Landslides on & off the pitch in Barcelona while Arda hits it further: LaLiga Matchday 28 recap

A pulsating weekend with goals galore! Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to recap Matchday 29 in LaLiga.We begin in the capital for the Madrid derby. The visitors were looking to do the double over their rivals and took the lead, but Fede Valverde and Vini Jr turned things around to keep the title race alive. Elsewhere, Barcelona were made to work extremely hard to maintain their 100% home record against Rayo, with Joan García again showing why Luis de le Fuente could no longer ignore his stellar form.Villarreal cemented their place in the top four with a comfortable win over Real Sociedad, while Athletic returned to winning ways in their first match since Ernesto Valverde announced he will leave at the end of the season. Betis are five without a win in LaLiga, and the coveted potential fifth Champions League spot is very much up for grabs.In Part Two we delve into the relegation scrap, which is returning to be a dogfight as the weeks go by. Alavés could have folded and capitulated when Celta went 3-0 up on Sunday afternoon, but instead they fought back and produced a magnificent comeback, something not seen in LaLiga since 2005. Four goals and three priceless points.Earlier in the weekend, there were two enormous six-pointers at the bottom. Firstly, Elche ended their accursed winless run with a come-from-behind win over Mallorca, helped by Vedat Muriqi missing the target from the penalty spot in stoppage time. Then, Levante put four past a spirited Oviedo to give themselves more than half a chance of survival. The real losers of the weekend were Sevilla, who were defeated at home again, and look set to sack Matiás Almeyda this week. It can hardly be a surprise for a side who have only won twice since mid-December, but the revolving door to the gaffer’s office is not the biggest problem in the intense heat of Seville.We are back in midweek with the international break bonus podcast. Like, follow, and subscribe at lllonline.substack.com for all our content as the season heads into the business end. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Another LaLiga matchday means another LaLigaLowdown pod, this time with Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) recapping this weekend’s round of games.Part one covers Real Madrid’s win at Mestalla, with Arbeloa’s men not fully convincing but still putting pressure on the league leaders... Barça, who managed to win against Mallorca. Once again, the Blaugrana had a shaky start and left it all for the second half. While Betis managed to shock Atlético de Madrid at the Metropolitano, getting their revenge a few days after the 0-5 thrashing in Copa.Part two takes us to Anoeta, where Real Sociedad’s fine form and Elche’s decline continue. Athletic ended their dry spell against Levante after an early sending off tipped the balance in favour of the home team. The same goes for Getafe, with Bordalás breathing a bit easier after a long-awaited victory. The pod also covers Osasuna’s win, Sevilla’s late draw and the controversial postponement of Rayo Vallecano vs Real Oviedo.We thank you for listening to our pod, and remind you that you can access our bonus podcast and weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kick off your Monday in the best way: with our Matchday 22 LaLiga review hosted by Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and with the expertise of Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee).In Part One we review the Basque derby, which did not disappoint, with both teams giving their all on the pitch and putting on a fantastic display. Equally, or even more entertaining, was Elche vs Barça, with the visiting team breaking a new LaLiga xG record with 6.30. We also touch upon Real Madrid's, late, late, late penalty win and Atleti's dull performance vs Levante.In Part Two we give Real Oviedo's win the credit it deserves, look into Espanyol's worrying form, analyse Villarreal's poor run, and review all the other matches of the weekend, including some intriguing post-match comments from José Bordalás...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.

LaLiga MD21 did not disappoint with plenty of goals: wonder goals, late goals, controversial goals... Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) got together to tell you all about it!Part one will take you to the Valencian community to review Levante's late, late winner that keeps their hopes alive, Valencia's (also late) winner to stay afloat above the relegation zone and Villarreal's defeat to a Real Madrid that seems to be improving under Arbeloa.Barça's slightly unconvincing win against Oviedo ends part one, before heading into part two to analyse Real Sociedad's epic win under the rain over an in-form Celta de Vigo, Osasuna's first away victory at Rayo's crumbling stadium, Atlético's very comfortable win against Mallorca, and much more!We thank you for listening to our pod, and remind you that you can access our bonus podcast and weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matchday 20 proved why we love LaLiga: drama, surprises and competitiveness. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) review a terrific weekend. A tumultuous week for Real Madrid ended positively. After the Bernabéu crowd made their discontented feelings vociferously known on Saturday lunchtime, Los Blancos laboured to a rather uncomfortable 2-0 win over lowly Levante for Álvaro Arbeloa’s first win in charge. After fielding questions about “Florentino dimisión” chants, the boss angered fans further by staunchly defending his President, claiming those who want Pérez to resign aren’t genuine Madridistas. This victory put pressure on Barcelona, who lined up without Raphinha and lost their winning run. La Real continued their incredible – albeit fortuitous – start under Pellegrino Matarazzo after beating Barça 2-1 through a combination of goalkeeping excellence, luck and tight VAR calls. Just 60 seconds after Marcus Rashford had equalised, Gonçalo Guedes restored their lead. Despite accumulating over 3.5 xG and 25 shots (including five to the woodwork), there was no way past Álex Remiro, who reminded everyone why he is a worthy member of Luis de la Fuente’s triumvirate. The gap at the top is now just a solitary point. ¡¡¡Hay Liga!!!Real Betis beat Villarreal to take a big step towards European football next season, but we ask why there is still some dissatisfaction among the fanbase. On Friday night, Girona continued their incredible resurgence by beating Espanyol in a Catalan derby, courtesy of two Vanat penalties. Los Pericos have had a rough start to the year, but are still well placed.Onto Part Two, we focus on the compactness of the table from 8th down to 18th. Real Sociedad are ten places above Alavés, but only five points clear of their fellow Basques.Mallorca took a huge step forward by winning a thriller against Athletic Club. Jagoba Arrasate will be thanking his giant Kosovan Vedat Muriqi who scored a hat-trick to tame Los Leones. Only Kylian Mbappé has scored more this season, and Muriqi is priceless for the island side. Three goals and three precious points. We reflect on that as well as Athletic’s malaise. With a crucial set of fixtures ahead, is this Ernesto Valverde’s last season in charge? Osasuna won by the same scoreline but in even more dramatic fashion. Trailing twice to Real Oviedo, it seemed like the Asturian side might finally get their win. But alas, Ante Budimir equalised twice and then Víctor Muñoz broke hearts with a 92nd-minute winner. Even when they score twice, they can’t even draw, let alone win.Rayo are another club looking over their shoulder after they were well beaten by Euro-chasing Celta. They won their third in a row to cement 7th spot and put pressure on those above them.Valencia stunned the Coliseum with a late, well-constructed winner with their only shot on target of the game. Getafe are in freefall now, with just one point since the end of November. Alavés made it hard for Atleti, but ultimately came away from the capital with nothing, and they slipped into the drop zone. But, given the tightness of the table, things can change extremely quickly. A relegation battle for the ages is in prospect.You can keep up to date with all our content at lllonline.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.