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News

MON 19.01.2015 | News

A record first half of the season

The first half of the 2014/15 Liga BBVA season has demonstrated once again the quality on offer in the Spanish topflight with a number of new records being set.

News

MON 19.01.2015

With the exception of the upcoming game between Real Madrid CF and Sevilla on 4 February, the first half of the Liga BBVA season ended on Sunday after 189 matches that have set a number of new records.

After their win against Getafe CF, Real Madrid ensured that they closed out the first half of the campaign as league leaders. Carlo Ancelotti’s charges have a one-point advantage over second-placed FC Barcelona, although they also have a game in hand as a result of their meeting with Sevilla being postponed due to December’s FIFA Club World Cup commitments, which saw los blancos picking up their last title of 2014 in Morocco.

The foundations for Madrid’s good start to the season so far were laid with the 22 straight wins they registered between September and December, a Spanish footballing record, as well as with help from Cristiano Ronaldo’s ever-sharp eye for goal. The Portuguese forward has already notched up 28 Liga BBVA goals this season, equalling the record set by Lionel Messi during the first half of the 2012/13 campaign, however, Ronaldo will have a chance to set a new precedent should he get on the scoresheet during the postponed Sevilla clash. The recent Ballon d’Or winner has also broken the record for the highest number of hat-tricks scored in the Liga BBVA, with 23 to date.

Meanwhile, Messi was centre stage when he broke one of the most noteworthy records of the current campaign. The Argentine forward surpassed Telmo Zarra as the greatest goalscorer in the history of the Liga BBVA after bagging three during the 5-1 victory over Sevilla on matchday 12. He has added nine more goals to his tally since then, and closed the first half of the season with 264 championship goals to his name. His Barcelona team-mate Claudio Bravo has conceded the fewest amount of goals of any goalkeeper in the division, having only picked the ball out of his net on nine occasions. No keeper had been able to concede less than ten goals during the first of a season since the 1993/94 campaign, when Paco Liaño did so for RC Deportivo La Coruña.

The reigning Liga BBVA champions, Atlético Madrid, have shown that last year was no fluke, and with the first half of the season now behind them they are still well in the title fight despite having parted company with some of their standout players. Although Sevilla and Valencia CF are showing that this year the Liga BBVA campaign is more than a three horse race.

The Andalusian outfit have enjoyed their best ever first half of a season, and they can improve upon it should they take anything off Real Madrid in their game in hand. Unai Emery’s side sit fourth in the league, only six points off the league leaders. Meanwhile, after Nuno Espírito Santo’s arrival, Valencia have also produced some outstanding football, and they are the side who have improved the most on their first half of the season with respect to last year, gaining 15 points more than they had 12 months ago.

Marcelino García Toral’s Villarreal are also breaking records. The side from Castellón have kept up their sparkling form from last season and sit in sixth, having registered 15 consecutive games without defeat in all competitions, scoring at least once in their last 22. Also, the Yellows are still in the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Europa League.

Málaga CF and SD Eibar are without doubt the breakthrough sides during this Liga BBVA campaign. The Andalusians sit seventh, thanks largely to the fact they have equalled their longest-ever winning run, with five. Also, they have equalled their best Copa del Rey performance, reaching the quarter-finals, and could well improve on that. Eibar, meanwhile, have equalled the highest points tally for a side making their debut in the Liga BBVA in the first half of the season, a record that was set by CD Numancia during the 1999/2000 season with 27 points, and the Basques are surprising everyone with how they have taken to a league they had never previously played in.

Another promoted side, Córdoba CF, have finally started to get things moving after a slow start to the season, and they are now out of the drop zone after taking points in five of their last six games. They also recorded the quickest goal in this 2014/15 Liga BBVA season, and the fourth of all time, when Florin Adone found the back of the net after 9.8 seconds. Finally, Rayo Vallecano are enjoying a fine season, especially away from home, having won five on the road for the first time in the club’s history. 

© LALIGA - 2015