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For the first time in several years, we've had a La Liga title race that went right down to the wire. Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid fought it out until the very end but the former's 2-1 win over Valladolid on the final day of the season was enough to get them their 11th La Liga title.
Atletico Madrid finished with 86 points while Real Madrid ended their season with 84. Barcelona finished third in the La Liga table with 79. It was a very exciting run in to the home straight of the season with four teams, namely Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla all standing a chance of winning the title.
La Liga 2020-21 has been one of the most exciting seasons in recent times
The Rojiblancos were well matched in almost all aspects by their competitors but they held an edge over them thanks to their defence. Diego Simeone's men scored 67 goals and conceded just 25 this season. Their closest rivals Real Madrid scored 67 goals and conceded 28. This goes to show how fine the margins can be in a tight title-race.
Without further ado, let's take a look at 10 amazing facts from the 2020-21 La Liga season.
#10 Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is now a La Liga champion
Thomas Partey left Atletico Madrid to join Arsenal last summer for a sum reported to be around £45 million. The 27-year-old has endured an extremely underwhelming season with the Gunners and his debut season in the Premier League has been marred by several injury issues.
But Thomas Partey will now be recognized as a La Liga winner as he played three games for Atletico Madrid before leaving the club. He started two games and that's enough for him to be considered a champion.
#9 Huesca join the list of teams to have played two La Liga seasons and been relegated in both
Huesca could have avoided relegation if they had beaten Valencia yesterday. But they settled for a goalless draw. Elche and Huesca started the final day of the season tied on points but the former beat Cadiz 3-1 to finish 17th in the La Liga table.
#8 SD Eibar's seven year unforgettable stint in the La Liga comes to an end
SD Eibar struggled this season without their passionate fans egging them on. Eibar is a small city in the Basque Country of Spain. Their first game in the Spanish top-flight was against Real Sociedad, a team that had loaned them players to help out as they were in entirely different leagues at the time.
#7 Real Madrid have gone trophyless for the first time in 12 years
Real Madrid did their best on the final day. They secured a comeback victory against Villarreal, scoring two goals in the final ten minutes of the game. But it all came to naught as Atletico Madrid won their game against Valladolid to keep their two-point lead at the top in tact.
Real Madrid have an ageing core and with Zinedine Zidane expected to leave in the summer, they face an uphill task of sorting things out and preparing for the long-term.
#6 Iago Aspas has now scored more than 14 goals in each of his last six seasons
In other news, Iago Aspas continues to be underrated. Celta Vigo finished eighth in the La Liga table. That represents a big improvement from their 2019-20 season, where they survived relegation by the skin of their teeth. Iago Aspas led from the front for Celta Vigo once again, scoring 14 goals and providing 13 assists in 33 La Liga appearances.
#5 Real Madrid have scored more goals in the last ten minutes than any other team in the 2020-21 La Liga season
Real Madrid have kept it late in far too many La Liga matches this term. They seem to spring to life in the dying embers of the game and have scored 14 goals in the last ten minutes of matches this season. They've been able to get nine points by doing the same.
#4 Inaki Williams has now appeared in every single game for Athletic Bilbao in each of the last five La Liga seasons
Athletic Bilbao star Inaki Williams has shown incredible fitness levels and has now featured in every single La Liga match over the last five seasons. It also shows why he has been one of Athletic Bilbao's most important players in recent times.
#3 Jan Oblak has won the Ricardo Zamora trophy for the fifth-time
Arguably the greatest goalkeeper in the world right now, Atletico Madrid shot stopper Jan Oblak has been incredible between the sticks once again. Oblak has won Ricardo Zamora trophy for the fifth time.
The trophy is awarded to the goalkeeper who has the lowest "goals-to-games" ratio or quite simply, the goalkeeper who concedes the least number of goals.
#2 Luis Suarez has won more La Liga points for Atletico Madrid than any player in any competition this season
Atletico Madrid signed Luis Suarez from Barcelona last summer for a negligible amount of money. It seemed like a poor decision from Barcelona as Luis Suarez was still quite a prolific goalscorer. He has proven to be a great signing for Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid collected 21 points thanks to Luis Suarez's last 16 goals in La Liga this season, as per Whoscored. This is the stat that will come back to haunt Barcelona as it almost feels like they gifted Atletico Madrid the La Liga title.
Out of his 21 goals, 13 have given Atletico the lead. Seven of them have been winning goals. Six of them have been opening goals. Atletico Madrid have also not lost a single game where Luis Suarez has scored.
#1 Lionel Messi is the top scorer in the La Liga for five consecutive seasons now
Lionel Messi took it upon himself to turn Barcelona's fortunes around this term. He has been in incredible form this year. After starting the season in rather underwhelming fashion, the Argentine inspired Barcelona to claw their way back into the La Liga title race as well.
Lionel Messi's future is the subject of much speculation these days but it's clear as day that Barcelona will suffer greatly in his absence. He has broken the record held by Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez.
