The2018–19 La Liga season, also known asLaLigaSantander for sponsorship reasons,[2] was the 88th since its establishment. The season began on 17 August 2018 and concluded on 19 May 2019.[3] Fixtures for the 2018–19 season were announced on 24 July 2018.[4] This was the first La Liga season to use theVAR.[5]
Several clubs made managerial changes before the start of the season. Among them wereReal Madrid, whenZinedine Zidane resigned following the club's third consecutiveUEFA Champions League victory. He was replaced byJulen Lopetegui, who was managing the Spain national team at the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at the time of announcement and was dismissed from that job as a result.[7] Other incomers includedPablo Machín atSevilla, who was hired after his success with newly promotedGirona the previous season.[8]
In the transfer window, the biggest deal saw Real Madrid loseCristiano Ronaldo toJuventus for a fee of €112 million; the Portuguese forward had scored 450 goals in 438 games during his nine years in the Spanish capital.[9] Real Madrid's additions included Belgium international goalkeeperThibaut Courtois for €35 million fromChelsea, and strikerMariano returned to the club fromLyon for €22 million.[10][11] Defending championsBarcelona addedClément Lenglet to their defence,Arturo Vidal to midfield, and spent over €40 million on Brazilian forwardMalcom.[12] Players exiting Barcelona includedAndrés Iniesta at the end of a successful 16-year-spell, as he signed forVissel Kobe in Japan.[13]
The tenth round of matches featured the firstEl Clásico of the season, which Barcelona won 5–1 at home against Real Madrid with ahat-trick byLuis Suárez. The result put Madrid into 9th place,[18] and led to the dismissal of Lopetegui after only five months.[19] Other early pace-setters included Sevilla with their prolific strike partnership ofAndré Silva andWissam Ben Yedder,[20]Alavés who were briefly league leaders in mid-October,[21]Espanyol, andValladolid who had been taken over by former Brazil internationalRonaldo.[22]
A total of 20 teams will contest the league, including 17 sides from the2017–18 season and three promoted from the2017–18 Segunda División. This will include the two top teams from the Segunda División, and the winners of theplay-offs.
Teams relegated to Segunda División
The first team to be relegated fromLa Liga wereMálaga. Their relegation was ensured on 19 April 2018, following a late 0−1 defeat toLevante, ending their 10-year spell in the top division.[23]
The second team to be relegated wereLas Palmas, after a 0−4 home defeat toDeportivo Alavés on 22 April 2018, ending their three-year spell in the league.[24]
The last team to be relegated wereDeportivo La Coruña, following a 2−4 home loss toBarcelona on 29 April 2018. This result ensured Deportivo's third relegation in seven years, and also handed Barcelona their 25th La Liga title.[25]
Teams promoted from Segunda División
On 21 May 2018,Huesca were promoted to La Liga for the first time ever by winning 2–0 atLugo.
Rayo Vallecano was the second team to earn promotion to La Liga on 27 May 2018 by winning against Lugo as well, this time 1–0. Rayo returned after a two-year absence.
Valladolid was the last team to be promoted after beatingSporting Gijón andNumancia in the play-offs. Valladolid returned to top division after 4 years.
On 16 August 2018, La Liga signed a 15-year agreement with Relevant Sports (owners of theInternational Champions Cup) to schedule one match per season within the United States. This would mark the first time ever that an official La Liga league match would be held there.[47][48] The match betweenGirona andBarcelona, to be played on 27 January 2019, was selected to be played inMiami, but it required the approval of theRoyal Spanish Football Federation.[49] On 21 September 2018, the Spanish Football Federation denied approval of the match being held in Miami.[50] On 26 October 2018, following a request for guidance from the Spanish Football Federation,US Soccer andCONCACAF, theFIFA Council discussed La Liga's proposal. At the end of the meeting, the FIFA Council stated that "Consistent with the opinion expressed by the Football Stakeholders Committee, the Council emphasised the sporting principle that official league matches must be played within the territory of the respective member association".[51] On 13 December 2018, Barcelona left their disposition to play the match in Miami without effect.[52]
Source:La Liga,Soccerway Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play points (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played)[84] (C) Champions;(R) Relegated Notes:
^abGetafe finished ahead of Sevilla on head-to-head points: Sevilla 0–2 Getafe, Getafe 3–0 Sevilla.
^abSince the winners of the2018–19 Copa del Rey, Valencia, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to the sixth-placed team and the spot awarded to the sixth-placed team (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the seventh-placed team.
^abEspanyol finished ahead of Athletic Bilbao on head-to-head points: Espanyol 1–0 Athletic Bilbao, Athletic Bilbao 1–1 Espanyol.
^abcReal Sociedad finished ahead of Real Betis and Alavés on head-to-head points: Real Sociedad 6, Real Betis 5, Alavés 5. Real Betis finished ahead of Alavés on goal difference: Real Betis –8, Alavés –11.
^abVillarreal finished ahead of Levante on head-to-head points: Villarreal 1–1 Levante, Levante 0–2 Villarreal.
^abValladolid finished ahead of Celta Vigo on head-to-head points: Celta Vigo 3–3 Valladolid, Valladolid 2–1 Celta Vigo.
Jan Oblak won his fourth consecutive Zamora Trophy, the first player to do so sinceVíctor Valdés from 2009 to 2012.
TheRicardo Zamora Trophy was 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.[89]