The 2015–16 La Liga season (known as the Liga BBVA for sponsorship reasons) was the 85th since its establishment. Barcelona were the defending champions. The season began on 21 August 2015, and concluded on 15 May 2016.
Barcelona successfully retained the title (their 24th Liga overall) following a 3–0 win against Granada on the final matchday.[2] Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid were engaged in an intense title race, with the three teams finishing with 91, 90 and 88 points respectively.
Almería and Córdoba were relegated to 2015–16 Segunda División in the previous season, after spending two and one years in La Liga, respectively. Elche was administratively relegated despite finishing in 13th.[4] Following the competition rules, Eibar, who finished 18th, remained in the league.[5]
Real Betis was the first team from the Segunda División to achieve promotion, after a one-year absence from La Liga, on 24 May 2015 after winning 3–0 over Alcorcón.[6]
On 7 June 2015, Sporting Gijón secured promotion on the final matchday, after their 3–0 win against Betis allowed the club to leapfrog Girona, who drew their final match and could not retain second place and automatic promotion. Sporting returned to the top level after three years.
Las Palmas achieved promotion on 21 June 2015, after defeating Zaragoza in the promotion play-off final on away goals. Las Palmas won the second 2–0 leg at home after losing the first leg away 3–1, and returned to the first division after thirteen years away. They also became the first island team to play in La Liga since Mallorca's relegation from the top flight in the 2012–13 season. During those thirteen seasons, the club spent two of them in the third-tier Segunda División B.
7. Additionally, referee kits were now made by Adidas, sponsored by Würth, and Nike had a new match ball, the Ordem LFP.
Managerial changes
Overview
On 14 May 2016, Barcelona won their second consecutive and 24th overall La Liga title, following a 3–0 win over Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes on the final matchday.[27]Real Madrid finished one point behind Barcelona as runners-up, having gone on a twelve-match win streak to close out the season.[28]Atlético Madrid ended the season three points off the top in third place, having been eliminated from title contention after a loss to Levante on the penultimate matchday.[29]
Levante were the first team to be mathematically relegated to the Segunda División, following a 1–3 loss against Málaga on 2 May 2016.[30] On 15 May 2016, Sporting Gijón ensured they would remain in the top flight after defeating Villarreal 2–0 and taking advantage of Getafe's loss against Real Betis, which saw Getafe relegated from La Liga for the first time in club history. Rayo Vallecano also went down despite winning their final match of the season.[31]
The Ricardo Zamora Trophy was awarded by newspaper Marca 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.[37]
Hat-tricks
4 Player scored four goals 5 Player scored five goals (H) – Home; (A) – Away
Telefónica purchased the exclusive television broadcasting rights to telecast the 2015–16 season in Spain. Sky Sports had exclusive rights in the United Kingdom, and beIN Sports had exclusive rights to air the season in various countries, including the United States, Canada, MENA, France and the Middle East.[61] KBSN Sports had the exclusive television broadcasting rights in South Korea, apart from internet broadcasting.[62]
References
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^"El FC Barcelona, campeón a lo grande | Liga BBVA". 15 May 2016.
^"Segunda División:Season Rules". scoresway.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
^"Official statement". LFP.es. 5 June 2015.
^"Javier Tebas: "We are certain the Royal Decree will soon be signed"". LFP.es. 25 March 2015.
^"A Primera por la puerta grande". Marca. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
^"Real Madrid sack Carlo Ancelotti; Rafael Benitez tipped to take over". BBC Sport. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
^"Rafa Benitez named new coach of Real Madrid". Sky Sports. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
^"Pablo Franco no entrenará al Getafe la próxima temporada" (in Spanish). LFP.es. 1 June 2015.
^"Fran Escriba named new Getafe coach". ESPN. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
^"SD Eibar y Gaizka Garitano rescinden el contrato" (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
^"José Luis Mendilibar nuevo entrenador de SD Eibar" (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
^"Las Palmas sack Paco Herrera as manager after poor start". ESPN. 19 October 2015.
^"Quique Setién toma el mando en la UD Las Palmas" (in Spanish). LFP. 19 October 2015.
^"Lucas Alcaraz says goodbye at Levante training ground". As. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
^"David Moyes sacked by Real Sociedad after a year in charge". The Guardian.
^"Nuno Espírito Santo resigns as Valencia coach after defeat by Sevilla". The Guardian. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
^"VCF Official Statement Gary Neville". Valencia CF.
^"Galca nuevo entrenador del RCD Espanyol" (in Spanish).
^ a b"Zinedine Zidane replaces Rafael Benitez as Real Madrid coach". BBC Sport. 5 January 2016.
^"Betis part company with coach Pepe Mel". LFP.es. 10 January 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
^"José Ramón Sandoval and Granada CF part company". LFP.es. 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
^"José González replaces José Ramón Sandoval as Granada coach". ESPN. 22 February 2016.
^ a b"Valencia give Gary Neville the chop". Marca. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
^"Fran Escribá deja de ser entrenador del Getafe" (in Spanish). Marca. 11 April 2016.
^"Gustavo Poyet named new Betis coach". LFP.es. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
^"Barcelona wins La Liga title". Goal.com. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^"Deportivo La Coruna 0–2 Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^"Levante 2–1 Atlético Madrid". BBC Sport. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^"Levante relegated after 3-1 defeat at Malaga". Eurosport. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^"Sporting Gijón escape drop as Getafe, Rayo Vallecano go down". AS. 15 May 2016. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^"RFEF". actas.rfef.es.
^"Partido R. Betis – Getafe en directo, en vivo. Temporada 2015/2016 - Liga de Fútbol Profesional". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
^"2015–16 La Liga top goalscorers". ESPN FC. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
^"Pichichi 2015-16". Neogol (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 November 2015.
^"Assists at ESPN". ESPN FC. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.
^"Trofeo Zamora La Liga Santander". Marca (in Spanish).
^"Trofeo Zamora Liga BBVA". Marca (in Spanish).
^"Yellow cards". Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
^"Red cards". Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
^"The Premios La Liga gala hailed as a resounding success". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
^"The Liga BBVA 2015/16 Team of the Season". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 1 June 2016. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
^Marcelino wins Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for September Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es 5 October 2015
^: Nolito named liga BBVA player of the month for September Archived 5 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es 1 October 2015
^"Ernesto Valverde named Liga BBVA manager of the Month for October". La Liga. 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
^Borja Bastón named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for October Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es 5 November 2015
^Diego Simeone named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for November Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es 8 December 2015
^Neymar named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for November Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es 8 December 2015
^Lucas Pérez, mejor jugador de la Liga BBVA en diciembre; LaLiga.es, 8 January 2016 (in Spanish)
^[1]; LaLiga.es, 12 January 2016 (in Spanish)
^Unai Emery, Liga BBVA manager of the month for January Archived 13 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es, 12 February 2016
^Messi named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for January Archived 1 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es 12 February 2016
^Eusebio Sacristan named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for February Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es, 4 March 2016
^Miku named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for February Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine; LFP.es, 4 March 2016
^"Quique Setien named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for March". LaLiga.es. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
^"Aduriz named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for March". LaLiga.es. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
^"Zinedine Zidane named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for April". LFP.es. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
^"Koke named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for April". LFP.es. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
^"Luis Enrique named Liga BBVA Manager of the Month for May". LaLiga.es. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^"Luis Suarez named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for May". LaLiga.es. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^"Spanish La Liga 2015-16 TV Channels Broadcast, Coverage". Sports Mirchi. Retrieved 13 July 2015.