La Liga Lowdown

Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) to review a significant weekend with a few surprise results. The weekend culminated with a heavyweight clash at Montjuïc as Barça took on Atleti knowing they could be effectively out of the title race had they lost. João Félix – on loan from Atleti – proved to be the match-winner, and how he enjoyed that. Iñaki Peña was also vital with...

Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) as they review Matchday 14, game by game. They look into the Marcelino - Morales connection that has brought Villarreal back to life, Umar Sadiq's glorious goal that saw Real Sociedad overpower Sevilla, Rodrygo recovering his best version, Rayo becoming Xavi's worst nightmare and Paco López's untimely departure, among all the other...

Spain finish their European qualifying group top, with seven wins from eight, but there was nobody celebrating by the end of it. Join hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) as they reflect on a sombre night for La Roja. Luis de la Fuente called it the most bitter victory he's ever experienced after Spain defeated Georgia 3-1, the only thing anyone was talking about was...

The culmination of Matchday 13 means we are a third of the way through the season, and there are plenty of things to make pre-season predictions look rather silly. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) review a goal-filled weekend which saw every team score, contributing to 3.66 goals per game, four comebacks from the top five, and familiar heroes coming to the rescue. The Sevi...

Girona es líder and other phrases you might need if you're learning some Spanish football vocabulary. LaLiga delivered in a big way this weekend with all of the big three put through their paces, while La Liga's biggest storyline rolls on. Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) as they gorge on a filling nine-course tasting menu. Part One begins at El Sadar where Míchel'...

El Clásico didn't disappoint, with a late twist as the headline acts delivered and gave us plenty to discuss and debate. Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) as they review the game in depth.  Román was in attendance so shares his matchgoing experience, as well as wondering whether Real Madrid deserved to win, or Barça in fact let it slip. We talk tactics, substit...

It's hard to ask La Liga for much more this season. Despite one or two sour notes, La Liga is full of juice. Join hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Paco Polit (pacopolitENG) as they react and assess the weekend's action, as La Liga continues it's entertaining start. Part one begins with the Sergio Ramos derby. Ramos had Real Madrid pulling faces, as Carlo Ancelotti turns to irony. Diego Alon...

Guten Tag! Spain have qualified for Euro 2024 following back-to-back wins in this October window. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) discuss the two close encounters, beginning with Thursday night's win over Scotland in Seville. Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) - our Scot living in Spain - was at La Cartuja to witness the match, and shares his thoughts on the match and Luis de...

Some things in life are bad. But not LaLiga.  Matchday 9 brought us a colossal amount of goals, drama and narratives. We've had records broken, comebacks, a new coach, a sacking and more. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) break it all down in this bumper pod before the international break kicks in again. We start with Zaragoza in Granada, not to confuse the geographers...

Matchday 8 is in the books as we career through another round, full of goals, major clashes and one star giving us a preview of his night out. Join hosts Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) as they round up the action and the major talking points. Part One begins in Catalonia - Girona naturally. Real Madrid returned to the top of the table in ruthless fashion, stomping all...

La Liga enjoyed a goal-fest this weekend, as 35 goals flew in across 10 games. The Metropolitano saw four of them, but perhaps was the happiest of the lot as they slayed an unbeaten Real Madrid in relatively comfortable fashion. Carlo Ancelotti has some thinking to do, but it's a tough puzzle to solve, while perhaps Cholo Simeone can see a route towards a title challenge. Elsewhere, Las Palmas win...

LaLiga showed that it isn't just Spain that can bang in the goals, with nearly three a game over the weekend. A series of debuts provided talking points on their own, but hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) have some fascinating results to pick through as well. Part one kicks off in Barcelona, where Román was present to see Barcelona devour a depleted Real Betis,...

In the middle of the international break, there is no LaLiga but plenty of stories to dig into. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) do just that, including Spain's historic win in Tbilisi. Before the pod begins, Matt brings you up to date with the breaking bombshell that Luis Rubiales will resign from the RFEF and as UEFA vice-president. The news came on Piers Morgan's Uncens...

When it rains it pours. LaLiga continued its exciting start with several games seeing goal-fests, while others were slightly drier affairs. Join hosts Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) as they pick through the wreckage. Part One begins with a breakdown of your weekly Jude Bellingham winner, but there's perhaps cloud on the horizon above the silver Santiago Bernabéu. Barc...

Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to review a thrilling third round in LaLiga. We begin with an update on the scandal rocking Spanish football and discuss the future of now-suspended President Luis Rubiales. Happily, there was a lot of football to enjoy, with 27 goals in eight games.  There were partidazos galore on Sunday, with young talent shining bright on a...

Join hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Paco Polit (@PacoPolitENG) for a celebratory podcast, as they look back on a momentous day for Spain, Spanish football, and women's football. Part one is exclusively dedicated to Spain ruling the world again, 13 years later. Overcoming England, La Roja dominated the game and were rewarded with the World Cup. We bring you on the ground accounts from the...

Welcome to a new season of LaLiga and the return of the La Liga Lowdown podcast. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) is joined by Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) for a review of the opening weekend which saw plenty of drama, dream debuts and dubious decisions. Plus, not a single home team won! We begin in the south of Madrid after a fiery stalemate between Getafe and defending champions Barcelona. Xavi saw red,...

Join us for the last podcast of the season to review the 2022/23 LaLiga season. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) is joined by Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) for the storylines, the good and the bad. For ten long months, with an unprecedented World Cup in the middle, it has been a unique campaign. The title changed hands for the fourth time in a row, while we had a relegatio...

LaLiga came to a sudden end as all 20 teams signed off for the summer in heart-stopping fashion. Join hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and a relieved Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) for the aftermath of a thrilling final day which saw us bid farewell to La Pucela and welcome Osasuna to Thursday night football. Part one deals with the second slate of games in the day, and the relegation battle, as si...

Sevilla have done it again!  After more than 150 minutes of brutal football in Budapest, in a game which traversed the end of May and the beginning of June, the Spanish side beat Roma on penalties to seal a record-extending seventh Europa League title. After all, nobody loves it like they do. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) review a dramatic and emotional final, brea...

We have just one matchday left in LaLiga after another thrilling round of games - nine all at the same time, with so much on the line, was nearly too much for us. Join hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) as they piece back together the penultimate round of La Liga action and all the consequences. There is nowhere else to start than the relegation battle, and with...

The relegation battle continues to be the best white-knuckle thrill in Spain, so make sure you don't miss it. Join hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Román de Arquer (@aeroslavee) as they look at some major results, and analyse more fall out from the racial abuse received by Vinícius Júnior. Real Valladolid and Espanyol kept their hopes of playing in La Liga alive with major results against t...

La Liga was back hot off the heels from a big week in Europe with a big week in the relegation battle, but one which like all of the football, fell into the background due to a very serious problem - racism. On Sunday evening Vinícius Júnior was racially abused by a Valencia fan, and some time later, ended up being sent off. It was the boiling point in a absurd and awful situation that has been bu...

Nobody loves it like they do. After a phenomenal week of European entertainment, Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) come fresh off the back of another heroic victory in Andalusia to bring you all of the reaction and analysis you need. The entirety of part one is dedicated to the simply stupendous goings on in Nervión. An electric game, a swaying Sánchez Pizjuán, and anoth...

LaLiga has its third champions in the last three years, after Barcelona sliced through rivals Espanyol to secure the title, and write a sweet chapter in the club’s history. Hosts Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) and Román de Arquer (@aeroslavee) are on hand to tell you how and why. In part one, we break down who the main culprits for the Blaugrana victory, and which were the key moments in ensuring t...