How the month of May went in the Liga BBVA

May was the final month of the 2014/15 Liga BBVA season. The fifth month of the calendar year saw some teams secure safety, others clinch European qualification and, in the case of one team, FC Barcelona, win the league title. LaLiga.es brings you the best of the competition.

Highlights

The last month of the Liga BBVA season is always a crucial time of the year for many teams. That was certainly the case for FC Barcelona, RC Deportivo and Granada CF who, thanks to their great performances during the final four matchdays, were able to accomplish their objectives and celebrate a job well done to the delight of their supporters.

Luis Enrique’s charges wrapped up the Liga BBVA title in the Vicente Calderón with a 0-1 win on the second last matchday of the season. The star of the show was none other than Lionel Messi, the man who secured the 23rd Liga BBVA title in Barcelona’s history.

Meanwhile, José Ramón Sandoval’s Granada closed out May with a run of three victories and a draw that guaranteed their safety in the division, a feat which looked almost impossible at the beginning of the month. The Andalusians drew a close to a hard fought and nervy season in perfect fashion with a 1-2 win over Getafe, a 0-3 triumph against Córdoba CF and a scoreless draw with Atlético. One of the other clubs to hang onto its Liga BBVA status was Deportivo, with a courageous 2-2 result against the newly crowned league champions in the Camp Nou.

Star of the month

While Real Madrid were unable to mount the comeback they needed in order to claim the Liga BBVA title, the star of the month was still Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese talisman once again demonstrated his attacking prowess by finding the back of the net nine times in the space of four games, goals which helped him towards winning the top scorer of the season trophy, with a tally of 48. His impressive numbers earned him the BBVA prize for player of the month in the Liga BBVA in May, an award that was chosen by the LaLiga.es writers and presented to him by BBVA.

Coach of the month

José Ramón Sandoval was the manager of the month following Granada’s fantastic end-of-the-season run (3 wins and 1 draw). After taking over at the Los Cármenes outfit towards the end of the campaign with the objective of keeping the team up, Sandoval was presented with the BBVA prize as May’s best Liga BBVA coach, an award that was chosen by the LaLiga.es writers and given to him by BBVA, the competition’s main sponsor.

Best goal

If there was one standout moment during the Liga BBVA champions’ season, it was Pedro Rodríguez’s cracker against Real Sociedad (2-0). The Spaniard’s spectacular bicycle kick against the Basque outfit was unanimously chosen by the LaLiga.es writers as May’s 'Liga BBVA goals of the month'.

Outstanding team

With all due respect to FC Barcelona’s title win, Granada’s final month of the 2014/15 Liga BBVA season deserves special praise. Having struggled to get into the swing of things for most of the campaign, the arrival of José Ramón Sandoval to the dugout spurred the team on to correct matters in time and stay up in the division. Self-control, discipline and maturity were just a few of the characteristics the Andalusians displayed on their march to securing a place in the Liga BBVA for another season.

Strange fact

Of the 40 Liga BBVA games contested during the month of May, only three finished with goalless draws. Even stranger still is that Atlético Madrid were involved in two of those encounters. On matchday 35 the rojiblancos played out a stalemate against Athletic Club, while on matchday 38 there were two scoreless results: Levante UD vs. Elche CF and Granada vs. Atlético. All the other encounters during this period saw at least one goal go in.

Revelation

Youssef El-Arabi was one of the pleasant surprises during Granada’s climb towards safety. The Moroccan striker scored four goals in May to put his side at ease by wrapping up results just when it was needed most. The Moroccan international bagged 50% of his team’s goals during the final month of the competition, thus confirming his status as one of the lynchpins in Granada’s attack.

Latin America also stands out in the Liga BBVA

Valencia CF centre back Nicolás Otamendi once again proved his worth for Los Che during the month of May. Half of his tally of six goals over the course of the season was scored in May. The South American defender started the month by getting on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win over SD Eibar on matchday 35, before equalising (1-1) against RC Celta and then getting the ball rolling in the comeback against UD Almería (2-3) that sealed forth place for Valencia, and by extension the club’s place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.