La Liga Lowdown

The run-in starts here! Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to recap Matchday 28 in LaLiga.

On election day in Barcelona, Joan Laporta was in triumphant mood after being emphatically re-elected as Barcelona president. There were celebrations on the pitch too after a 5-2 victory over Sevilla re-established their four-point lead over Real Madrid. We hear from Román what it was like around Camp Nou on polling day and the impressive performance from Barça, particularly hat-trick hero Raphinha.

Real Madrid enjoyed a comfortable night too, beating sorry Elche 4-1 ahead of their trip to Manchester. Fede Valverde stepped up again, but it was the youthful flavour to Los Blancos and Arda Güler’s incredible 68-metre golazo which stole the headlines.

Atleti dealt with Getafe in between their sparring with Spurs with a stunning strike of their own, while Real Sociedad are dreaming big after dispatching Osasuna 3-1 on Sunday night. The bloated middle all struggled to break clear of the pack, allowing Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side to steal a march. Betis-Celta ended all square, while Athletic Club could not honour Iñaki Williams’ landmark with a result.

Plus, there were some significant movements at the bottom of the table, as Elche’s defeat allowed Mallorca to take full advantage and come from behind to beat Espanyol (who like Elche remain winless in 2026). Martín Demichelis registered his first win with a clear style, but Quique Sánchez Flores will have to wait after another gut-wrenching late goal against his Alavés side.

Like, follow, and subscribe at lllonline.substack.com for all our LaLiga and Champions League content as the season heads into the business end.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New week, new recap pod reviewing LaLiga's most recent matches, with Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee).

In part one, the title race comes to life with Real Madrid's late winner against Celta de Vigo, while Barça relies on Lamine Yamal to win the game against an Athletic Club side that possibly deserved more. We also get a preview of the Copa del Rey final, with Atlético de Madrid defeating Real Sociedad, and a look into Elche's critical situation after yet another winless match, this time losing to Villarreal.

Part two kicks off with the exciting Valencia vs Alavés, with Quique Sánchez Flores falling short in his debut after a late Che comeback. Ben & Román also praise José Bordalás' supernatural abilities to get the most out of his players and talk about Mallorca's throwaway at El Sadar, as well as all the other fixtures of the weekend.

Thank you for listening to our pod, and remember that you can subscribe to access our bonus podcast and weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to review Matchday 26 of LaLiga.

Part One focuses on Barça's 4-1 victory against Villarreal, with special praise for Lamine Yamal and his first hat-trick as a professional footballer. Three fantastic goals that ensure Barça remain up top and put some fear into Atlético de Madrid before the second leg of the Copa del Rey tie. An Atleti who in fact struggled to defeat Real Oviedo away, leaving it to the very end, thanks to a Julián Álvarez goal that ended his goalless streak in LaLiga. The Basque teams also get a shout, with Athletic drawing vs Rayo and Real Sociedad still riding the Pellegrino Matarazzo effect.

Part Two starts with one of the matches of the weekend: the Andalusian derby between Betis and Sevilla. A game of two halves, where Betis went ahead by two goals in the first half, but ultimately threw away their advantage, allowing Sevilla to grab a point. Our duo also talk about Celta's comeback at Girona, Valencia's solid win against Osasuna, Levante still believing and Elche's late draw against Espanyol.

We hope you enjoy the pod and thank you for listening! Remember you can also access our bonus podcast and multiple weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Real Madrid’s stay as league leaders lasted just six short days after Matchday 25 threw in another twist in the title race. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) review the action from the weekend.

Osasuna have been in strong form and they continued that at El Sadar on Saturday evening, taking the lead with another Ante Budimir goal. Vini Jr ended a tumultuous week with an equalising goal, but the Madrid surge for a winner never came to pass, and it was the hosts who provided the late drama, Raúl García de Haro striking late to euphoric scenes in Pamplona. We discuss what this means for the race, and the decision to start Dani Carvajal after his lengthy absence.

Barça took full advantage of the gift by dispatching a sunken Levante 3-0, with a return for Pedri and another goal for Marc Bernal and Fermín López.

To round off Part One, we review Atleti’s latest unpredictable showing and recap another Valencian regional derby, which was won by Villarreal.

In Part Two, we analyse the partidazo at Anoeta between Real Sociedad and Real Oviedo, plus wins for Athletic and Celta, the latter courtesy of Iago Aspas. Better than a fine wine.

The only away winners of the weekend were Sevilla, but having to play against ten for most of the game, it was “like watching Getafe play Getafe”. You can never have enough Fútbol Champán…

Subscribe with us at lllonline.substack.com for more content all through the week across the season.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pressure is now on Barcelona after Real Madrid climbed to the top of the table with a thumping 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Valentine’s weekend, bringing an end to Pellegrino Matarazzo’s unbeaten start in Spain. Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Ben Sully (@SullyBen) as they reflect upon that contest and the other key talking points from Matchday 24.

Martín Presa’s relationship with Rayo fans is beyond repair, as demonstrated by the sparse attendance at Butarque for Sunday’s clash with Atlético Madrid. Rayo’s date at Leganés's home ground at least proved to be successful as Iñigo Pérez’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory.

We then give José Bordalás his flowers following Getafe’s impressive victory over Villarreal, before we start part two with Valencia’s crucial derby win - a result that helped Carlos Corberán avoid a divorce from his role as head coach.

Elsewhere, there were plenty of cards on display at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Oviedo’s relationship with LaLiga looks set to be brief, and Mallorca are left flirting with the wrong side of the dotted line.

We wrap up with a couple of draws, including Borja Iglesias’s late equaliser that sent an arrow through Espanyol’s hopes of all three points.

If you love listening and reading our content, make sure to join us over at lllonline.substack.com. Any support is greatly appreciated.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.