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).

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.

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.

[5][6][7] This season was for the 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, and the first since 2009–10 without Sami Khedira, who departed to Juventus.

Both signed long-term deals with the club, with Casemiro returning after Real Madrid exercised their buy-back clause option on the player.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[45] 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.

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[70] 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.