The2013–14La Liga season (known as theLiga BBVA for sponsorship reasons) was the 83rd since its establishment. Matchdays were drawn on 9 July 2013. The season began on 17 August 2013 and concluded on 18 May 2014; all top-flight European leagues ended earlier than the previous season due to the upcoming2014 FIFA World Cup.Elche,Villarreal andAlmería competed in La Liga this season after being promoted from thesecond tier.
Atlético Madrid,Real Madrid andBarcelona traded the lead several times throughout the season. Entering the final weekend of play, Atlético Madrid were three points ahead of 2013 champions Barcelona. However, with the two teams facing off, Barcelona could claim the title with a win. The gameended in a draw, giving theColchoneros their first league title in eighteen years, and their tenth overall. It was the first time since the2003–04 season that a club other than Barcelona or Real Madrid, who finished second and third respectively, had won the title.Osasuna,Valladolid andReal Betis finished in the bottom three and were relegated.
A total of twenty teams contested the league, including seventeen sides from the2012–13 season and three promoted from the2012–13 Segunda División. This included the top two ranked teams from the Segunda División, and the victorious team of theplay-offs.
Mallorca,Deportivo La Coruña andZaragoza were relegated to the2013–14 Segunda División at the end of the previous season; Mallorca were relegated after sixteen years inLa Liga, the longest period in the club's history, Zaragoza returned to the Segunda División after a four-year tenure in La Liga, and Deportivo made an immediate return to the second tier after being promoted the previous year. All three teams were relegated on the final matchday.[3]
The three relegated teams were replaced by three2012–13 Segunda División sides:Elche returned to the top level as Segunda División champions, after 24 years of absence and having spent the last fourteen consecutive seasons in the Segunda División.[4] Second-placedVillarreal were also promoted to La Liga, making an immediate return to the top flight[5] after a win overAlmería in a decisive match near the end of the season which would see the winners directly promoted to La Liga.[6] Almería themselves also eventually achieved promotion; the club returned to the Spanish top flight after spending two years in the Segunda by defeatingGirona in the final of the promotion play-offs.[7]
This was the first season since the1988–89 campaign without any teams from thearchipelagos of Spain (teams located on theBalearic Islands andCanary Islands) in the top flight, as Mallorca were relegated andLas Palmas failed to return to La Liga after losing in the semi-finals of the promotion play-offs.
5.^Málaga made a donation to UNESCO in order to display the charity's logo on the club's kit.
As in the previous years,Nike provided the official ball for all matches, with a new Nike Incyte Liga BBVA model being used throughout the season for all matches.[8]
The 2013–14La Liga season was the 83rd since its establishment. Match days were drawn on 9 July 2013.[24] The season began on 17 August 2013 and ended on 18 May 2014.[25]
For the first time since 1951 and just the third time in league history, theLa Liga title came down to a head-to-head match on the final weekend of play.Atlético Madrid were three points ahead of 2013 championBarcelona, but had its final game on the road inBarcelona.[26] Barcelona took a 1–0 lead into the half and Atlético lost two starters to injury in the half. A second half header, however, secured a 1–1 draw, earning theColchoneros their first league title in 18 years, and their 10th overall. It was the first time since the2003–04 La Liga that a club other than Barcelona or Real Madrid, which finished tied for second, won the title. It was also the first time in the 67-year history of theCamp Nou stadium that a visiting team had clinched the title in the stadium.[27]
The emergence ofDiego Costa andKoke was a large part of Atlético Madrid's success. Costa scored 36 goals on the season (27 in league play), including the winner in Atlético's first victory over Real Madrid since 1999. Koke had 18 assists on the year (13 in league play), to go with seven goals.[27]
Earlier in the season,Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona ended a 31-match unbeaten streak for Real Madrid. The same day, Atlético beat Real Betis to claim the league lead. A loss against Levante and draw against Málaga left Atlético vulnerable heading into their final match.[27]
^abBarcelona finished ahead of Real Madrid on head-to-head points: Barcelona 2–1 Real Madrid, Real Madrid 3–4 Barcelona.
^Sevilla automatically qualified for the2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage as the defending champions; the berth through their league position was vacated.
^abVillarreal finished ahead of Real Sociedad on head-to-head points: Villarreal 5–1 Real Sociedad, Real Sociedad 1–2 Villarreal.
TheRicardo Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaperMarca to the goalkeeper with the lowest ratio of goals conceded to matches played. A goalkeeper had to play at least 28 matches of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.
Source: Official websites and other Spanish media[2] Notes: Attendance numbers without playoff matches. 1: Team played last season in Segunda División 2: Athletic Bilbao played game 1 in Anoeta, with an attendance of 16,000.