Football Season Review

Champions: FC Barcelona

Barcelona retained the LaLiga title and did so comfortably, finishing 11 points ahead of Atletico Madrid and 19 ahead of Real Madrid. Once again, Lionel Messi was the driving force behind this league title. The Argentine had one of his best ever seasons as he scored 36 and assisted 15 in the league, meaning he was directly involved in 57 percent of Barcelona’s 90 goals. Besides a run of three draws and one defeat across four matches at the end of September and start of October, Barcelona were in control throughout the season and sealed the title with three rounds to spare. Strong defensive performances from Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet, as well as goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, complimented Messi’s attacking efforts perfectly. Despite their domestic success, the season was a bittersweet one for Barcelona as they once again failed to deliver in Europe, blowing a three-goal lead to crash out of the Champions League with a 4-0 loss to Liverpool in the semi-final second leg. Given this latest European setback, the focus for 2019/20 will surely be on winning the Champions League for the first time since 2015. They’ll logically want to retain their league title as well, but the thirst for continental glory now outweighs the desire to win in Spain given that they’ve won eight of the last 11 LaLiga titles.


Player of the Season: Lionel Messi