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After an entertaining campaign that provided one of the most thrilling title races in recent memory, the 2020-21 edition of LaLiga Santander has finally come to an end. For only the second time this century, Atletico Madrid beat the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid to the Spanish title, which they sealed with a 2-1 win against Real Valladolid on Matchday 38.
Real Madrid came mighty close and gave their cross-town rivals an incredible fight right down till the very last game. Zinedine Zidane's injury-ravaged Los Blancos ultimately fell two points short of Los Rojiblancos' point tally of 86.
Lionel Messi's Barcelona were in the fray for the LaLiga after a mid-season resurgence led by the captain. However, their push for the highest Spanish honour didn't last too long and they crashed out of the title race with a 2-1 loss to Celta Vigo.
Other clubs such as Sevilla and Real Betis left a great account of themselves as well, with the former ending the campaign just two points off the Blaugrana's 79. Their 77-point season is the highest tally they've accumulated in a single LaLiga season in their history.
Apart from the enthralling title race, LaLiga had some of the finest individual performers over the course of the 2020-21 campaign, including some incredible goalscorers. On that note, here, we take a look at the final standings in the race for the Spanish Golden Boot (Pichichi) in the 2020-21 campaign.
#5 Youssef El-Nesyri | Sevilla | 18 Goals
After a rather underwhelming return of four goals in nearly 800 minutes of league action for Sevilla last time around, Youssef El-Nesyri had a brilliant 2020-21 campaign. The Moroccan, who arrived from Leganes, was Julen Lopetegui's go-to man in attack, and he repaid the manager's faith with a great goal return.
El-Nesyri scored 18 goals in LaLiga for Sevilla, at an average of 0.47 goals per game. Quite astonishingly, each and every one of his goals came from within the opposition box.
The 23-year-old has been a brilliant addition to the fourth-placed LaLiga side, providing a different, fox-in-the-box type of player who has benefited massively from playing in Lopetegui's system. His tally of 18 is also the highest in the league for a player who is yet to register a single assist.
#4 Luis Suarez | Atletico Madrid | 21 Goals
Barcelona's decision to unceremoniously push Luis Suarez to the exit door came back to haunt them as he spearheaded their rivals, Atleti, to the league title. The veteran striker began the campaign in stunning form and helped his new side take up a comfortable position at the top of the league table.
The 34-year-old then endured a difficult run of games which saw him score just three goals from Matchday 23 to 36, which coincided with Atleti squandering a comfortable lead at the top. After racking up 19 goals, Suarez failed to score in five successive games, but he turned up for them when it mattered most.
El Pistolero scored a goal in their penultimate and final league fixtures of the season to seal a historic title win. It was a brilliant campaign for one of his generation's finest strikers. He might not have scored as many as some others, but his goals were worth their weight in gold to Atleti.
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=#2 Gerard Moreno | Villarreal | 23 Goals
Gerard Moreno enjoyed an excellent 2019-20 campaign with 18 goals and five assists in LaLiga, but he's shattered his personal best with another surreal season with Villarreal. The Spanish forward has racked up a stunning 23 goals coupled with seven assists for his teammates, making it a very productive season.
Moreno has been at the heart of Unai Emery's side and has delivered for them on both domestic and European fronts. The 29-year-old has scored against the likes of Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Sevilla, among other clubs.
With rumours suggesting that he's garnered interest from Atletico Madrid, it remains to be seen where his future lies. If 2020-21 was Moreno's final campaign at the Estadio de la Ceramica, it would be an absolutely incredible one to sign off with.
=#2 Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 23 Goals
Karim Benzema fired Los Blancos to the title last season with 21 goals and eight assists, and albeit he couldn't do the same this year, his individual displays have been outstanding. The French striker registered 23 goals with a further nine assists to his name, making him the player with the second-highest goal contributions in LaLiga 2020-21.
Benzema has stepped up on several occasions for Zidane's men and has, more often than not, operated with very little service up front. The 33-year-old has been in great touch for the former champions, constantly dropping deep to collect the ball and run the show.
His goals against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid proved to be mighty important for Los Blancos in the title race and led his side by example right until the very end. Benzema was instrumental in their comeback on the final day of the season against Villarreal. A superb campaign from one of Real Madrid's modern legends.
#1 Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 30 Goals
Unlike in many of his previous campaigns, Lionel Messi gave his fellow Pichichi contenders a headstart as he had a relatively slow start to the campaign. Due to a few factors, such as the Argentine legend's transfer situation at the start of the season, Messi scored seven goals in his first 14 league games.
However, from the turn of the year, it was a whole different story as the Barcelona captain found his groove and began to pick up the pace. Messi then went on a streak of having scored or assisted at least one goal in 14 successive league fixtures from early January to late March. This run saw him score 18 and set up a further eight goals, which put him right back in contention for the top scorer award.
Despite his slow start, Messi ended the campaign with 30 league goals to his name and picked up the eighth (!) Pichichi award of his career, and the fifth in succession. This Pichichi also means that Messi has finished as top goalscorer more times than anyone across the history of the top five European Leagues.
