La Liga 2021/22 Season Review: Final Table, Winner and Top Scorers

La Liga 2021/22 final table

Real Madrid won La Liga 2021/22 with 86 points, finishing 13 ahead of Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti's team won 26 of 38 games, scored a league-high 80 goals and conceded 31. No rival matched that combination of attacking output and defensive reliability. The rest of the Champions League race was much tighter: only three points separated Barcelona in second from Sevilla in fourth.

The top four entered the following Champions League. Betis and Real Sociedad took Europa League places, and seventh-placed Villarreal reached the Conference League. Those labels reflect the 2022/23 UEFA access produced by this league finish and the Copa del Rey outcome, not a permanent promise attached to every position.

The lower table deserves careful reading. Getafe, Mallorca and Cádiz all finished on 39 points, while Granada went down on 38. The champion created a large gap through repeatability, while the top-four and relegation contests remained compressed. Use the current La Liga table for live standings; this is the fixed record completed on 22 May 2022.

How Real Madrid won the 2021/22 title

Real Madrid's 35th league title combined the best attack in the division with a defence that conceded only one goal more than Sevilla's league-low 30. Madrid could dominate through midfield, attack open grass through Vinícius Júnior, or remain patient until Karim Benzema found the decisive action. A team with that many routes rarely needed every part to be perfect on the same day.

Ancelotti's balanced structure

The familiar midfield of Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modrić gave Madrid a stable base. Kroos could organise the first pass, Casemiro protected the centre and Modrić carried or combined beyond pressure. Ancelotti did not force that trio into one tempo. Madrid could slow a game through possession, then accelerate as soon as the opponent's spacing opened.

The most important attacking development was the relationship between Benzema and Vinícius. Benzema was not a fixed penalty-box striker. He dropped toward the ball, linked play and pulled a centre-back into decisions. Vinícius supplied depth and direct one-against-one threat from the left. The Brazilian's 17 league goals relieved Benzema of being the only major finisher, while Benzema's movement created cleaner lanes for his partner.

Madrid's scoring rose to 80, up from 67 in 2020/21. Independent analysis calculated the rate moving from roughly 1.7 per match in the previous campaign to 2.2 under Ancelotti. Better finishing from Benzema, Vinícius and Marco Asensio mattered. So did the freedom to counter rather than insisting every attack begin against a settled block.

At the other end, Thibaut Courtois repeatedly protected the team when control broke. David Alaba brought anticipation and distribution to central defence, Éder Militão added speed and aggression, and the midfield shield reduced the quality of many attacks before a shot arrived. Thirty-one conceded was a team outcome, not just a goalkeeper statistic, but Courtois raised the margin for error.

The Espanyol match that sealed number 35

Madrid needed only a point at home to Espanyol on 30 April 2022. They took all three with a 4–0 win. Rodrygo scored twice before half-time, Asensio added the third and Benzema completed the result. The title became official with four matches remaining, allowing captain Marcelo and Benzema to receive the trophy at the Santiago Bernabéu.

That score was an appropriate clincher because the supporting cast carried much of the afternoon. Benzema began on the bench with a Champions League semi-final between the two legs against Manchester City, yet Rodrygo and Asensio supplied the goals that established control. Benzema's late finish connected the celebration to the player who had led the campaign.

The 13-point margin reflects repeatability. Madrid lost only four league games and had built enough room to absorb a 4–0 home defeat by Barcelona in March without surrendering command. The champion's real advantage was avoiding the extended downturns that affected every challenger. The Real Madrid team page separates today's squad and fixtures from this completed title season.

Barcelona's recovery and the top-four race

Barcelona's second place looks ordinary for a club accustomed to titles, but the route made it significant. Xavi inherited a team in ninth in November and led it to 73 points, Champions League qualification and a Spanish Super Cup place. The recovery did not turn the title into a close contest—Madrid still finished 13 points ahead—but it changed Barcelona's immediate direction.

From ninth place to second

The early season carried the shock of Lionel Messi's departure and a team struggling for reliable attacking patterns. Xavi's arrival on 6 November introduced clearer positional expectations: width to stretch the last line, midfielders occupying different heights, and a more aggressive effort to recover the ball after losing it. The transformation was gradual, but the January additions of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traoré expanded the forward options.

The performance that best expressed the new ceiling came at the Bernabéu on 20 March. Barcelona beat Madrid 4–0, with Aubameyang scoring twice and Araújo and Torres adding the others. Wide attacks, energetic pressure and Aubameyang's movement exposed an improvised Madrid shape without Benzema. It was Barcelona's first league Clásico win after a run of defeats and a powerful statement about the rebuild.

It was not a hidden title decider. Barcelona still had too much ground to recover, and later home losses to Cádiz and Rayo Vallecano underlined the gap between an exceptional peak and week-to-week command. Finishing second after sitting ninth is progress; finishing 13 points from the champion shows the project was incomplete. Both statements can be true.

Atlético and Sevilla complete the Champions League places

Defending champion Atlético Madrid finished third with 71 points. Nine defeats and 43 conceded were much less secure than the previous title campaign. A run of four consecutive league losses in December broke momentum, and although Simeone's side recovered enough to finish in the top three, it never reproduced the control required for a successful defence.

Sevilla provide the reverse case. Julen Lopetegui's team conceded only 30 goals, the league's best record, and lost just four times—the same as Madrid. Yet they drew 16 matches, more than any other club. That is the mathematical cost of control without enough conversion. Turning only three of those draws into wins would have added six points.

The final ordering was close: Barcelona 73, Atlético 71, Sevilla 70. Barcelona had repaired a crisis, Atlético had steadied after a failed title defence, and Sevilla had built an elite defensive floor without enough attack to pressure Madrid. The current Barcelona team page covers today's squad and schedule; the 2021/22 record belongs to this transition.

Betis, Real Sociedad and Villarreal in the European race

The European race below fourth cannot be understood from position alone. Betis won the Copa del Rey and also finished fifth, a league position already good enough for the Europa League. That combination allowed sixth-placed Real Sociedad to take the other Europa League place and shifted seventh into the Conference League route claimed by Villarreal.

Betis combine fifth with the Copa del Rey

Manuel Pellegrini's Betis won 19 league games and scored 62 goals, the fourth-highest total. Their 65 points left them five behind fourth-placed Sevilla and three ahead of Real Sociedad. That was not merely a cup specialist squeezing into Europe; it was a strong 38-match performance supported by an attack with multiple routes.

The Copa del Rey victory over Valencia added the emotional centre. It also affected UEFA allocation. Betis had a Europa League place through the cup and occupied a league position carrying the same destination, so access passed down through the league. This is why fans should check the cup winner before assuming which La Liga place goes to which competition.

Real Sociedad took sixth with 62 points. Their profile was conservative: only 40 goals scored, but 37 conceded. Álex Remiro kept 19 clean sheets, the highest goalkeeper total in the league. Strong prevention kept La Real collecting points when the attack did not create separation. The trade-off was visible in 11 draws and a goal difference of only +3.

Villarreal claim seventh on the final day

Villarreal's seventh feels modest beside their Champions League semi-final run, where Unai Emery's side eliminated Juventus and Bayern Munich before losing to Liverpool. Knockout and league performance demand different consistency. An excellent plan over two matches can defeat a stronger squad; in the league, dropped points against varied opponents accumulate for nine months.

Seventh was not secure until matchday 38. Villarreal went to Camp Nou and beat Barcelona 2–0, with Alfonso Pedraza and Moi Gómez scoring. Athletic Club lost at Sevilla, so Villarreal finished four points above the Bilbao side and confirmed Conference League football. Reputation and a European run did not themselves award another UEFA place.

Our guide to how La Liga teams qualify for the Champions League and Europe explains the framework, while these outcomes show it operating in a real season.

Granada fall in a dramatic relegation finish

The relegation fight ended with Granada dropping on 38 points, one behind Cádiz and Mallorca. The decisive afternoon contained a missed penalty and two away wins, but no team went down because of a single kick alone. Relegation was the accumulated result of 38 matches; the final day concentrated that history into ninety minutes.

Levante and Alavés go down

Levante finished 19th with 35 points despite scoring 51 goals, more than every club from ninth downward. The fatal figure was 76 conceded, the highest total in La Liga. A team can survive with a modest attack if it keeps matches close; it is much harder when it repeatedly needs two or three goals merely to earn a point.

Their late revival showed what had been missing. Levante won more games toward the end, but the first victory did not arrive until January. By the time they beat Alavés 3–1 on 15 May, Levante were already relegated. That result then confirmed Alavés would join them.

Alavés ended bottom on 31 points and scored a league-low 31 goals. Joselu supplied 14, nearly half the team total, leaving too little production when he was contained. Sixty-five conceded compounded the shortage. Their survival required results that a narrow attacking model could not generate often enough.

Cádiz and Mallorca survive as Granada miss out

Granada began matchday 38 outside the relegation places and hosted an Espanyol side with no league objective left to chase. A win would guarantee safety. The match remained 0–0, and Jorge Molina missed a second-half penalty. Espanyol goalkeeper Diego López also made important saves as pressure rose.

At the same time, Cádiz won away to Alavés and Mallorca won at Osasuna. Both moved to 39 points. Granada's draw left them on 38 and converted the missed opportunity into relegation. If either rival had failed to win, Granada's point could have been enough. Their fate changed because both produced the result demanded of them.

Cádiz started the day in the bottom three. Mallorca also had to win away, and Clément Grenier's late goal completed a 2–0 victory in Pamplona. Coaches Sergio González and Javier Aguirre had helped their teams become more pragmatic at the precise time points were scarce.

Granada's missed penalty is the unforgettable image, but the lesson is broader. They won eight matches, drew 14 and conceded 61. One more point anywhere in the season would have changed the table. The La Liga results archive helps trace those lost margins instead of placing all responsibility on one moment.

Benzema leads the 2021/22 top scorers

Karim Benzema won his first Pichichi Trophy with 27 goals in 32 league appearances. He finished nine ahead of Iago Aspas and led the champion in both scoring and creative responsibility. The award was not a separate decoration attached after the title; Benzema's production was one of the title's main causes.

The Pichichi-winning season

Benzema's 27 came from more than elite finishing. He moved away from centre-backs to receive between lines, combined with Vinícius and returned to the box after helping an attack progress. Following him could open space for the winger, while holding position allowed Benzema to turn and create.

He scored 44 across all competitions as Madrid also won the Champions League and Spanish Super Cup. Those additional totals are not part of the Pichichi, but they show the form surrounding his domestic award. In league play, 27 from 32 appearances meant Madrid did not need him to play all 38 to finish with the best attack.

Vinícius's 17 are equally important to the structure. The previous dependence on Benzema had acquired a second high-volume scorer. Together they contributed 44 of Madrid's 80 league goals, with Asensio's ten adding another route. Opponents could no longer organise every defensive choice around stopping one forward.

What the chasing list says about the league

Aspas reached 18 for Celta, continuing his role as scorer and organiser. Raúl de Tomás matched Vinícius on 17 for promoted Espanyol, while Juanmi's 16 supported Betis's fifth-place finish and cup win. Enes Ünal also scored 16 for Getafe, an enormous share of a team total of 33.

Joselu scored 14 for bottom-placed Alavés and Morales had 13 for relegated Levante. Their totals show that an effective striker cannot independently repair team-wide problems. Alavés lacked secondary scoring, while Levante conceded far too freely.

Benzema's nine-goal margin is more revealing than the raw total alone. He was not just first in a crowded race; he separated decisively. Use the current La Liga top scorers page for live numbers, while this ranking remains the final 2021/22 record.