TO the 2021-22 league has nine days left to finish, and what nine days! Real Madrid faces them with a clear advantage of nine points over Sevilla and twelve over Atlético and Barcelona, the latter with one more game to play.
The victory of the azulgrana in the Clásico last Sunday by 0-4 have intensified the fight for the championship, sowing doubts in Real Madrid, in case it is going to lose its advantage, and encouraging the hopes of its pursuers (Sevilla, Barcelona and Atlético) in case they achieve a comeback.
A look at history
If we review what happened in the history of the league with nine games remaining to finish the championship, we see that the leader at this point knew how to maintain his advantage and end up proclaiming himself league champion in 61 of the 90 editions.
In 29 of those 61 championships in which the leader with nine matchdays to go they have won the title, the first classified was Real Madrid. The first time was in 1931-32 and the last times in which the Whites did not relinquish first place were in 2011-12 and 2016-17 in which Madrid added 25 of the 27 possible points in the final stretch, a a figure that would be worth them to retain the leadership in 2021-22.
The 29 comebacks
29 champions were below qualification with nine games remaining in the championship. The last team to achieve it was Real Madrid from 2019-20, which took the lead from Barcelona. The whites have managed to do it five other times in their history.
They are the azulgrana the team that has come from behind the most times in this last stretch of the league. They have done so in eight leagues. In 2009-10, Real Madrid led them by two points but ended up taking the title. Of those eight comebacks, in another four of them the leader was Real Madrid (1928-29), 1948-49, 1951-52 and 1991-92).
Teams that have come back the most
- Barcelona, 8 (1928-29, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1952.53, 1991-92, 1993-94 and 200910)
- Athletic, 5 (1930-31, 1933-34, 1955-56, 1982-83 and 1983-84)
- Athletic, 5 (1939-40, 1949-50, 1965-66, 1969-70 and 1972-73)
- Real Madrid, 5 (1932-33, 1978-79, 1979-80, 2006-07 and 2019-20)
- Valencia, 3 (1941-42, 1-46-47 and 2003-04)
- Royal Society, 2 (1980-81 and 1981-82)
- Seville, 1 (1945-46)
The only title that, until now, treasures Sevilla (1945-46) was also after a comeback by beating Athletic.
Atlético won five titles taking advantage of a better league finish and two of them beating Real Madrid (1949-50 and 1956-66).
Athletic (5), Real Sociedad (2) and Valencia (1) have been the other teams that have come from behind. The biggest differences absorbed were five points (Barcelona 1928-29 and Valencia 1946-47).
leadership without award
On the negative side are those 29 leaders who lost their advantage and gave up first place at the end of the championship and lost the title.
Real Madrid have seen how they lost their advantage in the last nine games in ten seasons. Barcelona took five of them from him, the last one in 2009-10 in the first season of Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema as white players. In 2003-04 the Galácticos were surpassed by Valencia and Atlético and Athletic beat them in two editions each.
Barcelona (5), Atlético, Espanyol and Real Sociedad (3), Athletic (2) and Deportivo, Sporting and Valencia (1) are the other leading teams that did not finish champions.
First in the absence of nine days
- Real Madrid, 10 (1928-29, 1948-49, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1-65-66, 1-52-53, 1983-84, 1991-92, 2003-04 and 2009-10)
- Barcelona, 5 (1955-56, 1972-73, 1981-82, 2006-07 and 2019-20)
- Athletic, 3 (1941-42, 1946-47 and 1980-81)
- Spanish, 3 (1932-33, 1939-40 and 1952-53)
- Royal Society, 3 (1930-31, 1933-34 and 1979-80)
- Athletic, 2 (1945-46 and 1969-70)
- Sports, 1 (1993-94)
- Sporting, 1 (1978-79)
- Valencia, 1 (1947-48)
There are nine days left to find out the 2021-22 league champion and nothing has been decided yet.
