1986–87 La Liga

56th season of La Liga
Football league season
La Liga
Dates30 August 1986–21 June 1987
ChampionsReal Madrid
22nd title
RelegatedRacing Santander
European CupReal Madrid
Cup Winners' CupReal Sociedad
UEFA CupBarcelona
Español
Sporting Gijón
Matches played396
Goals scored951 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorerHugo Sánchez
(34 goals)
← 1985–86
1987–88 →

The 1986–87 La Liga season, the 56th since its establishment, started on August 30, 1986, and finished on June 21, 1987.

Real Madrid retained the title, but this time finished just a single point ahead of Barcelona compared to 11 points a year earlier. It was the last of three seasons as Barcelona manager for the Englishman Terry Venables before his dismissal, the arrival of British strikers Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes not being enough to save his job or bring the title to Camp Nou.

Teams and locations

It was composed of the following clubs:

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Canary Islands
Team Home city Stadium
Athletic Bilbao Bilbao San Mamés
Atlético Madrid Madrid Vicente Calderón
Barcelona Barcelona Nou Camp
Cádiz Cádiz Ramón de Carranza
Español Barcelona Sarriá
Las Palmas Las Palmas Insular
Mallorca Palma Lluís Sitjar
Murcia Murcia La Condomina
Osasuna Pamplona El Sadar
Racing Santander Santander El Sardinero
Real Betis Seville Benito Villamarín
Real Madrid Madrid Santiago Bernabéu
Real Sociedad San Sebastián Atocha
Sabadell Sabadell Nova Creu Alta
Sevilla Seville Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán
Sporting Gijón Gijón El Molinón
Valladolid Valladolid José Zorrilla
Zaragoza Zaragoza La Romareda

Competition format

It was the longest season ever in Spanish football. The league had two phases. In the first one, all 18 teams played each other twice (home and away). At the end of the first phase, the first six teams qualified for the championship group (Group A), the next six qualified for the intermediate group (Group B) and the last six qualified for the relegation group (Group C). In the second phase, teams played only against teams of the same group twice (home and away) and carried their first phase record. The last three in relegation group should have been relegated at the end of the season, but in the middle of the season it was decided that the Primera División and Segunda División would be expanded to 20 teams. In the end, the last three teams of the relegation group played a playoff and only Racing de Santander was relegated.

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Real Madrid 34 20 10 4 61 29 +32 50 Qualification for the championship group
2 Barcelona 34 18 13 3 51 22 +29 49
3 Español 34 17 9 8 52 30 +22 43
4 Sporting Gijón 34 14 9 11 47 36 +11 37
5 Mallorca 34 14 8 12 42 46 −4 36
6 Zaragoza 34 13 10 11 31 30 +1 36
7 Atlético Madrid 34 13 9 12 37 40 −3 35 Qualification for the intermediate group
8 Real Betis 34 13 8 13 36 43 −7 34
9 Sevilla 34 13 8 13 41 35 +6 34
10 Real Sociedad 34 13 8 13 45 35 +10 34
11 Murcia 34 13 6 15 31 43 −12 32
12 Valladolid 34 11 9 14 31 32 −1 31
13 Athletic Bilbao 34 11 9 14 39 40 −1 31 Qualification for the relegation group
14 Las Palmas 34 11 7 16 41 48 −7 29
15 Osasuna 34 8 11 15 24 40 −16 27
16 Racing Santander 34 9 8 17 31 49 −18 26
17 Sabadell 34 7 11 16 28 50 −22 25
18 Cádiz 34 8 7 19 22 42 −20 23
Source: BDFútbol
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of goals scored

Results

Home \ Away ATH ATM BAR BET CÁD ESP LPA MLL MUR OSA RAC RMA RSO SAB SEV SPG VLD ZAR
Athletic Bilbao 3–0 2–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 4–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 4–2 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–0
Atlético Madrid 2–0 0–4 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 2–1
FC Barcelona 4–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 4–0 3–1 2–0 4–2 2–0 3–2 1–0 3–1 1–0 0–4 3–0 0–0
Betis 0–0 2–1 0–1 4–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 2–0 2–6 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–1
Cádiz CF 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 0–1 0–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 3–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–1
RCD Español 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–2 3–1 5–1 0–0 1–0 2–0
UD Las Palmas 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 5–0 3–2 3–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 0–1 0–1 0–0 2–1 3–4 2–0 1–1
RCD Mallorca 1–1 4–3 1–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 4–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–2 2–0
Murcia 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 1–0 1–4 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–1 1–3 1–2 2–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–2
Osasuna 0–1 0–2 0–2 2–1 3–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–0
Racing de Santander 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–1 1–3 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–2
Real Madrid 2–4 4–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 1–0 4–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 3–1
Real Sociedad 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 3–3 2–1 7–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 4–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 1–0
CE Sabadell FC 0–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 1–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 2–2 0–0 1–0 1–0
Sevilla FC 3–1 3–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 4–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 2–1 3–0
Sporting de Gijón 2–0 1–1 0–0 3–0 2–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 4–1 3–0 2–1 2–2 0–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 1–0
Valladolid 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 4–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–1
Zaragoza 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–3 1–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 4–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–0
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship group

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Real Madrid 44 27 12 5 84 37 +47 66 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Barcelona 44 24 15 5 63 29 +34 63 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Español 44 20 11 13 66 46 +20 51
4 Sporting Gijón 44 16 13 15 58 50 +8 45
5 Zaragoza 44 15 14 15 46 47 −1 44
6 Mallorca 44 15 12 17 48 65 −17 42
Source: BDFútbol
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of goals scored

Results

Home \ Away BAR ESP MLL RMA SPG ZAR
FC Barcelona 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 3–2
RCD Español 0–0 5–0 2–3 2–1 2–1
RCD Mallorca 0–1 1–0 0–4 1–1 2–2
Real Madrid 0–0 2–2 3–0 4–0 2–1
Sporting de Gijón 1–0 4–0 1–1 0–1 1–1
Zaragoza 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–3 2–2
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Intermediate group

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Atlético Madrid 44 18 11 15 58 54 +4 47
2 Real Sociedad 44 19 9 16 59 54 +5 47 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
3 Real Betis 44 18 9 17 61 59 +2 45
4 Valladolid 44 15 11 18 42 45 −3 41
5 Murcia 44 17 7 20 50 63 −13 41
6 Sevilla 44 14 11 19 51 53 −2 39
Source: BDFútbol
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Real Sociedad qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as champions of the Copa del Rey.

Results

Home \ Away ATM BET MUR RSO SEV VLD
Atlético Madrid 3–2 4–2 5–1 2–0 0–1
Betis 2–1 5–0 5–1 1–2 3–2
Murcia 1–2 3–2 4–0 2–0 4–1
Real Sociedad 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–0
Sevilla FC 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–1 1–2
Valladolid 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–0
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation group

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Athletic Bilbao 44 15 12 17 51 50 +1 42
2 Las Palmas 44 16 9 19 59 67 −8 41
3 Sabadell 44 12 14 18 38 59 −21 38
4 Osasuna 44 12 14 18 40 48 −8 38 Qualification for the relegation playoffs
5 Racing Santander 44 12 9 23 46 66 −20 33
6 Cádiz 44 10 9 25 31 59 −28 29
Source: BDFútbol
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of goals scored

Results

Home \ Away ATH CÁD LPA OSA RAC SAB
Athletic Bilbao 1–0 4–1 0–2 3–1 1–1
Cádiz CF 1–1 2–4 1–0 2–1 0–0
UD Las Palmas 1–2 2–1 1–1 3–2 1–1
Osasuna 0–0 3–2 4–0 4–0 0–1
Racing de Santander 2–0 3–0 1–3 1–1 4–0
CE Sabadell FC 1–0 2–0 1–2 2–1 1–0
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation playoffs

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
1 Osasuna 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 3
2 Cádiz 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
3 Racing Santander (R) 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1 Relegated to the Segunda División
Source: BDFútbol
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of goals scored
(R) Relegated

Results

Racing de Santander 1-1 Cádiz CF Penalties:4-3
Cádiz CF 1-1 Osasuna Penalties:4-3
Osasuna 2-0 Racing de Santander

Pichichi Trophy

Goalscorers Goal Team
Mexico Hugo Sánchez 34 Real Madrid
England Gary Lineker 20 FC Barcelona
Spain Enrique Magdaleno 19 RCD Mallorca
Argentina Gabriel Calderón 18 Betis
Spain Pichi Alonso 17 RCD Español


 La Liga 1986–87 winners 
Real Madrid
22nd title
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