THE USURPER LEAGUELa Liga 2015/16.
Without the usual suspects.
Atlético Madrid win our alternative 2015/16 La Liga on 84 points from 34 matches. Athletic Club follow on 62 points. That's a 22-point lead over second place. The scores are real. The trophy, regrettably, is not.
Yes, the two biggest clubs are very good at football. We know. For this table, we've removed every match involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. The remaining fixtures keep their actual scores. In our full-league calculation they were 3rd, rather than first.
The 2015/16 table, without Madrid or Barça
Every match against either excluded club has been removed, including its points, goals and games played.
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | 27 | 3 | 4 | +46 | 84 |
| 2 | Athletic Club | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | +23 | 62 |
| 3 | Villarreal | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | +14 | 60 |
| 4 | Celta Vigo | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | +2 | 57 |
| 5 | Málaga | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | +5 | 46 |
| 6 | Sevilla FC | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | +4 | 46 |
| 7 | Real Sociedad | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | +3 | 45 |
| 8 | UD Las Palmas | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | -3 | 44 |
| 9 | Real Betis | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | -7 | 44 |
| 10 | SD Eibar | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 43 |
| 11 | Espanyol | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | -17 | 42 |
| 12 | Deportivo La Coruña | 34 | 8 | 17 | 9 | -1 | 41 |
| 13 | Valencia | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | -2 | 39 |
| 14 | Granada CF | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | -14 | 39 |
| 15 | Rayo Vallecano | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | -5 | 38 |
| 16 | Sporting Gijón | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | -10 | 38 |
| 17 | Getafe | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | -15 | 36 |
| 18 | Levante | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | -23 | 32 |
What changed?
With every club present, FC Barcelona lead our all-club calculation. Without the two excluded clubs, Atlético Madrid finish first. Nobody has been awarded invented wins or imaginary goals.
The rules. Such as they are.
74 matches involving Real Madrid or FC Barcelona were removed. Victories were worth 3 points under the rules of 2015/16. Remaining clubs keep their recorded results.
See the all-club calculation (for comparison)
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Barcelona | 38 | 29 | 4 | 5 | +83 | 91 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 38 | 28 | 6 | 4 | +76 | 90 |
| 3 | Atlético Madrid | 38 | 28 | 4 | 6 | +45 | 88 |
| 4 | Villarreal | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | +9 | 64 |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | +13 | 62 |
| 6 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | -8 | 60 |
| 7 | Sevilla FC | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | +1 | 52 |
| 8 | Málaga | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | +3 | 48 |
| 9 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | -3 | 48 |
| 10 | Real Betis | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | -18 | 45 |
| 11 | Valencia | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | -2 | 44 |
| 12 | UD Las Palmas | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | -8 | 44 |
| 13 | SD Eibar | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -12 | 43 |
| 14 | Espanyol | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | -34 | 43 |
| 15 | Deportivo La Coruña | 38 | 8 | 18 | 12 | -16 | 42 |
| 16 | Sporting Gijón | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | -22 | 39 |
| 17 | Granada CF | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | -23 | 39 |
| 18 | Rayo Vallecano | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | -21 | 38 |
| 19 | Getafe | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | -30 | 36 |
| 20 | Levante | 38 | 8 | 8 | 22 | -33 | 32 |
A note about the numbers
These are independent recalculations, not official LaLiga standings. Positions are ordered by points, goal difference and goals scored. Historic points deductions and the league's official head-to-head tiebreakers aren't recreated, so some rankings may differ from the official record.
Underlying match results: Jack-Tilley/es-espana (CC0 archive). Each match involving Madrid or Barça is excluded in full. Season-specific gaps and formats are noted where relevant.
Feel like arguing about the result? Good. That's rather the point.