The Blaugrana Explosion Hastens a Change of Cycle in an Unexpected League

La Liga 2024-25 will be remembered as an unexpected shift in power where Hansi Flick's Barcelona dethroned Carlo Ancelotti's waning Real Madrid from their dominance in Spanish football. No one anticipated in August that the Blaugrana, plagued by financial woes and with Dani Olmo and academy graduate Pau Víctor as their only reinforcements, would surpass their eternal rivals with such clarity.

The Chamartín side, reigning champions of La Liga and the Champions League, added the coveted Kylian Mbappé to their star-studded roster, a signing longed for during the seven-year tenure of the Bondy star at PSG. Everything seemed idyllic for the Whites until the ball started rolling, as the first matchday of La Liga set a precedent for the entire championship.

Barça started the league with a bang, winning at Mestalla, showcasing the first glimpses of Flick's well-oiled offensive machine, and a healthy dose of La Masia's talent. Meanwhile, Real Madrid could only manage a draw in Mallorca, showing early signs of the alarming lack of balance that Ancelotti claimed to have detected from the start but could not rectify throughout the season.

The lack of creativity in midfield following Toni Kroos's pivotal retirement, a spate of defensive injuries, and a glaring absence of collective commitment were recurring issues for Madrid, already outpaced in the early stages of the championship by Barça's extraordinary start. The Blaugrana managed to secure eleven victories in their first twelve league matches, including a thrashing at Santiago Bernabéu, the first major statement of a hegemonic force in Spain this season, striking mercilessly through the offensive prowess of the trident formed by Raphinha, Lewandowski, and the dazzling Lamine Yamal.

Barça concluded the twelfth matchday six points ahead of Real Madrid and ten ahead of Atlético. Nothing foreshadowed the Blaugrana's collapse in the following eight fixtures, another plot twist. Between November and December, Flick's team garnered 6 out of a possible 24 points, handing the symbolic winter championship to Atlético and finding themselves seven points behind the Colchoneros and five behind the Whites after the first leg of the second round.

From there, Barça showcased their best version, a machine capable of securing 15 victories in 16 matchdays and 46 out of 48 points in play, clinching the title at Espanyol's ground, their great city rival, right after winning the second league clásico of the season at Montjuic (4-3). That duel in the Catalan capital, marked by a hat-trick from Mbappé, demonstrated that the Frenchman, despite his 31 goals earning him the Pichichi and the Golden Boot, was very much alone.

The most anticipated signing outperformed Lewandowski in the scoring duel. On the other side, among those preventing goals, Oblak made history with his sixth Zamora Trophy. The award for the best goalkeeper did not prevent the bittersweet end for Atlético, once again third despite the emergence of Julián Álvarez. The Colchoneros delivered but their winter leadership suggested they would be much closer to the championship race, from which they fell away in the second half of the season, hampered by poor away performances.

The Champions League spots are completed by two commendable teams, Ernesto Valverde's Athletic, reliable thanks to their excellent defensive performance making them the least conceded team, and Villarreal, a machine finely tuned by Marcelino, ending on a high with seventy points.

Betis, inspired by the magic of Isco and Antony, the best winter signing in a long time, was halted in the final matchdays by their efforts in the Conference League, but they step up in the Old Continent with their future participation in the Europa League. They will be joined in the second European competition by Celta, led by the tireless Iago Aspas, who, with Claudio Giráldez, a man from within the club, finally found the key to take a step forward.

The honour roll is completed by Rayo Vallecano's feat. A quarter of a century later, the team from the strip will once again parade their neighbourhood pride across Europe. Iñigo Pérez's side triumphed over another commendable team, Osasuna, ahead of that mid-table zone where mixed feelings cross paths, such as the disappointment of Real Sociedad and the relief of Valencia, revived by Corberán's arrival on the bench in a season that threatened to bring down the Che.

Getafe, Espanyol, Alavés, Sevilla's troubles, or a Girona in the aftermath of the Champions League saved themselves with the most pressing objective in football, survival. Leganés did not achieve salvation, falling to Segunda with their boots on, along with Las Palmas and Valladolid, in a nightmarish season for the Blanquivioletas that saw Ronaldo exit through the back door, just three points above the worst historical record in the top flight.