calderon. Atleti’s win over their cross-city rivals came in the middle of an appalling run of form, but seven consecutive wins in the second half of the season, coupled with Barça’s improving form, saw all three club’s close to within two points of each other with four games to play.
Atleti’s hopes of a first title in 15 years were dealt a fatal blow in week 35 when they let a 1-2 lead slip in the final quarter of the match at the Bernabeu, to lose 3-2. Real Madrid were not having it all their own way however, and careless points dropped to Real Oviedo and Osasuna, saw the league enter its final week with the title in the balance.
Real lost to Tenerife on their final matchday and Barca’s prayers were answered as Johan Cruyff and his men claimed the La Liga title.
#3 1992/93 - FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid
| POS | TEAMS | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 58 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 57 |
Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona were on the hunt for their third consecutive La Liga title and arch enemies Real Madrid were standing in their way. The league was played under the old two-point-a-match system and Barcelona were leading the table with Real at second place.
The inaugural match of the season was the El Clasico at Camp Nou which was won by the Catalans. The Clasico at the Bernabeu was won by Madrid who reduced the gap to 4 points by January. Pressure piled up on Barca as they went into their final matchday with a 1 point lead owing to their 8 draws and 5 losses while Real had drawn a game more than their adversaries.
Barcelona held on to a 1-0 victory against Real Zaragoza and won their 13th title overall while Real Madrid had to settle for the runners-up spot.
#2 2006/07 - Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona
| POS | TEAMS | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 76 |
| 2 | FC Barcelona | 76 |
This was one of the most thrilling seasons in over a decade where the two giants of Spain dragged the suspense up to the last day of the Spanish league. Real Madrid won the league on their final matchday against arch-rivals Barcelona on the basis of a better head-to-head record even after the Catalans were at the top of the table for most of the season.
However, pressure piled up when inconsistency hit the Blaugranas in January. Real maintained thier form and overtook Barca on May 12, after beating their Catalan adversaries, Espanyol. Barcelona followed with a 1-1 draw and dropped points. The gap reduced further in their penultimate match as they drew 2-2 against city rivals Espanyol.
On the final matchday, Barcelona had to register a win whereas a draw would give Real (who had to win) the title. Real came from behind to convert a 1-0 scoreline to a 3-1 win against Mallorca and clinched their 30th La Liga, courtesy of a superior head-to-head record (the standard procedure followed in Spain to determine the winner between two teams with similar points) against Barcelona, who had to finish second despite drubbing Gimnàstic 5-1.
#1 1993/94 - FC Barcelona vs Deportivo La Coruna
| POS | TEAMS | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 56 |
| 2 | Deportivo La Coruna | 56 |
It was one of the rare seasons where Real Madrid was not in contention for the title. Rather, an unlikely underdog in the form of Deportivo La Coruna, were giving Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ Barcelona, a run for their money in the season. Back then in 1994, La Liga was still played under the old two-points-for-a-win system and it was Deportivo who held a three point advantage with four games to go.
They had to win two out of their four remaining fixtures in order to secure the title. But three consecutive stalemates handed the initiative to Barcelona and pressure was on them to win their ultimate game. On final matchday, Deportivo were awarded a penalty with minutes remaining but Miroslav Dukic failed to convert from the spot and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
Owing to a superior head-to-head record against the Brancoazuis, Barcelona won their fourth successive La Liga title and were crowned champions of Spain at the expense of Deportivo’s late slip ups which has been viewed as one of the biggest meltdowns in La Liga history.
