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#3A: Improved – Real Madrid
2019-20 La Liga Standing - 1st (87 points)
2018-19 La Liga Standing - 3rd (68 points).
La Liga winners for the record 34th time, Real Madrid were well worth the money in 2019-20. They weren’t the most pleasing side in the league, winning multiple games by the skin of their teeth, yet the drive and belief to achieve their ultimate goal – becoming the kings of Spain - got them through.
The 2.0 version of Zinedine Zidane’s Los Blancos was built around defensive solidity coupled with their usual swagger in the attacking third. To put things into perspective, Real Madrid conceded just 25 goals throughout the campaign, 21 fewer than they did in the 2018-19 campaign.
This new-found solidity was evident in their victories over direct rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at home late in the season, which went a long way towards clinching the La Liga title.
To praise only their defence will not do any justice to the midfielders and the forwards,who played their part in securing the title. Karim Benzema finished as Real Madrid's’s top goal-scorer for the second La Liga season running.
The Frenchman surely seems to have benefitted the most since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 as he finished second only to Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot with 21 strikes to his name.
#3B: Declined - Leganes
2019-20 La Liga Standing - 18th (36 points)
2018-19 La Liga Standing - 13th (45 points).
Leganes, along with Mallorca and Espanyol, were the unfortunate teams to suffer relegation from the La Liga this season.
Unlike the other two teams, Los Pepineros fought until the last seconds, requiring an unlikely win against Champions Real Madrid on the final day to survive. Although they avoided defeat, it wasn’t enough to save their top-flight status.
Leganes are a true fairytale story after having achieved promotion to the Spanish first division for the first time in their history in 2016. Their stadium might be the second smallest in the division (capacity of 12,450), but the support that they receive is unparalleled.
The 2018-19 La Liga campaign was Leganes' best to date as they finished 13th and eight points away from the relegation zone. But the 2019-20 season started woefully for the club as they mustered a mere six points from their first 15 games. More misery was in store for the club when their top scorer Martin Braithwaite was poached away by Barcelona in the January transfer window.
Despite all the odds, Leganes under the leadership of Javier Aguirre fought back well towards the end after a demoralising first half of the season. The team remained unbeaten in their last five La Liga games, picking up 11 points to rekindle hopes ofd an unlikely survival but in the end they fell agonisingly short by a solitary point.
