2015–16 Real Madrid CF season

The 2015–16 season was Real Madrid Club de Fútbol's 112th season in existence and the club's 85th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. It covered a period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Under new manager Rafael Benítez, Real Madrid remained unbeaten in the league until a 3–2 loss at Sevilla on the matchday 11. Perhaps, his reign is best remembered by multiple lopsided wins achieved both in La Liga and the Champions League (6–0 vs Espanyol, 8–0 vs Malmö, 10–2 vs Rayo Vallecano and others). In the Copa del Rey round of 32, Real accidentally fielded an ineligible player, who was suspended from the previous season (when he was representing a different team), resulting in the team's controversial disqualification from the tournament by the competition judge despite protests from President Pérez.^[1] In the meantime, Real comfortably topped their UCL group with 16 points and a +16 goal difference. Benítez was relieved of his duties mid-season, following allegations of unpopularity with supporters, displeasure with players and a failure to get good results against top teams.^[2] Benítez's departure was announced along with the promotion of Zinedine Zidane to his first head coaching role.^[3] Under Zidane, Madrid managed to turn the odds in its favor, ultimately winning the Champions League, something no one expected. The notable results include a 2–1 away victory over reigning treble winners Barcelona, who were on a record-breaking winning streak, a fantastic comeback against Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarter-finals (after losing the away game 0–2, Madrid erased the deficit and won 3–0 at home, courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick), as well as a 12-game winning streak to conclude the league campaign, meaning Real finished second, with 90 points and just one point behind champions Barcelona, coming agonizingly close to clinching the title and overcoming a 12-point deficit in the process.^[4] Finally, on 28 May, Real Madrid's eleventh Champions League title was won thanks to a 5–3 penalty shoot-out victory over rivals Atlético Madrid after a 1–1 draw in the final, with the achievement being termed "La Undécima".^[5][6][7]

This season was for the very first time since 1998–99 not featuring the all-time legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who after 16 years of his service with Los Merengues, bidded farewell to later on join Porto. Casillas won 19 trophies altogether.

Season overview

Pre-season

La Décima winning coach Carlo Ancelotti left the club on 25 May 2015, after winning two out of possible six trophies in the 2014–15 season and narrowly missing out both on the league and Champions League titles.^[8] He was then replaced by Rafael Benítez on 3 June 2015.^[9]

Brazilian duo Casemiro and Danilo were bought from Porto for a fee of €7.5 million and €31.5 million respectively. Both signed long-term deals with the club, with Casemiro returning after Real Madrid exercised their buy-back clause option on the player.^[10] Spanish wingers Marco Asensio and Lucas Vázquez also joined the club, while Sami Khedira signed for Juventus after his contract was not renewed by the club.^[11] Javier Hernández soon departed back to Manchester United after Madrid did not make his season-long loan from the last campaign a permanent deal.

The contracts of Dani Carvajal, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos were renewed for another six years and were set to expire in the summer of 2020.^[12][13][14] Pepe extended his contract until 2017.^[15] Casemiro's contract was extended to 2021.^[16]

Iker Casillas left the club on 11 July 2015 and was transferred to Porto after 16 years with Los Blancos.^[17][18] Kiko Casilla was signed as a replacement on 17 July 2015.^[19]

The schedule of the season was announced on 14 July 2015.^[20]

On 18 August 2015, Mateo Kovačić was signed from Internazionale,^[21] while Marco Asensio was loaned to Espanyol.^[22]

August

Madrid started off their 2015–16 league campaign with a goalless draw at Sporting de Gijón.^[23]

Asier Illarramendi was sold to Real Sociedad on 26 August 2015, while Fábio Coentrão was loaned to Monaco and Lucas Silva to Marseille.^[24][25][26]

Madrid thrashed Real Betis in their home opener by a score of 5–0 after braces from Gareth Bale and James Rodríguez and a goal from Karim Benzema.^[27]

September

Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals and had an assist for Benzema in a 6–0 away rout of Espanyol.^[28] With the five goals, Ronaldo set his Spanish league goal tally to 230 goals in 203 games, surpassing Raúl's record of 228 goals in 550 games for Real Madrid in La Liga, becoming the all-time top scorer for Real Madrid in the Spanish league.^[29][30]

Real started the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League season with a 4–0 home victory over Shakhtar Donetsk. Benzema scored the opener and Ronaldo had yet another hat-trick just four days after his last.^[31]

A lone goal by Benzema lifted Madrid over Granada to maintain their winning streak.^[32]

Benzema scored a brace to help Real record another victory at Athletic Bilbao.^[33]

Against Málaga, Madrid came out with a goalless draw.^[34]

October

Real visited Atlético Madrid in the first Madrid Derby of the season. Benzema gave Real the lead, but the game eventually ended in a 1–1 draw.^[35]

Ronaldo became the all-time top goalscorer for Real Madrid with a goal in a 3–0 victory over Levante. Marcelo and Jesé scored the other goals.^[36]

Madrid faced Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and came away with a goalless draw,^[37] which extended Madrid's unbeaten group stage streak to three years.^[38]

In the top match of the ninth round, against Celta de Vigo, Madrid came away with a 3–1 victory, thanks to goals from Ronaldo, Marcelo and Danilo (his first goal as a Real player).^[39]

Goals from Isco, Ronaldo and Jesé wrapped up the month of October up with a 3–1 home win over Las Palmas.^[40]

November

The new month started with a narrow 1–0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain, which saw Madrid going through to the round of 16 in the Champions League. The lone goal was scored by Nacho.^[41]

Goals from Sergio Ramos and James Rodríguez were not enough to get by Sevilla, as Real lost the game 2–3 and the lead position of the table.^[42]

After the international break, Real hosted arch-rivals Barcelona and suffered a 0–4 loss, their heaviest defeat in El Clásico since 0–5 in 2010.^[43]

Madrid secured the top spot of their Champions League group by defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 4–3 away after a brace from Ronaldo and goals from Luka Modrić and Dani Carvajal.^[44]

Goals from Bale and Ronaldo snapped a two-game losing streak in the league with a 2–0 victory over Eibar.^[45]

December

Madrid started the cup season in style with a 3–1 victory over Cádiz by a brace from Isco and a goal from Denis Cheryshev.^[46] The match was controversial, however, as Cheryshev was suspended from the previous season for three yellow cards (when he was representing a different team) but played the game nonetheless due to an accounting mistake by Madrid officials. Real was disqualified from the 2015–16 Copa del Rey two days later by the competition judge despite protests from President Pérez.^[47][1][48]

A brace from Benzema and goals from Bale and Ronaldo gave Madrid the edge to win 4–1 over Getafe.^[49]

Four goals from Ronaldo, a hat-trick from Benzema and a goal from Mateo Kovačić wrapped up the group stage of the Champions League with an 8–0 thrashing of Malmö FF.^[50]

Madrid had a rough awakening back in La Liga when they lost 0–1 at Villarreal.^[51]

A record 10–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano helped Madrid to secure the third spot in the league table with four goals from Bale, a hat-trick from Benzema, a Ronaldo brace and a goal from Danilo.^[52]

Two goals from Ronaldo and a goal from Lucas Vázquez secured a 3–1 victory against Real Sociedad to end the year.^[53]

January

The new year started with a 2–2 draw at Valencia, with goals from Benzema and Bale securing ten-man Real Madrid a point.^[54]

On 4 January 2016, it was announced that Benítez was sacked and replaced by former assistant coach Zinedine Zidane.^[55]

The Zidane era was opened with a 5–0 win over Deportivo de La Coruña thanks to a hat-trick by Bale and a brace from Benzema.^[56]

Gijón was defeated 5–1 with braces from Ronaldo and Benzema plus a Bale goal.^[57]

A goal from Benzema was not enough in a 1–1 draw against Betis.^[58]

Real then thrashed Espanyol 6–0, with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick and Rodríguez and Benzema adding the other goals alongside an own goal.^[59]

February

Cheryshev was loaned out to Valencia on 1 February 2016.^[60]

A late goal from Modrić saved the 2–1 win against Granada, after Benzema opened the scoring.^[61]

A stunning Ronaldo brace and goals from Rodríguez and Toni Kroos gave Madrid a 4–2 victory over Bilbao.^[62]

Against Roma in the Champions League round of 16, Ronaldo and Jesé helped Zidane to get off to a good start in Europe with a 2–0 win.^[63]

Madrid managed to get a 1–1 draw at Málaga with the goal being scored by Ronaldo.^[64]

The home match against Atlético Madrid was lost 0–1 and the gap to the first place blew to 12 points.^[65]

March

The new month was opened with a 3–1 victory at Levante with goals from Ronaldo, Isco and an own goal.^[66]

Four goals from Ronaldo and goals by Pepe, Bale and Jesé secured Madrid a 7–1 win over Celta Vigo.^[67]

Goals from Ronaldo and Rodríguez secured a 2–0 win over Roma (aggregate 4–0) in the round of 16 of the Champions League.^[68]

Casemiro secured the three points with a late goal, after Ramos initially put Madrid in the lead in a 2–1 away victory over Las Palmas.^[69]

Goals from Benzema, Ronaldo, Bale and Jesé secured Los Blancos a 4–0 win over Sevilla.^[70]

April

El Clásico was won 2–1 away from home with a Benzema equalizer and a late winner from Ronaldo, snapping Barcelona's 39-game unbeaten streak.^[71] Madrid outplayed Barça despite having been reduced to ten men in the second half with a Ramos red card and having a goal ruled out for a non-existent foul by Bale.^[72][73]

The first leg of the quarter-finals at the Champions League was lost 0–2 away from home to VfL Wolfsburg.^[74]

Against Eibar, Madrid was able to get a 4–0 victory with goals from Rodríguez, Vázquez, Ronaldo and Jesé.^[75]

In the penultimate home leg against Wolfsburg, a perfect Ronaldo hat-trick propelled Madrid's comeback, with a 3–0 home win overturning the deficit and ensuring a 3–2 aggregate victory. The result also signified Madrid's progression to their sixth consecutive Champions League semi-finals.^[76]

Benzema, Isco, Bale, Rodríguez and Ronaldo gave Madrid a 5–1 victory at Getafe.^[77]

Goals from Benzema, Vázquez and Modrić secured Madrid the three points in a 3–0 win over Villarreal.^[78]

A brace from Bale and a goal from Vázquez gave Madrid a comeback win against Rayo Vallecano after being down 0–2.^[79]

The first leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Manchester City ended in a goalless draw.^[80]

A Bale header gave Madrid a late 1–0 win at Real Sociedad.^[81]

May

Fernando scored an own goal as Real Madrid progressed into the Champions League final by beating Manchester City, setting up a clash with neighbours Atlético Madrid for the second time in three years.^[82]

A brace from Ronaldo and a goal from Benzema secured a narrow 3–2 win over Valencia. With this win, Real moved up to second place in the league with a chance at the title.^[83]

Madrid won 2–0 at Deportivo thanks to another Ronaldo brace at the last matchday of the league. With that win, Madrid finished second, just a point behind league champions Barcelona, also producing a remarkable 12-game winning streak to conclude the campaign.^[84]

On 28 May 2016, Real Madrid's 11th Champions League title was won thanks to a 5–3 penalty shoot-out victory over Atlético Madrid after a 1–1 draw, with Ramos giving Real an early lead.^[85]

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Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

Players

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK		Keylor Navas	28	EU	2014	46	0	2020	€10M	Second nationality: Spain
2	DF		Raphaël Varane	22	EU	2011	150	6	2020	€10M
3	DF		Pepe  (2nd VC)	32	EU	2007	317	13	2017	€30M	Second nationality: Brazil
4	DF		Sergio Ramos (captain)	29	EU	2005	478	58	2020	€28M
6	DF		Nacho	25	EU	2012	79	2	2021	Youth system
7	FW		Cristiano Ronaldo (3rd VC)	30	EU	2009	348	364	2018	€94M
8	MF		Toni Kroos	25	EU	2014	101	3	2020	€25M
9	FW		Karim Benzema	27	EU	2009	317	161	2019	€35M	Second nationality: Algeria
10	MF		James Rodríguez	24	Non-EU	2014	78	25	2020	€80M
11	FW		Gareth Bale	26	EU	2013	123	58	2019	€100M
12	DF		Marcelo (VC)	27	EU	2007 (Winter)	360	25	2020	€6.5M	Second nationality: Spain
13	GK		Kiko Casilla	28	EU	2015	7	0	2020	€6M	Originally from youth system
15	DF		Dani Carvajal	23	EU	2013	118	3	2020	€6.5M	Originally from youth system
16	MF		Mateo Kovačić	21	EU	2015	34	1	2021	€29M
17	DF		Álvaro Arbeloa	32	EU	2009	237	6	2016	€4.5M	Originally from youth system
18	FW		Lucas Vázquez	24	EU	2015	33	4	2020	€1M	Originally from youth system
19	MF		Luka Modrić	29	EU	2012	174	10	2018	€30M
20	FW		Jesé	22	EU	2011	94	18	2018	Youth system
22	MF		Isco	23	EU	2013	149	21	2018	€27M
23	DF		Danilo	24	Non-EU	2015	31	2	2021	€31.5M
31	GK		Rubén Yáñez	21	EU	2015	0	0	2018	Youth system

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
13	GK		Kiko Casilla	28	EU	Espanyol	Transfer	Summer	2020	€6M	Real Madrid CF
14	DM		Casemiro	23	Non-EU	Porto	End of loan	Summer	2017	Free	Real Madrid CF
16	CM		Mateo Kovačić	21	EU	Internazionale	Transfer	Summer	2021	€29M	Real Madrid CF
18	RW		Lucas Vázquez	24	EU	Espanyol	Buy-back clause	Summer	2020	€1M	Real Madrid CF
21	LW		Denis Cheryshev	24	EU	Villarreal	End of loan	Summer	2021	Free
23	RB		Danilo	23	Non-EU	Porto	Transfer	Summer	2021	€31.5M	Real Madrid CF
31	GK		Rubén Yáñez	21	EU	RM Castilla	Promotion	Summer	2016	Free
	AM		Marco Asensio	19	EU	Mallorca	Transfer	Summer	2021	€3.5M	Real Madrid CF
	CB		Jesús Vallejo	18	EU	Real Zaragoza	Transfer	Summer	2021	€5M	Real Madrid CF

Total spending: €83.5M

Out

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
1	GK		Iker Casillas	34	EU	Porto	Transfer	Summer	Free	FC Porto
5	LB		Fábio Coentrão	27	EU	Monaco	Loan	Summer	Loan	AS Monaco FC
6	DM		Sami Khedira	28	EU	Juventus	End of contract	Summer	Free	Juventus F.C.
14	CF		Javier Hernández	27	Non-EU	Manchester United	End of loan	Summer	End of loan	Manchester United F.C.
16	DM		Lucas Silva	22	Non-EU	Marseille	Loan	Summer	€650K	Olympique de Marseille
24	DM		Asier Illarramendi	25	EU	Real Sociedad	Transfer	Summer	€15M	Real Sociedad
25	GK		Fernando Pacheco	23	EU	Alavés	Transfer	Summer	Free	Deportivo Alavés
	AM		Marco Asensio	19	EU	Espanyol	Loan	Summer	Loan	RCD Espanyol
	CB		Jesús Vallejo	18	EU	Real Zaragoza	Loan	Summer	Loan	Real Zaragoza
21	LW		Denis Cheryshev	25	EU	Valencia	Loan	Winter	Loan	Valencia CF

Total income: €15.65M Net income: €67.85M

Pre-season and friendlies

Competitions

Overall

Competition	Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
La Liga	Matchday 1	Runners-up	23 August 2015	14 May 2016
Copa del Rey	Round of 32	Round of 32	2 December 2015	2 December 2015
UEFA Champions League	Group stage	Winners	15 September 2015	28 May 2016

Updated to match played 28 May 2016
Source: Competitions

Overview

Competition	Record
	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
La Liga	38	28	6	4	110	34	+76	073.68
Copa del Rey	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00
Champions League	13	9	3	1	28	6	+22	069.23
Total	52	38	9	5	141	41	+100	073.08

La Liga

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Barcelona (C)	38	29	4	5	112	29	+83	91	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Real Madrid	38	28	6	4	110	34	+76	90
3	Atlético Madrid	38	28	4	6	63	18	+45	88
4	Villarreal	38	18	10	10	44	35	+9	64	Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
5	Athletic Bilbao	38	18	8	12	58	45	+13	62	Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a]

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	28	6	4	110	34	+76	90	16	1	2	70	16	+54	12	5	2	40	18	+22

Results by round

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Copa del Rey

Round of 32

  Win   Draw   Loss

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RM	PSG	SHK	MAL
1	Real Madrid	6	5	1	0	19	3	+16	16	Advance to knockout phase		—	1–0	4–0	8–0
2	Paris Saint-Germain	6	4	1	1	12	1	+11	13			0–0	—	2–0	2–0
3	Shakhtar Donetsk	6	1	0	5	7	14	−7	3	Transfer to Europa League		3–4	0–3	—	4–0
4	Malmö FF	6	1	0	5	1	21	−20	3			0–2	0–5	1–0	—

  Win   Draw   Loss

Knockout phase

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Statistics

Squad statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		La Liga		Copa del Rey		Champions League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	CRC	Keylor Navas	45	0	34	0	0	0	11	0
2	DF	FRA	Raphaël Varane	33	0	26	0	0	0	7	0
3	DF	POR	Pepe	31	1	21	1	1	0	9	0
4	DF	ESP	Sergio Ramos	33	3	23	2	0	0	10	1
6	DF	ESP	Nacho	22	1	16	0	1	0	5	1
7	FW	POR	Cristiano Ronaldo	48	51	36	35	0	0	12	16
8	MF	GER	Toni Kroos	44	1	32	1	0	0	12	0
9	FW	FRA	Karim Benzema	36	28	27	24	0	0	9	4
10	MF	COL	James Rodríguez	32	8	26	7	1	0	5	1
11	MF	WAL	Gareth Bale	31	19	23	19	0	0	8	0
12	DF	BRA	Marcelo	41	2	30	2	0	0	11	0
13	GK	ESP	Kiko Casilla	7	0	4	0	1	0	2	0
14	MF	BRA	Casemiro	35	1	23	1	1	0	11	0
15	DF	ESP	Dani Carvajal	31	1	23	0	0	0	8	1
16	MF	CRO	Mateo Kovačić	34	1	25	0	1	0	8	1
17	DF	ESP	Álvaro Arbeloa	9	0	6	0	1	0	2	0
18	FW	ESP	Lucas Vázquez	31	4	23	4	1	0	7	0
19	MF	CRO	Luka Modrić	44	3	32	2	0	0	12	1
20	FW	ESP	Jesé	38	6	28	5	1	0	9	1
21	MF	RUS	Denis Cheryshev	6	1	2	0	1	1	3	0
22	MF	ESP	Isco	43	5	31	3	1	2	11	0
23	DF	BRA	Danilo	31	2	24	2	0	0	7	0
28	MF	ESP	Marcos Llorente	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
29	FW	ESP	Borja Mayoral	6	0	6	0	0	0	0	0
31	GK	ESP	Rubén Yáñez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	AUT	Philipp Lienhart	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
34	DF	ESP	Álvaro Tejero	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0

Players who left the club during the season yet had made at least one appearance in competitive matches are in italics

Goals

Rank	Player	Position	La Liga	Copa del Rey	UEFA CL	Total
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	FW	35	0	16	51
2	Karim Benzema	FW	24	0	4	28
3	Gareth Bale	MF	19	0	0	19
4	James Rodríguez	MF	7	0	1	8
5	Jesé	FW	5	0	1	6
6	Isco	MF	3	2	0	5
7	Lucas Vázquez	FW	4	0	0	4
8	Luka Modrić	MF	2	0	1	3
	Sergio Ramos	DF	2	0	1
10	Danilo	DF	2	0	0	2
	Marcelo	DF	2	0	0
12	Dani Carvajal	DF	0	0	1	1
	Casemiro	MF	1	0	0
	Denis Cheryshev	MF	0	1	0
	Mateo Kovačić	MF	0	0	1
	Toni Kroos	MF	1	0	0
	Nacho	DF	0	0	1
	Pepe	DF	1	0	0
Own goals			2	0	1	3
Total			110	3	28	141

Disciplinary record

N	P	Nat.	Name	La Liga			Copa del Rey			UEFA CL			Total			Notes
4	DF		Sergio Ramos	7	2					3			10	2
14	MF		Casemiro	6						3			9
15	DF		Dani Carvajal	6						3			9
23	DF		Danilo	6						2			8
3	DF		Pepe	5						2			7
16	MF		Mateo Kovačić	5		1				1			6		1
2	DF		Raphaël Varane	4	1					1			5	1
6	DF		Nacho	5									5
18	MF		Lucas Vázquez	3						2			5
19	MF		Luka Modrić	5									5
22	MF		Isco	2		1				1			3		1
7	MF		Cristiano Ronaldo	2						1			3
8	MF		Toni Kroos	3									3
12	DF		Marcelo	3									3
1	GK		Keylor Navas							2			2
11	FW		Gareth Bale	1						1			2
9	FW		Karim Benzema	1									1
10	MF		James Rodríguez							1			1
17	DF		Álvaro Arbeloa	1									1
21	MF		Denis Cheryshev							1			1

Last updated: 28 May 2016
Source: Matches
Only competitive matches

= Number of bookings;

= Number of sending offs after a second yellow card;

= Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

References

External links

• Official website