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Another epic campaign in the Spanish La Liga drew to a close yesterday, leaving us with so much to look back upon and review.
Real Madrid were crowned champions for the 34th time, while Leganes, Mallorca, and Espanyol endured La Liga relegation.
There were no surprises in the scoring charts whatsoever, with Lionel Messi once again the king of both goals and assists. It marked a record seventh time the diminutive Argentinian finished atop the La Liga scoring charts in a season.
You'd have probably guessed how the best XI of the season would look like, but have you ever thought of a combined La Liga line-up comprising only Spanish players?
Don't worry, we've got the numbers crunched for you. Here's the best XI of the 2019-20 La Liga season featuring only players of Spanish origin:
Best Spanish XI of the 2019-20 La Liga
Goalkeeper: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao)
Looks like the competition for the number one choice goalkeeper in Spain's squad is set to get hotter after Unai Simon's meteoric rise to prominence in the La Liga this season.
Simon was merely a backup choice last year but stepped up to the plate with aplomb in the 2019/20 season, keeping 13 clean sheets in 34 games and conceding only 29 times - a tally that only exceeds that of Thibaut Courtois and Jan Oblak's.
Right-back: Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid)
For someone who labelled himself a 'fail' last season, this was an emphatic comeback. Dani Carvajal was at his usual best once again and played his part in Madrid's fine defensive record in the La Liga this season quite impeccably.
He made six assists, the most for a defender in the 2019-20 La Liga after only Jesus Navas, while also making several crucial tackles along the way.
Centre-back: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
No surprises here. Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos was undoubtedly, unquestionably, and unequivocally the defender of the 2019-20 La Liga season. That's no exaggeration, just look at his highlight reel.
Ramos was an absolute bulwark in the Merengues defence, making numerous crucial tackles and timely interceptions, most notably that goal-line clearance against Granada in the match before Real Madrid sealed their record-extending 34th La Liga triumph.
He also vehemently made his presence felt in the attack too, dispatching all those penalties with little hesitation. In all, he scored 11 times, the highest for any defender in all of Europe's top five leagues and the most by a Real Madrid defender in this century! Can you believe this guy is 34 years old? Monster!
Centre-back: Inigo Martinez (Athletic Bilbao)
Los Leones finished below the mid-table after an unconvincing La Liga season, but they maintained a rather impressive defensive record, conceding only 38 times. Much of that is down to Inigo Martinez, who was sublime.
Strong in the air and an excellent distributor of the ball, the 29-year-old also manifested fine leadership qualities at the back. He timed his tackles to perfection and also read the proceedings well, averaging over four clearances per game.
Left-back: Sergio Reguilon (Sevilla)
Sergio Reguilon joined Sevilla last year on loan from Real Madrid in search of more game-time; after an impressive La Liga campaign, we can say he chose his destination well.
He was directly involved in six goals for the Nervionenses and also registered the most key passes (40) by a defender bar one. The 23-year-old's precocious dribbling quality was a menace going forward, and even though he still might not have a future at the Santiago Bernabeu, performances like this will surely help create one at another big European team soon.
Defensive midfielder: Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid)
Saul Niguez has been around the block for so long that it's easy to forget he's still only 25.
Atletico Madrid's utility man was imposing in the air in the 2019-20 La Liga, where he ranked second in terms of tackles (95). As is always the case, the midfielder also charged out of his line on various occasions to drive his side forward, bagging six goals for himself in the process.
Left winger: Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad)
One of the best young players in the Spanish squad, Mikel Oyarzabal is fast developing into a world-class winger.
At only 23, he completed his fifth full season with La Real, which was also by far his best yet.
Oyarzabal took up captaincy duties with aplomb and was the driving force behind Real Sociedad's attack. With 10 goals and 11 assists from 37 games in the La Liga this season, Oyarzabal also guided his side to their first Copa Del Rey final since 1988.
Attacking midfielder: Santi Cazorla (Villarreal)
Santi Cazorla rolled back the years with a series of vintage performances for the Yellow Submarine in the 2019-20 La Liga, helping them secure Europa League football after scoring 11 goals and providing 10 assists.
Cazorla was the creative chieftain of the side as his wealth of experience and big-game pedigree kept Villarreal ticking. For someone who almost got his legs amputated not too long ago, this was truly a fairytale revival as the ex-Arsenal star scripted one of the most inspiring comeback tales of all time.
Right winger: Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
After a disappointing campaign last season that saw Villarreal finish way below in 14th place in the La Liga, the side successfully rebuilt this season to climb back up to a creditable fifth.
An instrumental figure in Villareal's resurgence was Gerard Moreno, who got his shooting boots on again and went hell for leather. His tally of 18 goals is the best by any Spanish player in the 2019-20 La Liga, and the most behind only Lionel Messi (25) and Karim Benzema (21).
Striker: Raul Garcia (Athletic Bilbao)
Quite interestingly, Athletic Bilbao scored exactly 41 goals in La Liga for the second consecutive season.
The difference this time was only in their top-scorer, with Raul Garcia taking over from Inaki Williams as the goal-scoring talisman. The ex-Atletico star netted 15 times, his best return yet, as he successfully stepped up to the plate to replace Aritz Aduriz after the latter's struggles with a hip injury.
Striker: Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo)
Celta Vigo managed to survive by the skin of their teeth, but it would've been a long shot without Iago Aspas, who was a constant source of brilliance.
He struck 14 times, a slight depreciation from his previous tallies, but nevertheless produced some crucial, match-winning strikes that earned some vital points along the way to help Vigo avoid La Liga relegation.
Honourable mentions:
Ansu Fati (Barcelona), Joselu (Alaves), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Daniel Parejo (Valencia), Jaime Mata (Getafe) and Riqui Puig (Barcelona).
