La Liga Lowdown

LaLiga was back to its usual crazy self this weekend, as there were goals galore and no fewer than 7 red cards spread over the 10 games on Matchday 5. One of them came at the Camp Nou, as Clément Lenglet was sent off and Barcelona were held to a 2-all draw by Catalan neighbours Girona - and Cristhian Stuani scored twice to be joint top-scorer in LaLiga with 5, alongside Lionel Messi. Real Mad...

There's now just the one team with a 100% record in LaLiga, and that's Barcelona - not that they had it all their own way, having to come from behind to beat Real Sociedad in their newly refurbished stadium...but at least they won. Both Real Madrid and Atlético had to settle for draws against Basque opposition - Madrid frustrated by an Athletic Club inspired by young keeper Unai Simón, while Eibar...

This week there's no LaLiga, so we're focusing on the Spain national team as David Garrido is joined by Alex Jonson and Euan McTear to discuss their 2-1 win over England at Wembley. David, Alex and Euan go through all the talking points, including what's different about this side under Luis Enrique compared to the one who failed at the World Cup, why Saúl is so pivotal, and which other players imp...

Shock horror, we now have Barcelona and Real Madrid as the only 2 teams with 100% records in LaLiga after 3 rounds of games, and both flexed their muscles this weekend. Madrid are getting into their new style under Julen Lopetegui, beating Leganés 4-1 at the Bernabéu, while Barcelona doubled that scoreline, demolishing newboys Huesca 8-2. There was a shock elsewhere, as Atlético Madrid had a real...

We had it all in the second round of games in LaLiga! Barcelona were involved in the big controversy, playing on a terrible pitch at Real Valladolid as they won 1-0 away - and it's gone right to the very top. Real Madrid put 4 past Girona, but had to come from behind to do it. Talking of comebacks, 2 of the feel-good stories of the weekend - Leganés fighting back from 2 down against Real...

What a weekend to get us underway in LaLiga! Where do we begin? The Big 2 won at home thanks to their talismen - Messi for Barcelona, Bale for Real Madrid...and what a belter at Mestalla on Monday night as Valencia and Atlético drew 1-1 - LaLiga has got off to an explosive start, with the stars delivering. And there were some super debuts - Huesca won their first game ever in Spain's top...

LaLiga is well and truly BACK this weekend - have you missed it? So have we. In this preview edition, we look at how Real Madrid will cope in the post-Zidane, post-Ronaldo era, whether Barcelona can fit in their Brazilians and how Atlético Madrid can challenge once again. There's also that bunch of teams scrambling for the European places - expect Valencia to be there again, but can Villarrea...

The curtain falls on the 2017-18 LaLiga season, and also on some big names at their current clubs - Andrés Iniesta at Barcelona, Fernando Torres at Atlético Madrid and Xabi Prieto at Real Sociedad. We focus on those farewells and take a broader look at how various clubs have fared this campaign after Matchday 38, plus there's a sneaky snippet of our exclusive interview with Alavés and Sweden strik...

After getting through El Clásico the weekend before, Barcelona fell at the penultimate hurdle in their quest for LaLiga invincibility this season - it was a thrilling game at Levante's Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, where the home side just about held on to win 5-4 after surviving a second-half comeback from Barça, who finally lose their unbeaten league record.  It had been 36 games this campaign, an...

El Clásico was another enthralling affair and we take a look back at it in depth and detail as 10-man Barcelona drew 2-2 with Real Madrid to keep alive their hopes of completing an unbeaten LaLiga season.  Plenty to discuss here, including the refereeing decisions of Alejandro Hernández Hernández - cards and fouls given and not given... Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid conceded and lost at home to Espan...

In this extended edition of the La Liga Lowdown minipod, Diego Lorijn steps into the hosting hotseat...as it's a Barcelona Special! Our resident cule is joined by fellow LLL-ers Alex Jonson and Euan McTear, as they take us through Barca clinching the title with a 4-2 victory at El Riazor, with Lionel Messi fittingly scoring a hat-trick. It means that Ernesto Valverde's side have won the league wit...

"Don Andrés Iniesta" - that was one of your "3-Word Verdicts" in honour of the Barcelona captain after he scored in the Copa del Rey final to lift the trophy at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday night. We discuss the start of his farewell from Spanish football, but also what the 5-0 defeat means for Sevilla head coach Vincenzo Montella. In LaLiga, we wave goodbye to Las Palmas whose relegation w...

What a weekend it was in LaLiga on Matchday 32, and congratulations to FC Barcelona who set a new record of 39 matches unbeaten in Spain's top division - some achievement from Ernesto Valverde's side. That's after a 2-1 victory over Valencia - Diego casts his expert eye over both teams' performances, while the Madrid sides also won. There were some entertaining games as the fight for Europa League...

Two pivotal results could have settled two outstanding issues in LaLiga - at opposite ends of the LaLiga table.  Barcelona are now totally champions in waiting after nearest challengers Atlético Madrid drew a pulsating derby 1-1 away to Real Madrid, who could and should have won.  Barça's 3-1 victory over Leganés means they edge yet closer to an invincible league season, but could they slip up som...

Breathless. Pulsating. Frenetic. Dramatic. Unbelievable. Although could could believe it - Barcelona scoring twice in the last 3 minutes to get a point at Sevilla, Lionel Messi with the equaliser. That was the headline game on Matchday 30 in LaLiga, as Barça kept their unbeaten run alive, while the 3 teams immediately below them all won and kept a clean sheet too. But it'll take many more slip-ups...

LLL goes on the road as David visits Diego in Barcelona to discuss the Spain national team’s performance in Düsseldorf, as they drew 1-1 with world champions Germany.  This is a feature-length episode of just over half an hour, and among the main talking points are: Iniesta:  his passing, his career, his future, his winery! Isco shines, and the midfield make-up overall is Rodrigo now Spain’s first...

The action's been relentless as we head into the international break, with some pivotal results at the top and bottom of the LaLiga table. Real Madrid 6-3 Girona was the crazy game of Matchday 29, and now the champions have Atlético in their sights as they dropped 3 points away to Villarreal, and Barcelona have one hand on the trophy after beating Athletic Bilbao to go all of ELEVEN points clear a...

On this edition of the minipod, we hear from Barcelona fans preparing themselves for their Champions League showdown with Chelsea on Wednesday, plus Atlético Madrid win big again, but they need Barça to slip up to have any chance in the title race.  Instead, their supporters tell us their priority this season - is it LaLiga or Europa League? Paco Polit runs the rule over Sevilla v Valencia, and gi...

8 points.  That's now Barcelona's lead in LaLiga after beating Atlético Madrid 1-0 - so has Lionel Messi called time in the title race?  He scored his 600th goal during the game, yet another milestone... Real Madrid and Valencia continue to give chase with decent wins, and props to Girona for getting giddy and hitting the heights of 7th place! Towards the bottom, we check in on Levante with Paco L...

Hello everyone, We're just launching La Liga Lowdown, a new content hub on Spanish football in English, so we'd thought we'd give you a little taste of what we're all about. This is just a trailer episode to get us going, but we'll have our first full minipod on Monday 5th March, on a weekly basis. In the meantime, check out our Twitter (@LaLigaLowdown) and we'll also be kicking off our YouTube co...