| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 August 2021 – 22 May 2022 |
| Champions | Real Madrid 35th title |
| Relegated | Granada Levante Alavés |
| Champions League | Real Madrid Barcelona Atlético Madrid Sevilla |
| Europa League | Real Betis Real Sociedad |
| Europa Conference League | Villarreal |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 951 (2.5 per match) |
| Best Player | Karim Benzema |
| Top goalscorer | Karim Benzema (27 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Yassine Bounou (0.77 goals/match) |
| Biggest home win | Real Madrid 6–0 Levante (12 May 2022) |
| Biggest away win | Mallorca 2–6 Granada (7 May 2022) Rayo Vallecano 1–5 Villarreal (12 May 2022) |
| Highest scoring | Sevilla 5–3 Levante (24 October 2021) Mallorca 2–6 Granada (7 May 2022) |
| Longest winning run | Barcelona Real Madrid (7 matches) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Barcelona Sevilla (15 matches) |
| Longest winless run | Levante (19 matches) |
| Longest losing run | Getafe Mallorca (7 matches) |
| Highest attendance | 86,422 Barcelona 1–2 Real Madrid (24 October 2021) |
| Lowest attendance | 583 Rayo Vallecano 4–0 Granada (29 August 2021) |
| Total attendance | 8,675,104 |
| Average attendance | 22,829 |
2022–23 → | |
The2021–22 La Liga, also known asLa Liga Santander due to sponsorship reasons, was the 91st season ofLa Liga, Spain's premier football competition. It began on 13 August 2021 and concluded on 22 May 2022.[1] The fixtures were announced on 30 June 2021.[2]
On 24 June 2021, the SpanishCouncil of Ministers resolved that spectators could return to stadiums at full capacity by means of a modification of the royal decree regulating the 'new normality', in the context of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Atlético Madrid were the defending champions, having won their eleventh title the previous season.Espanyol,Mallorca andRayo Vallecano joined as the promoted clubs from the2020–21 Segunda División. They replacedHuesca,Valladolid andEibar, which were relegated to Segunda theprevious season.
Real Madrid secured a record-extending 35th title with four matches to spare on 30 April, following a 4–0 victory over Espanyol.[4]
This was the first La Liga season since2003–04 that did not feature the league'sall-time top goal scorerLionel Messi and long timeReal Madrid player and captainSergio Ramos, who both departed forParis Saint-Germain in the summer.
A total of twenty teams contested the league, including seventeen sides from the2020–21 season and three promoted from the2020–21 Segunda División. This included the two top teams from the Segunda División, and the winners of thepromotion play-offs.
The first team to be relegated fromLa Liga wereEibar, after a 1–4 loss toValencia on 16 May 2021, ending their seven-year stay in the top tier.[5] The second team to be relegated wereValladolid, following a 1–2 home defeat againstAtlético Madrid on 22 May 2021, in their final game of the season, ending their three-year stay in the top tier. The third and final team to be relegated wereHuesca, after drawing 0–0 againstValencia on 22 May 2021 in their final game of the season, suffering an immediate return to the second division.
On 8 May 2021,Espanyol became the first side to mathematically be promoted, assured of a return to the top flight following a 0–0 draw againstZaragoza.[6][7] The second team to earn promotion wasMallorca, followingAlmería's 2–3 loss toCartagena on 18 May 2021. Both teams made an immediate return to the first division after a season away.[8][9][10] The third and final team to be promoted wereRayo Vallecano, after winning the play-off final 3–2 againstGirona on 20 June 2021, returning after a two-year absence.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alavés | Kelme | Zøtapay, XM1, Integra Energía2, Silken Hoteles3, InnJoo3 | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | New Balance | Kutxabank | ||
| Atlético Madrid | Νike | Plus500,Ria Money Transfer,1Hyundai2 | ||
| Barcelona | Nike | Rakuten,UNICEF1 | ||
| Cádiz | Macron | Bitci, Jobchain,1 Floki Inu2 | ||
| Celta Vigo | Adidas | Estrella Galicia 0,0,Abanca,1 AIX Investment Group,2 Grupo Recalvi3 | ||
| Elche | Νike | TM Grupo Inmobiliario, Sfidante1 | ||
| Espanyol | Kelme | Riviera Maya,Digi Communications,1 Reale Seguros,2 Global Racing Oil3 | ||
| Getafe | Joma | Tecnocasa Group | ||
| Granada | Νike | Platzi, Caja Rural Granada1 | ||
| Levante | Macron | Gedesco,Baleària,1 Sesderma1 | ||
| Mallorca | Nike | αGEL, Alua Hotels & Resorts,1 Juaneda,1 OK Mobility,2Air Europa,3Specialized3 | ||
| Osasuna | Adidas | Verleal, Clínica Universidad de Navarra3 | ||
| Rayo Vallecano | Umbro | Digi Communications | ||
| Real Betis | Kappa | Finetwork, LegacyFX,1 Reale Seguros,2 MuchBetter3 | ||
| Real Madrid | Adidas | Emirates | ||
| Real Sociedad | Macron | Finetwork, Kutxabank,1 Reale Seguros2 | ||
| Sevilla | Νike | NAGA, Socios.com,13Valvoline2 | ||
| Valencia | Puma | Socios.com, Samtrade FX,1 Sailun Tyres,2Škoda3 | ||
| Villarreal | Joma | Pamesa Cerámica, Color Star Technology2 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valencia | End of interim spell | 22 May 2021 | Pre-season | 27 May 2021 | ||
| Getafe | Mutual consent | 26 May 2021 | ||||
| Real Madrid | Resigned | 27 May 2021 | 1 June 2021 | |||
| Granada | 27 May 2021 | 18 June 2021 | ||||
| Levante | Sacked | 3 October 2021 | 18th | 7 October 2021 | ||
| Getafe | 4 October 2021 | 20th | 6 October 2021 | |||
| Barcelona | 27 October 2021 | 9th | 5 November 2021 | |||
| Elche | 21 November 2021 | 18th | 28 November 2021 | |||
| Levante | 29 November 2021 | 20th | 7 December 2021 | |||
| Alavés | 28 December 2021 | 18th | 28 December 2021 | |||
| Cádiz | 11 January 2022 | 19th | 11 January 2022 | |||
| Granada | 6 March 2022 | 17th | 6 March 2022 | |||
| Mallorca | 22 March 2022 | 18th | 24 March 2022 | |||
| Alavés | 3 April 2022 | 20th | 5 April 2022 | |||
| Granada | End of caretaker spell | 18 April 2022 | 18th | 18 April 2022 | ||
| Espanyol | Sacked | 13 May 2022 | 13th | 13 May 2022 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid(C) | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 80 | 31 | +49 | 86 | Qualification for theChampions League group stage |
| 2 | Barcelona | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 73 | |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 65 | 43 | +22 | 71 | |
| 4 | Sevilla | 38 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 53 | 30 | +23 | 70 | |
| 5 | Real Betis | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 62 | 40 | +22 | 65 | Qualification for theEuropa League group stage[a] |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 62 | |
| 7 | Villarreal | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 63 | 37 | +26 | 59 | Qualification for theEuropa Conference League play-off round[a] |
| 8 | Athletic Bilbao | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 55 | |
| 9 | Valencia | 38 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 48 | 53 | −5 | 48 | |
| 10 | Osasuna | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 37 | 51 | −14 | 47 | |
| 11 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 46 | |
| 12 | Rayo Vallecano | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 42[b] | |
| 13 | Elche | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 40 | 52 | −12 | 42[b] | |
| 14 | Espanyol | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 42[b] | |
| 15 | Getafe | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 39[c] | |
| 16 | Mallorca | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 39[c] | |
| 17 | Cádiz | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 39[c] | |
| 18 | Granada(R) | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 44 | 61 | −17 | 38 | Relegation toSegunda División |
| 19 | Levante(R) | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 51 | 76 | −25 | 35 | |
| 20 | Alavés(R) | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 31 | 65 | −34 | 31 |
| Home \ Away | RMA | BAR | ATM | SEV | BET | RSO | VIL | ATH | VAL | OSA | CEL | RAY | ELC | ESP | GET | MLL | CAD | GRA | LEV | ALA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | — | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 3–0 |
| Barcelona | 1–2 | — | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Atlético Madrid | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 |
| Sevilla | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 5–3 | 2–2 |
| Real Betis | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | — | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| Real Sociedad | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Villarreal | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 5–2 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Valencia | 1–2 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Osasuna | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Celta Vigo | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Rayo Vallecano | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 2–0 |
| Elche | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Espanyol | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 1–0 |
| Getafe | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 |
| Mallorca | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–6 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Cádiz | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Granada | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–4 | 2–1 |
| Levante | 3–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | — | 3–1 |
| Alavés | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | — |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[62] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 27 | |
| 2 | Celta Vigo | 18 | |
| 3 | Espanyol | 17 | |
| Real Madrid | |||
| 5 | Real Betis | 16 | |
| Getafe | |||
| 7 | Alavés | 14 | |
| 8 | Levante | 13 | |
| 9 | Atlético Madrid | 12 | |
| Barcelona |
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[63] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 13 | |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 12 | |
| 3 | Barcelona | 10 | |
| Athletic Bilbao | |||
| Villarreal | |||
| Real Madrid | |||
| 7 | Espanyol | 9 | |
| Rayo Vallecano | |||
| 9 | Real Betis | 8 | |
| Real Madrid |
TheZamora Trophy was awarded by newspaperMarca to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio. A goalkeeper had to have played at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.[64]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals against | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sevilla | 24 | 31 | 0.77 | |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 29 | 36 | 0.81 | |
| 3 | Villarreal | 28 | 32 | 0.88 | |
| 4 | Real Sociedad | 32 | 35 | 0.91 | |
| Athletic Bilbao | 31 | 34 |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | Celta Vigo | 5–2 (H) | 12 September 2021 | 4 | |
| Real Madrid | Mallorca | 6–1 (H) | 22 September 2021 | 6 | |
| Cádiz | Villarreal | 3–3 (A) | 26 October 2021 | 11 | |
| Real Betis | Levante | 3–1 (H) | 28 November 2021 | 15 | |
| Granada | Mallorca | 4–1 (H) | 19 December 2021 | 18 | |
| Athletic Bilbao | Osasuna | 3–1 (A) | 3 January 2022 | 19 | |
| Villarreal | Granada | 4–1 (A) | 19 February 2022 | 25 | |
| Barcelona | Valencia | 4–1 (A) | 20 February 2022 | 25 | |
| Villarreal | Espanyol | 5–1 (H) | 27 February 2022 | 26 | |
| Real Madrid | Levante | 6–0 (H) | 12 May 2022 | 36 |
4 – Player scored four goals.
| Pos. | Player | Club | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| ST | Real Madrid |
| Month | Player of the Month | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | ||
| September | Real Madrid | [65] | |
| October | Real Sociedad | [66] | |
| November | Real Madrid | [67] | |
| December | Real Betis | [68] | |
| January | Atlético Madrid | [69] | |
| February | Real Madrid | [70] | |
| March | Atlético Madrid | [71] | |
| April | Real Madrid | [72] | |
| May | Mallorca | [73] | |
| Team of the Season[74] | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Defenders | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Midfielders | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Forwards | ||||||||||||||||||||
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs were not allowed to use the total capacity of their stadiums. According to the progress of the pandemic, the capacity allowed each month was decided by the Government of Spain, in agreement with the Autonomous Communities.
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 1,025,652 | 86,422 | 20,384 | 53,982 | n/a† |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 887,840 | 63,874 | 24,926 | 46,728 | n/a† |
| 3 | Real Betis | 792,593 | 52,158 | 22,590 | 41,715 | n/a† |
| 4 | Real Madrid | 783,338 | 60,017 | 19,874 | 41,228 | n/a1 |
| 5 | Athletic Bilbao | 625,976 | 43,398 | 9,394 | 32,946 | n/a† |
| 6 | Sevilla | 565,355 | 40,629 | 13,962 | 29,756 | n/a† |
| 7 | Valencia | 519,638 | 38,315 | 9,868 | 27,349 | n/a† |
| 8 | Real Sociedad | 509,715 | 37,066 | 7,652 | 26,827 | n/a† |
| 9 | Espanyol | 318,791 | 25,049 | 11,095 | 16,778 | n/a† |
| 10 | Osasuna | 318,314 | 21,741 | 6,175 | 16,753 | n/a† |
| 11 | Elche | 301,090 | 23,010 | 9,145 | 15,847 | n/a† |
| 12 | Levante | 284,260 | 20,785 | 9,838 | 14,961 | n/a† |
| 13 | Villarreal | 271,570 | 19,050 | 7,837 | 14,293 | n/a† |
| 14 | Cádiz | 267,048 | 19,643 | 6,941 | 14,055 | n/a† |
| 15 | Granada | 254,230 | 17,951 | 6,267 | 13,381 | n/a† |
| 16 | Mallorca | 236,246 | 18,466 | 6,279 | 12,434 | n/a† |
| 17 | Alavés | 205,190 | 16,209 | 2,896 | 10,799 | n/a† |
| 18 | Celta Vigo | 190,257 | 15,714 | 5,401 | 10,014 | n/a1 |
| 19 | Getafe | 165,341 | 13,072 | 4,810 | 8,702 | n/a† |
| 20 | Rayo Vallecano | 152,660 | 11,879 | 583 | 8,035 | n/a1 |
| League total | 8,675,104 | 86,422 | 583 | 22,829 | n/a† |
Source:World Football
Notes:
1: Club's stadium had a lower capacity due to renovation works.
La Liga 2021-22 Schedule, Squad