Features
THU 18.06.2015
There were plenty of statistics to analysis following the first leg of the playoff final to gain promotion to the Liga BBVA between Real Zaragoza and UD Las Palmas. Nonetheless, the most pertinent of all of them is the aggregate lead achieved by the Aragonese outfit (3-1), making them the first team since the inception of the playoffs to head into the second leg with a two-goal cushion.
The first time two teams had to duke it out for the final Liga BBVA place up for grabs by way of the playoff format occurred at the end of the 2010/11 season, when Granada CF and Elche CF made it to the grand final. That year's contest could not have been a more even affair, although it eventually finished with the Andalusians going up thanks to the away goals rule. The first leg ended 0-0 while the result from the second read 1-1.
This is the first time a team have headed into the second leg of the final with a two-goal lead
The following year saw AD Alcorcón and R. Valladolid CF make it to the final. The pulsating match-up went in the Castile and Léon side's favour as they sealed their much-coveted ticket to the topflight. In the first leg, which took place in the Estadio Santo Domingo, Valladolid won 0-1 thanks in big part to a great performance by their man between the sticks, Dani Hernández, while the second leg finished 1-1, meaning it was the José Zorrilla club that went up.
Two new teams took centre stage in the 2012/13 showdown for a place in the Liga BBVA. Girona FC and UD Almería made it to the grand final, and it would be the Alicante side that managed to fulfil their dream. This time round the Andalusians' superiority was too much for the hot-headed Catalans as they came away with a 0-1 victory from the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi, a result they followed up with a 3-0 triumph in the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos.
Las Palmas made it to the 2013/14 playoff final but lost to Córdoba on away goals
Córdoba CF's promotion win last season came at the expense of Las Palmas. A goalless draw in the first leg, which took place in the Nuevo Arcángel, left things wide open for the return leg in the Estadio de Gran Canaria. Apoño sent the home supporters into raptures in the 48th minute of the second leg with a goal, but lady luck would turn here back on the Canary Islanders in the 90th minute, when Uli Dávila latched onto a loose ball to make it 1-1 and thus clinch Liga BBVA football for the Andalusians for the first time in 42 years.
This year will be the first time one team has taken such a comfortable lead into the tie. Zaragoza’s unprecedented two-goal cushion forces Las Palmas to seek out a 2-0 win, at the very least, in their home ground, while also keeping things tight at the back. Despite the setback, the players and the technical staff are confident the result can be overturned.
© LALIGA - 2015