La Liga Lowdown

As the 2019/20 Europa League group stages get under way with Espanyol participating, we look back on the Catalan club's previous European adventure. Back in 2006/07, they went all the way to the final at Hampden Park in Glasgow, where they lost to Sevilla on penalties. In this La Liga Lowdown episode, we discuss their qualification for that year's tournament, their route to the final, their coach...

Club football has returned and it has done so with plenty of drama. All of that is discussed in this LaLiga matchday four recap. 16-year-old Ansu Fati had a breakout performance for Barcelona, one that Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) reflects on. Valencia had their first match since the shock sacking of Marcelino and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) tries to work out what's going on. Real Sociedad ch...

Valencia have never won the Champions League, but they have been to the final twice. Two years in a row, in fact. They reached the finals in 2000 and 2001, losing to Real Madrid and to Bayern Munich, and this Thursday's La Liga Lowdown podcast looks back on those two memorable European campaigns. Joachim Björklund, a centre-back in those Valencia squads, talks about his experiences. Paco Polit (@p...

It's the September international break! Just three weeks into the new LaLiga season, there is a pause for the national teams. But fear not! This Monday's podcast features LaLiga-focused and Segunda-focused questions from listeners, plus a discussion of Spain's wins over Romania and the Faroe Islands. Host Euan McTear (@emctear) is joined by Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG), Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee)...

Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, better known as Monchi, is the most famous sporting director in the world. Sevilla benefited from his expertise for 17 years, between 2000 and 2017. Before that, he was a backup goalkeeper for the club. After that, he spent a couple of years running the sporting department at AS Roma. Now he is back at Sevilla. He's back home. In this podcast, hosted by Euan McTear (@emcte...

The first international break of the season is here and Atlético Madrid are the only team in LaLiga still with a 100 percent record. Barcelona and Real Madrid slipped up again, so we indulge in some title talk in this matchday three recap. We also look back at and study the Basque derby and have an in-depth discussion about Real Valladolid and how their season is shaping up. Euan McTear (@emctear)...

Takefusa Kubo is one of world football's rising stars, and the 18-year-old Japanese prodigy has already passed through three Spanish clubs. After spending time at Barcelona's academy and after returning to Japan, he signed with Real Madrid this summer and has been loaned out to Real Mallorca. Euan McTear (@emctear) hosts this episode and speaks to Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) about Kubo's Barça d...

The second week of the 2018/19 LaLiga Santander season is in the books and there are just two teams remaining with a 100 percent record - Sevilla and Atlético Madrid. We discuss that and much more, speaking to multiple experts. We hear from Heath Chesters (@HeathGCF) in Granada, Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) in Valencia, Joseph Sexton (@josephsbcn) in Vigo, Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) in Barcelona,...

Athletic Club striker Aritz Aduriz is a LaLiga legend. We all know this. But how did his story start? What bumps were there along the way? That and more is all discussed in this podcast looking at the Aritz Aduriz story. We speak to Phil Ball to explain how Aduriz, who grew up in San Sebastian, ended up playing for his hometown's biggest rivals. Alex Fitzpatrick talks about the Aduriz Real Mallorc...

LaLiga is back and it came back with a bang! From Aritz Aduriz's stunning winner against Barcelona in the opening match of the weekend to Joao Felix's impressive debut in Atletico Madrid's latest victory over Getafe, we've got it all covered. We start by breaking down Barcelona's problems and wondering what Ernesto Valverde has to do now. We also take an in-depth look at the newly promoted sides R...

Listen up! It's our second season-preview podcast, and this time we're focusing on all the other stories aside the Big Three in LaLiga. Host Euan McTear is once again joined by Paco Polit and Román de Arquer as they discuss the race for fourth place - can Valencia do it again, or will the recent turmoil at the club spoil their campaign before it's even begun? And what about the likes of Sevilla an...

Yes, La Liga Lowdown is back! The new Spanish football season is almost upon us, so it's the perfect time to get your ears around our preview podcasts, and this is the first... In this first preview, Euan McTear in Madrid chats with Paco Polit in Valencia and Román de Arquer in Barcelona as we look back at a summer of big spending by the Big Three, and look ahead to the new campaign. We ask some k...

We've gone double-length for this podcast, as it's the final one of the season and we wanted to give you, the fans, TOP value. Of course this pod focuses on the Copa del Rey final where Valencia shocked Barcelona to win 2-1 at the Estadio Benito Villamarín to lift their first trophy in 11 years, while also denying Barça a domestic double - the culés have to settle for one piece of silverware....

And so, LaLiga is done and dusted for another season...an up-and-down season finished with yet more twists and turns on the 38th and final matchday - with Valencia and Getafe in the race for Champions League qualification, and Athletic were the width of the crossbar away from the Europa League, but in the end, that accolade went to Espanyol as they snatched 7th place in the table. Relegation was a...

Football is often all about how you get up, not how you fell down in the first place. Barcelona and Valencia both responded to European exits last week by winning on Sunday, as all 10 matches in LaLiga were played at exactly the same time. Maybe it'll catch on, who knows? It made for a dramatic penultimate round of games, and a twist in the race for the Champions League. Getafe went...

Finally, we've had 2 teams confirmed as relegated from LaLiga...Rayo Vallecano and Huesca gave it a good crack, but were put out of their misery after suffering big defeats on Matchday 36 - Rayo going down 4-1 at Levante, Huesca were smashed 6-2 at home by Valencia. Both of these are teams who came up from Segunda last season, so they return straight away - in truth, neither of them really lo...

Well, we knew it was coming, and in the end, Barcelona have done it with 3 games to spare. They are once again champions of Spain, retaining their title, making it 8 out of the last 11 that they've won and their 26th crown overall. Lionel Messi, who else, scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over Levante, meaning that Barça could celebrate their triumph in front of their own fans. ...

Another weekend of significant results, but the most significant is that Barcelona can win LaLiga again in this next week after their 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad. 2 defenders scored for them, while it was Karim Benzema whose hat-trick gave Real Madrid their most convincing performance of late, beating Athletic Club 3-0. Standby for some stunning stats about the Frenchman... It was 4th...

With the title race pretty much done in LaLiga, we had to major on the 4 derbies this week, especially the ones in Seville and Valencia, and in particular the 5-goal thriller at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán where Sevilla beat Real Betis 3-2. These 2 go at it hammer and tongs right from the first whistle, and even before then, the Sevilla anthem sends shivers down your spine. Just ch...

Oi, Diego Costa - the LaLiga title race is officially over, thanks to you. After you got sent off, Atlético Madrid held out at the Camp Nou until 85 minutes...and then lost. Just imagine what they might have done if you hadn't lost your rag... So yes, Barcelona are now 11 points clear after that 2-0 win over Atleti in the biggest fixture of Matchday 31, and that should really be that.&nb...

At half-time of Celta Vigo's home game with Villarreal, it looked like the hosts were totally dead and buried...but for the irresistible force which is Iago Aspas, especially at Balaídos. 45 minutes later, Celta had fought back from 0-2 to win 3-2 and give their LaLiga survival hopes a real shot in the arm. The image of the night was Iago Aspas weeping on the bench, overcome by the emoti...

The Euro 2020 qualifiers are underway, and Spain are 2 from 2...so how are they shaping up after the excitement of the Nations League? In this special international podcast, Euan McTear hosts with Paco Polit and Román de Arquer as his guests, as we recap the 2-1 win over Norway and the 2-0 victory in Malta. If those scorelines sound underwhelming...it's because they were. So why did...

You might as well just give Barcelona the title now. With 10 games to go they're 10 points clear, after another Lionel Messi-inspired display at Real Betis. That 4-1 win, coupled with Atlético Madrid's 2-0 defeat at Athletic Club means that the title race is effectively over, barring a total implosion from the champions. Real Madrid have got Zinedine Zidane back in the dugout, so we chat...

It's a momentous time for Valencia - it's their 100th birthday this month, and the momentum is building in their season as well. Los Che are through to the Copa del Rey final, they've qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa League and they're on an unbeaten run in LaLiga which is edging them up towards that 4th place which they covet to return to the Champions League next season. In th...

The more things change, the more things stay the same...in some ways, it was a weird weekend. Madrid won, for one - that hadn't happened for 2 weeks. And Atleti played musical chairs with left-backs. And Barcelona went behind to the 2nd-bottom side...but guess what? Yes, they won. Again. LaLiga is theirs... The big results came just below that top 3. Getafe were...