The bottom end of the table was all too predictable a tale of nerve-shredding Spanish drama right to the last seconds of a season. The best teams had fought for a place in Europe or the league title, while a relegation scrap at the foot of the table carried massive financial and playing consequences. A more significant cohort of clubs came to the final weeks fully cognizant of the fact that their margin for error had evaporated. As the final whistles blew over Spain, harsh reality kicked in for three unfortunate teams who just ran out of games to save themselves: Real Valladolid, Las Palmas and CD Leganés.
The Early Casualty of Real Valladolid
It added to what was a torturous slog of a campaign for Real Valladolid, which with the benefit of hindsight, was already over before the final day. Having experienced a fantastic spell in the Segunda División, they gained promotion into the top flight for this season but their fairytale was cut devastatingly short. From the very first weeks, Valladolid struggled to find any form or consistency serious in itself and instead found it far more difficult than they had anticipated keeping up with the rich defensive discipline and clinical finishing of La Liga.
Their mathematical fate was almost written in the stars, if only compared to their fellow strugglers. Combining a torturous 19-game winless run and a 12-game losing streak in the space of one calendar year, the club were utterly incapable of competing. Valladolid was dealt an official relegation with several Gameweeks still to play thanks to a damning 1–5 drubbing at the hands of Real Betis in late April. The club finished rock-bottom of the table with just 16 points from 38 games, experiencing truly calamitous goal difference, scoring a paltry 26 all season and conceding a staggering 90. The early relegation gifted them with the time to consider a long, painful rebuild but it also clouded the final few weeks of their calendar.
Las Palmas Fails to Find Answers
Las Palmas had the second story of the relegation landscape. Las Palmas had been able to muster a longer stay in the top flight than those little-promoted sides, but as the season rolled on they found the floorboards collapsing. Faced with relentless pressure, they struggled to escape a terrible, attritional slog it became and one from which they fell behind painfully slowly.
When the season reached its do-or-die twilight in mid-May, Las Palmas needed to beat Sevilla just to keep their mathematical hopes going. But the pressure of the situation took its toll on the squad. They endured a nervy home defeat beat them 0-1, finally sealing their fate in 19th. With just 32 points and 22 losses in the books as the season reaches its conclusion, the islanders’ failure to turn tight matches into wins has seen them lose their status as one of Spain’s elite.
Leganés Suffers Final Day Despair
CD Leganés had scraped by a thread right up to the last day of the season, while Valladolid and Las Palmas were damned well in advance. That took Leganés to 40 points, ensuring they finished 18th just one point behind safety. A victory on the final weekend paired with a slip-up from Girona or Sevilla could have given Leganés a lifeline, but both rivals secured their safety by reaching 41 points.
Their rivals for the survival scrap, Espanyol were also in action around the same time. Leganés battled bravely but their destiny was linked as practically always to those of their rivals. At the same time live on TV, Espanyol impressed in their own do-or-die tie against a different opponent, as Las Palmas’s relegation had already been sealed in mid-May. Leganés still went into the final day three points behind safety but in a most competitive multi-month effort finished just one point shy on 40 points, finishing 18th. Girona and Sevilla stayed up with 41 points, while Las Palmas and Real Valladolid filled the remaining relegation spots.
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