La Liga Lowdown

Matchday 20 proved why we love LaLiga: drama, surprises and competitiveness. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) review a terrific weekend. A tumultuous week for Real Madrid ended positively. After the Bernabéu crowd made their discontented feelings vociferously known on Saturday lunchtime, Los Blancos laboured to a rather uncomfortable 2-0 win over lowly Levante for Álvaro Arbeloa’s first win in charge. After fielding questions about “Florentino dimisión” chants, the boss angered fans further by staunchly defending his President, claiming those who want Pérez to resign aren’t genuine Madridistas. This victory put pressure on Barcelona, who lined up without Raphinha and lost their winning run. La Real continued their incredible – albeit fortuitous – start under Pellegrino Matarazzo after beating Barça 2-1 through a combination of goalkeeping excellence, luck and tight VAR calls. Just 60 seconds after Marcus Rashford had equalised, Gonçalo Guedes restored their lead. Despite accumulating over 3.5 xG and 25 shots (including five to the woodwork), there was no way past Álex Remiro, who reminded everyone why he is a worthy member of Luis de la Fuente’s triumvirate. The gap at the top is now just a solitary point. ¡¡¡Hay Liga!!!Real Betis beat Villarreal to take a big step towards European football next season, but we ask why there is still some dissatisfaction among the fanbase. On Friday night, Girona continued their incredible resurgence by beating Espanyol in a Catalan derby, courtesy of two Vanat penalties. Los Pericos have had a rough start to the year, but are still well placed.Onto Part Two, we focus on the compactness of the table from 8th down to 18th. Real Sociedad are ten places above Alavés, but only five points clear of their fellow Basques.Mallorca took a huge step forward by winning a thriller against Athletic Club. Jagoba Arrasate will be thanking his giant Kosovan Vedat Muriqi who scored a hat-trick to tame Los Leones. Only Kylian Mbappé has scored more this season, and Muriqi is priceless for the island side. Three goals and three precious points. We reflect on that as well as Athletic’s malaise. With a crucial set of fixtures ahead, is this Ernesto Valverde’s last season in charge? Osasuna won by the same scoreline but in even more dramatic fashion. Trailing twice to Real Oviedo, it seemed like the Asturian side might finally get their win. But alas, Ante Budimir equalised twice and then Víctor Muñoz broke hearts with a 92nd-minute winner. Even when they score twice, they can’t even draw, let alone win.Rayo are another club looking over their shoulder after they were well beaten by Euro-chasing Celta. They won their third in a row to cement 7th spot and put pressure on those above them.Valencia stunned the Coliseum with a late, well-constructed winner with their only shot on target of the game. Getafe are in freefall now, with just one point since the end of November. Alavés made it hard for Atleti, but ultimately came away from the capital with nothing, and they slipped into the drop zone. But, given the tightness of the table, things can change extremely quickly. A relegation battle for the ages is in prospect.You can keep up to date with all our content at lllonline.substack.com.

All the Supercopa & LaLiga action delivered straight to your ears by our experts Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee).In part one, they delve into another action-packed ‘el clásico’. Barça conquered the Supercopa de España against an atypical Real Madrid, who sat back really deep, ultimately falling short and being eclipsed by Raphinha’s fantastic performance. Will Xabi Alonso continue? Only time will tell...In part two, they focus on LaLiga and the seven fixtures that took place during the weekend. Girona finally escape the relegation zone, Villarreal keep up their winning momentum with an inspired Moleiro, Oviedo and Levante keep adding points to their tally, Rayo finally win after a dry run, and more...Thank you for listening to our pod, and remember that you can access our bonus podcast and weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com.

Happy New Year! LaLiga is back and so are we, with our first Matchday review of 2026. The honour is for Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee), who analyse this weekend's exciting fixtures. Who started the year strongest? Who will be wishing it's still Christmas.We start with the Catalan derby between Espanyol and Barça, which for many ended in an unfair result. Espanyol's admirable efforts were parried away by an towering Joan García, who was unfazed by the hostile environment in his return to the RCDE Stadium. Real Madrid's commanding win vs Betis follows, with Gonzalo eclipsing Mbappé's absence, and then we review Atleti's draw against Real Sociedad and Villarreal's victory toppling Elche's fortress.In Part Two, we look at the teams in the relegation battle, with a special focus on Girona climbing out at Valencia's expense, Levante grabbing a very big win at Sevilla and Oviedo deserving to win but ultimately failing to do so. It was a solid showing for the new managers in their respective first outings.All this and more in our first pod of the year! Thank you for listening, and remember you can access our bonus podcast and multiple weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com.

Matchday 17 was a weekend which started off with draws and then became a series of one-way results, some in emphatic fashion. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) review it all.We start with the on-paper partidazo between Villarreal and Barcelona, which was unfortunately conditioned by a first half red card. The visitors won comfortably in the end to become Christmas number one, keeping Real Madrid four points back. Los Blancos had their own 2-0 victory on Saturday night against Sevilla, but left more doubts once again. The only real bright sparks were the form of Thibaut Courtois and Kylian Mbappé, who equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's club record for goals in a calendar year.Atleti won convincingly on the road to leave Girona in the danger zone, while Betis put four past Getafe to apply some pressure on Espanyol.In Part Two we discuss Elche returning to their best form and our concern for Rayo, who might be taking their eye off the ball domestically. The managerless sides played out a 1-1 draw, but Real Sociedad will really feel that it was two points dropped. Both clubs confirmed the appointments of their new coaches, so we evaluate their potential chances. Guillermo Almada has already begun life at Oviedo, but could not prevent the inevitable stalemate. We end by picking our moments of the year and wishing our listeners and subscribers at lllonline.substack.com a happy festive season. ¡¡Feliz Navidad!!

Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) review Matchday 16 in our latest podcast!Part One kicks off with Real Madrid winning... but not convincing. Matt and Román share their views on Xabi Alonso's future, which could be far from the Bernabéu if he fails to succeed in his next two matches. They also highlight Raphinha's doblete to keep Barça up top, as well as Atleti's veterans, Koke, and particularly Antoine Griezmann, who ensured Atleti doesn't lose grip of the top three. In fact, it's Villarreal who hold that 3rd spot, but their fixture was postponed, giving way for an unstoppable Espanyol to round off the first half of the show with the praise they deserve.Part Two focuses on the manager sackings of the weekend, with Sergio Francisco and Luís Carrión having to say goodbye after further poor results from their teams. Is it the right call? Who could take over? Our podcasters help answer those questions as well as analysing Mallorca's convincing performance over Elche, Celta's first home win, and more...Thank you for listening, and remember you can access our bonus podcast and multiple weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com.

LaLiga continues to provide entertainment and unexpected results, especially with Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid dropping points in the title run.Our very own Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) kick off the weekend review, dissecting Madrid’s shocking defeat versus a fantastic Celta de Vigo. It’s been just under two decades since Celta last managed to snatch a win at the Bernabeu... this time raising big questions regarding Xabi Alonso and his players.Atleti also dropped points, extending their awful away form and losing grip of the title run, while Athletic Club finally secured a big win this season. A contrasting result with Barça’s visit to la Cartuja, where eight goals livened up the night despite the disappointment felt by Betis fans.In part one, they also take some time to analyse Villarreal’s contrasting form, with their best version showing in LaLiga, before moving on to part two and reviewing Elche’s first win in over two months, Espanyol’s unstoppable European form, Oviedo’s serious issues and more...We thank you for listening to our pod, and want to remind you that you can access our bonus podcast and written articles over at lllonline.substack.com.

To accompany you as you open the first window in the advent calendar, we have a fresh podcast! The temperature may be getting colder, but LaLiga is hotting up, with plenty for Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to unpack from Matchday 14.We begin at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, where Betis confirmed their superiority in the city of Seville. Victory here made it back-to-back gran derbi wins for the first time in 30 years! What a watch to celebrate the renewal of Manuel Pellegrini's contract.We then turn to the title race, which could barely be much closer. Just three points separate the top four. Real Madrid dropped points for the third consecutive match – this time at Montilivi – to cede leadership of the league and hand it back to Barcelona, just a month after beating them to go five points clear. We ask why it's going wrong lately, and where they go from here (Bilbao, because they have yet another away game).Despite being top anew, Barça have problems of their own, not least Hansi Flick's demeanour on the bench or the club's problems with the digital tickets at the new Camp Nou.In Part Two, we headline with the goal-fest of the weekend, as Villarreal maintained their rhythm, domestically that is. A genuine two-faced team, they fought to the end to ward off the La Real comeback and position themselves nicely in third spot.Atleti won their seventh game in succession, but the big test is Tuesday night in Barcelona.Elsewhere, Espanyol keep up their bright start, Celta still can't win at home, Getafe keep doing their thing, and a referee sent off a former referee.Last, but by no means least, Levante are looking for a new coach after they sacked Julián Calero following their 2-0 defeat at home to Athletic. Winless at home, albeit with a tough run of fixtures, Luis García Plaza is the favourite to replace Calero.Two big LaLiga matches and the next round of the Copa del Rey to look forward to this week, as well as plenty of content at lllonline.substack.com. Subscribe now for all the access.

Spain are going to the World Cup! It has always seemed like a formality, but Luis de la Fuente’s side officially secured their spot with a draw in their final qualifier against Turkey. Before focusing on Tuesday’s game, Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) kick off the podcast by focusing on Spain’s commanding 4-0 away win over Georgia on Saturday. After winning their first five qualifiers by a combined 19-0 scoreline, Spain would have been hoping to secure qualification with a win in their home game against Turkey. We delve into the 2-2 draw before rounding off part one by focusing on Spain’s striker situation and Dani Olmo’s status in the squad.In part two, we reflect on a positive 2025 for La Roja and look ahead to next year’s tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada, discussing whether Spain have what it takes to add another star to their jersey. Away from international matters, Barcelona are finally set to return to their redeveloped Camp Nou home while Levante and Valencia are preparing to lock horns in a highly anticipated derby fixture.Remember, you can access all of our written and audio content over at lllonline.substack.com.