La Liga Lowdown

Matchday nine produced several talking points ahead of the international window, including an express hat-trick and a stubborn nine-man resistance. Join Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) as they look back at all the action that took place over the weekend.Robert Lewandowski continued his red-hot form with a rapid hat-trick in Barcelona’s commanding victory over Alavés. Real Madrid also claimed maximum points, but their win over Villarreal was overshadowed by Dani Carvajal’s serious knee injury. As for Atleti, they lost ground to the top two after Luka Sučić produced a sensational strike to rescue a point for Real Sociedad. At the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, García Pimienta claimed the spoils in his first experience of El Gran Derbi.In the second part, we focus on the penalty chaos at Montilivi and Espanyol’s successful home outing. We then discuss Las Palmas’ failure to break the resistance of nine-man Celta in what might have been Luis Carrión’s final game in charge. Elsewhere, De Frutos starred for Rayo, Getafe played out another draw and Valencia fans expressed their frustration after Friday’s forgettable clash with Leganés.Remember, you can subscribe to our Substack (lllonline.substack.com) to keep up with all our content over the international break.

Give our latest pod a listen, and join the conversation between Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) as they look into all the LaLiga encounters from Matchday 8.El Derbi Madrileño left plenty of talking points, with a game packed with tension, controversy, a temporary suspension, and even a late goal from the home side. Neither of the two sides managed to shine, and are only a single point closer to league leaders, Barça. Osasuna ended Hansi Flick's winning streak with a brave and outstanding performance, proving to be a very tough cookie when playing at home.They also review Getafe's first win, Real Sociedad's slow, yet steady improvement and pose the following question: is Gio Lo Celso be the best signing of the season? So far, he might be... scoring week in, week out for Betis and helping the team grab some essential points. All this and much more in our recap pod! Remember you can subscribe to our Substack for plenty more daily LaLiga content: https://lllonline.substack.com/.

Join Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) as they round up all the action from matchday six of the 2024/25 LaLiga season. Five-star Barcelona continued their perfect start to the league campaign with a sizeable victory over Villarreal. The entertaining affair delivered braces, disallowed goals and a missed penalty as Barça bounced back from the defeat to Monaco.Elsewhere, Real Madrid fought back from a goal down to dispatch Espanyol, while their city rivals Atlético Madrid dropped a couple of points against a determined Rayo Vallecano side. Meanwhile, Athletic Club warmed up for a trip to the Italian capital with a home victory over Aspas & company.Valencia ended their long wait for a win, while Alaves piled the pressure on Sevilla boss García Pimienta. There was also a derby draw, another Las Palmas defeat and a frustrating outing for Real Sociedad.Remember, you can subscribe to our Substack (lllonline.substack.com) to access all our content, including this week’s bonus podcast which will cover the midweek action in LaLiga.

Wins galore, penalties, red cards, maiden goals and a hat-trick - LaLiga matchday 5 had it all. Join Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) as they look back at all the action that took place over the weekend.Lamine Yamal starred for flawless Barcelona, while Real Madrid made Real Sociedad pay the penalty for numerous missed chances. Conor Gallagher and Julián Alvarez scored their first LaLiga goals as Atleti piled more misery on Valencia. There was also another late winner for unbeaten Villarreal, who look set to challenge for the top four.Elsewhere, there was a hat-trick of assists for Athletic Club’s Iñaki Williams and a perfect hat-trick for Espanyol’s Javi Puado. Celta enjoyed another successful home outing, while García Pimienta celebrated a win and Vitor Roque ended his long wait for a LaLiga goal.Remember, you can subscribe to our Substack (lllonline.substack.com) where we will review all the Champions League action in our bonus podcast later this week.

Spain bounced back from their Serbian stalemate in the best possible fashion on Sunday night. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) unite to discuss the international break at length.Luis de la Fuente's side produced a superb all-round performance to beat Switzerland 4-1 in Geneva, despite playing for over an hour with ten men.Spain raced out of the blocks, with Joselu quickly reminding everyone that he can still provide the answer as Spain's number 9. Lamine Yamal produced yet another goal contribution, leading Paco to make a bold prediction for his season's total output, while comparing him to a certain former Barça player...Fabián continued his fine form with Spain's second inside the first quarter of an hour. Robin Le Normand's dismissal (harsh, but we are biased) changed the picture, and the hosts pulled one back before the break.Spain suffered in the second half, finishing with their lowest possession ever recorded. But they were clinical when they did have the ball: Ferran Torres showed his shark-like killer instincts in the pouring rain as he produced an assist and a goal to seal the victory.We also discuss the Segunda weekend, including Paco's trip to Elda on Sunday night. You won't want to miss out on that!This pod is free, but by subscribing, you can gain access to so much more content throughout the week. Head to lllonline.substack.com to find out more.

Review all the fantastic LaLiga action with Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) in our pod for matchday 4.There's plenty to go through, starting with Mbappé's scoring debut in LaLiga. Two crucial goals ensure three points against Betis and carry 'los blancos' all the way up to second position in the standings. Barça, on the other hand, thrashed Valladolid and are looking stronger than ever despite the (for many) disappointing transfer window.Sevilla are feeling the heat as another home defeat brings back not too distant memories of suffering, after losing to an improving Girona. Meanwhile, the Valencian derby ended 1-1, with Villarreal clinging on to a draw after losing a player in the second half.Find all this and so much more in our pod and remember, you can access all our content throughout the 2024-25 campaign by upgrading at lllonline.substack.com.

No Olmo, no problem. Barcelona make it two wins in two despite being without the services of their star signing. Join Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) as they discuss Barcelona’s successful outing as well as the other nine matches from matchday two.While Barça maintained their 100% record, city rivals Real Madrid and Atleti celebrated 3-0 victories in their respective home matches. However, there was to be no win in García Pimienta’s first home match as ex-Betis forward Ayoze Pérez proved to be Villarreal's hero against Sevilla.In part two, we discuss super Celta, Kubo’s statement and Arrasate’s unsuccessful return to El Sadar. There was also a win for Leganés and a typical Bordalás performance.Remember, you can access all our articles and bonus podcasts by upgrading your subscription at http://lllonline.substack.com.

LaLiga is back! Join Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) as they round up all the action from matchday one.We discuss Real Madrid’s underwhelming start to their title defence and Barcelona’s hard-fought victory at Mestalla. Atlético Madrid’s Alexander Sørloth celebrated his return to Estadio de la Cerámica with a goal, while a LaLiga debutant stole the show for Getafe and Rayo Vallecano claimed a surprise win over Real Sociedad.In the second part, we focus on Míchel’s new-look Girona side and García Pimienta’s Sevilla bow against his former employers. There was also plenty of time to laud the evergreen Iago Aspas and focus on the three newly promoted clubs.Remember, you can access all our content throughout the 2024-25 campaign by upgrading at lllonline.substack.com.

Hot on the heels of the Paris Olympics, football returns to Spain as LaLiga is back this week.Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) preview the campaign with some exciting new faces and uncertainty at many of the clubs.Hansi Flick is in the Barça hotseat. Can he revitalise the Catalans to challenge Real Madrid for the title? What about the impact of Kylian Mbappé? A signing that has been coming for years, Los Blancos finally have him, but how will he perform?Atleti have had a busy summer of departures and potential arrivals? Can they challenge again?How will Girona fare with key players gone and Champions League football to content with?Athletic, La Real, Betis, Villarreal, Sevilla – can any of those push on into the top four?We also discuss the rest of the clubs, including the three promoted sides. It feels hard to predict where things will end up, but we are excited to get back underway!Join us on Substack for even more exclusive content for just €5 per month – lllonline.substack.com