La Liga Lowdown

So, reasons for fans of both of Spain's Big 2 to be happy - Real Madrid got the job done in Abu Dhabi as they won a 3rd straight Club World Cup and Barcelona finish the year top of LaLiga and 3 points clear, while one of their rivals stumbled. We look at both in depth and in detail.Atlético were 1-nil winners over Espanyol thanks to Antoine Griezmann again, but could there be trouble ahead in the January transfer window - anyone for Lucas Hernandez or Jan Oblak?Sevilla could only draw at Leganés, Valencia needed a stoppage-time goal to beat bottom side Huesca, while Rayo got a big win to take them towards safety. But the established Basque teams didn't have the best results - Athletic Club conceded a late equaliser at home to Real Valladolid, and Real Sociedad were beaten at home by Alavés who sit 5th at Christmas.There's also your 3-word verdicts on Matchday 17, thanks for sending those to us!Here's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLi

Go on then, YOU describe Lionel Messi. 3 goals + 2 assists = 1 masterful display as Barcelona got sweet revenge at Levante, winning 5-0 at the ground where they lost last season as they surrendered an unbeaten league campaign in the penultimate game. It means they stay top, but Sevilla were superb and Atletico survived a scare at Valladolid to keep pace with Barca. Now Real Madrid also won, but it's rarely that simple at the Bernabéu - the stadium was barely half-full as they beat lowly Rayo Vallecano 1-0 and we also look at how vital it is for them to pick up silverware in Abu Dhabi as they play in the Club World Cup for the 3rd season in a row.At the bottom, a mad game finished Huesca 2-2 Villarreal, while Leganés picked up a vital point in their survival fight away to Celta Vigo, but Valencia and Athletic both drew...again. *sigh*We also get into the draws for Spanish teams involved in the the last 16 of the Champions League and the round of 32 in the Europa League, with plenty of intri

How often have we said that superlatives don't do Lionel Messi justice? Well, we're saying it yet again after the little Argentine started and finished the Catalan derby with 2 sensational free-kicks, Barcelona beating Espanyol 4-0 away. We're giving our marks out of 10 to both sides.Atlético and Real Madrid both win but neither of them had it easy, while Sevilla almost won at Mestalla in LaLiga for the first time in nearly 7 years, but were denied by a late equaliser. Still, things aren't great at Valencia, and they're even worse at Villarreal who sacked their coach Javi Calleja after yet another defeat, and immediately replaced him with Luis García Plaza. Elsewhere, we saw an 8-goal thriller between Eibar and Levante, while Athletic Club finally got 3 points under the man who's taken over from Toto Berizzo, B-team coach Gaizka Garitano.Here's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/L

A win, a first clean sheet in 12 LaLiga games, they're back top of the table...but Barcelona fans still aren't happy. The style of play under Ernesto Valverde is coming under intense scrutiny, despite all the injuries they've got, but nevertheless they've reclaimed top spot, and the chasing pack slipped up. Sevilla in 2nd and Alavés in 4th drew at Mendizorrotza, while 3rd-placed Atlético Madrid were held yet again by Girona - but now Real Madrid are up to 5th and not too far off the lead after beating Valencia...Santi Solari is putting faith in the youth players, and Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric was also back on form. There were big victories for Getafe and Levante to keep them in the European mix, and at the bottom, Leganés got a vital victory at Valladolid but Athletic Club and Villarreal can't improve their positions after defeats...Athletic in particular are in trouble after a 3-0 loss at Levante and a red card for Peru Nolaskoain.Here's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twi

Every week, you think you've got LaLiga figured out and then something else happens to completely ruin your logic. This time it was Real Madrid losing 3-0 at Eibar, having seemingly found their feet under new head coach Santi Solari in recent weeks. Meanwhile Barcelona couldn't win either - in fact, they needed a very late equaliser from Ousmane Dembélé to get a point at Atlético. All of that meant Sevilla are now top after beating Real Valladolid 1-0. But elsewhere there were other surprises...Espanyol lost to Girona, having been previously 100% at home, and Alavés also went down at Leganés, and while Valencia and Villarreal got vital home wins, Athletic can't hold on to a lead for love nor money - they drop into the bottom 3. There's plenty of VAR chatter as well, as Huesca and Getafe cry foul this time around.Here's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdownWebsite -

We have a bumper edition of the minipod this week...so maybe it's a maxipod? Or a gigapod?! David Garrido, Paco Polit and Román de Arquer are involved in this one and first up, we cover Spain who lost to Croatia to stop them reaching the Final Four in the UEFA Nations League, but then beat Bosnia in a friendly to round off 2018 - we dissect those matches and discuss how it's gone far under Luis Enrique and what the prospects are now for La Roja going forward.Then in part 2 it's on Spain's under-21s - as we pick out some talents to look out for in future, including some not even playing in LaLiga at the moment! We also chat a bit of women's football with their Clásico between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid over the last weekend, plus we look ahead to Matchday 13 in LaLiga, featuring in particular Atleti v Barça at the Wanda.Here's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdownWebsi

LaLiga continues to throw up surprise after surprise, and this week it came primarily with Barcelona losing a 7-goal thriller against Real Betis at the Camp Nou - it's their first home defeat in the league since September 2016. We discuss how and why it's happened, with the chasing pack reducing the gap to just 1 point as all of Atlético Madrid, Sevilla & Alavés came from behind to win.The other big stories came at Balaídos in Galicia, where Real Madrid won 4-2 against Celta Vigo, making sure that Santi Solari stayed in charge for the foreseeable future, but it also led to Celta deciding to ditch Antonio Mohamed and bringing in Miguel Cardoso - we'll tell you more about the new man.Elsewhere, Valencia got a vital victory to move up the table, but Athletic Club and Villarreal continue to struggle - so how long will their coaches last?Here's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdown

Matchday 11 in LaLiga was about late goals...we had 10 of them in the 80th minute or later spread across the games...and Barcelona needed to score 2 in the last 5 minutes to snatch the win at Rayo Vallecano - Luis Suárez continuing his scoring streak to rescue Barça in the absence of Lionel Messi. Real Madrid also scored twice late on to beat Real Valladolid.It wasn't a great weekend for the chasing pack - Atlético Madrid and Sevilla held away from home, Alavés lost at Eibar, but Espanyol go back into 2nd place after defeating Athletic Club. As for the big-name strugglers, Valencia were booed off the pitch with the white hankies out at Mestalla after their 0-1 loss to Girona, and Villarreal only just scraped a draw against Levante.We've also got your 3-word verdicts on the weekend, and we hear from a few fans too.Here's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdownWebsite - http

There might have been no Messi and no Ronaldo, but Clásicos NEVER lack drama and Sunday's match at the Camp Nou was no different. Barcelona's 5-1 victory at home to Real Madrid sent them back to the top of the table, and in the process ended Julen Lopetegui's reign as Madrid head coach. We discuss the big talking points in the game, why it's gone wrong for Los Blancos under the ex-Spain boss, and who Madrid should get in long-term to replace Lopetegui.We also take you through the rest of Matchday 10 in LaLiga, featuring: - Alavés score an injury-time winner to go 2nd in the table- Sevilla and Atlético Madrid dominate at home, they sit 3rd and 4th - but Villarreal, Valencia and Athletic Club continue to struggleHere's where you can catch our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdownWebsite - https://www.laligalowdown.comEnjoy!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You could almost hear a pin drop as Lionel Messi was down receiving treatment after falling awkwardly on his arm...and despite already inspiring Barcelona towards victory at home to Sevilla on LaLiga Matchday 9, he will now be out for 3 weeks, meaning he'll miss El Clásico next Sunday.In this minipod, we discuss that with one of our squad members based in Barcelona, plus how Barça cope without Messi...while Real Madrid continue to stagger and stumble with a home defeat to Levante, heaping the pressure on Julen Lopetegui. Atlético Madrid didn't take advantage as they failed to beat Villarreal, so instead, it's a top 3 of Barcelona, Espanyol and the remarkable Alavés.Real Valladolid are another little team doing brilliantly - their win at Real Betis taking them up to 6th above Real Madrid, but it's not so fun for Valencia as they drew again at home to Leganés. La Liga is proving even more competitive than usual in a truly compelling season so far.Here's where you can catch our content on our other pla

It's another international special on the La Liga Lowdown minipod, as we recap Spain's 2 matches over the international break - a shock 3-2 loss to England in Seville in the UEFA Nations League as they suffered their first competitive home defeat in 15 years and 39 games, which came off the back of a 4-1 victory over Wales in a friendly in Cardiff last Thursday.David Garrido takes you through the big talking points from both games, with the help of Román de Arquer in Barcelona and Euan McTear in Madrid, plus they also tell us who's coming up through the ranks as the youth teams both won in under-21s and under-19s Euro qualifying.We'll preview the fortnight in prospect at Barcelona who have 3 tough home fixtures coming up, and tell you about the first managerial change in LaLiga, at newboys and first-timers Huesca.We'll also quickly look-ahead to Matchday 9 of LaLliga which gets underway on Friday.Here's how you can check out the rest of our content on our other platforms:Twitter - https://www.twitter.com

You'd never believe it, but Barcelona and Real Madrid aren't having it their own way in LaLiga - not by a long shot. For starters, they've both failed to win for a 3rd matchday in a row, and Sevilla are the team who've taken advantage to go top of the table, with Atlético Madrid well in the mix 1 point behind.In this La Liga Lowdown matchday 8 minipod, we discuss how and why Madrid went down 1-0 at Alavés and what is going wrong there, while Barcelona could only draw at Valencia which means they are, unbelievably, winless in 4 in Spain's top division. Also coming up are Espanyol, who are perfect at home - they and Alavés are the early surprise packages as we head into another break.Elsewhere, Real Valladolid have put a winning streak together, Leganés get a vital win to help them off the bottom, but Huesca, Villarreal and Athletic Club are among the teams struggling.We hear from Atlético, Valencia and Espanyol fans, plus there's your 3-word verdicts too!Here's how you can check out the rest of our

Look at that LaLiga table. 6 points covering the top half after 7 games, which just goes to show that The Big 3 don't always have things their own way. In fact, none of them won in this latest round of fixtures, with leaders Barcelona held at home by Athletic Club which means they've taken only 2 out of the last 9 points on offer. What's going on there? Real Madrid and Atlético drew an entertaining derby at the Bernabéu, with Thibaut Courtois and Jan Oblak excelling. Elsewhere, Sevilla are up to 3rd after a 4th straight win in all competitions at Eibar, scoring 17 goals in the process, and Valencia got a victory at the 7th time of asking - at Real Sociedad. But at the bottom, it's tough for Leganés who conceded late to lose at Real Betis, whereas Rayo Vallecano and Huesca both had to come from behind to earn a vital point in their survival battle.Here's how you can check out the rest of our content on our other platforms:Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - 

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 Madrid rotated and survived as they beat Espanyol 1-0 at home, while Atleti were fortunate and won 2-0 at 10-man Getafe.In the other games, madness reigned - Alavés winning 5-1 at Rayo Vallecano, who also finished the game with 10 men, while Sevilla put 6 past Levante. Celta Vigo also let a 2-goal lead slip, twice, as Real Valladolid fought back for a draw.Here's how you can check out the rest of our content on our other platforms:Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdownWebsite - https://www.laligalowdown.comEnjoy!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy a

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 goalie Marko Dmitrovic was the man who stopped Atleti at the Wanda Metropolitano - it leaves Diego Simeone's side 7 points off the pace.Sevilla haven't won since the opening day and they lost 2-0 at home to Getafe, while Valencia continue to struggle too...still no win for them this season, held to a goalless draw at home by Real Betis. But there are other teams who are taking advantage - Espanyol, Alavés and Girona all won to move on to 7 points.We'll also take a brief lookahead at some of the European football this week as the group stages of both Champions League and Europa League get started.Here's where you

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 impressed as Spain begin their UEFA Nations League campaign.We also look ahead to the Croatia game on Tuesday, gush about the under-21 team who have qualified for next summer's Euros, as well as looking back briefly on the first 3 matchdays of the LaLiga season, whilst also previewing the exciting games coming up this weekend.Here's where you can catch the rest of our content on our other platforms...Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtubecom/c/LaLigaLowdownWebsite - https://www.laligalowdown.comAnd if you like what you hear on this podcast, feel fee to give us a 5-star rati

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 off day and lost at Celta Vigo, and the 2 big derbies in Spain ended Real Betis 1-0 Sevilla and Levante 2-2 Valencia.We recap the end of the summer transfer window, look at Luis Enrique's first Spain squad, plus we've got your 3-word verdicts, so listen out for those at the end of this minipod!Here's how you can catch the rest of our content on our other platforms:Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/LaLigaLowdownYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdownWebsite - https://www.laligalowdown.comEnjoy!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 Sociedad on Friday night, while Huesca did likewise to Athletic Club on Monday night at San Mamés. Both draws were well-deserved. But none of Valencia, Sevilla, Villarreal or Real Betis managed to score a single goal between them on Matchday 2.We also hear from two of the heroes of the weekend who we grabbed in the mixed zone after their games - Leganés' Nabil el Zhar and Pione Sisto who scored and assisted in Celta Vigo's 2-1 victory at Levante, plus we have your 3-word verdicts from the weekend as well.And here are our other platforms where you can find our content on social and digital media:Twitter -&nb

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 division away to Eibar, while André Silva scored a hat-trick against Rayo Vallecano, having joined Sevilla on loan.Elsewhere, Levante stunned Real Betis away, including a frankly ridiculous Forrest Gump-type goal from captain José Luis Morales, while Villarreal gifted Real Sociedad victory having been ahead, and Iker Muniaín netted a 93rd-minute winner for Athletic Club as they edged past Leganés.We've also got a little snippet of our exclusive interview with Betis keeper Joel Robles which you can watch in full on our YouTube channel (details below), as well as Joel's attempt at the Penalty Paddle game, and there's y

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 Villarreal and Real Betis make good on their summer signings, and what about 2 letdowns from last season, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad - will the Basques bounce back?And after the amazing work from Eibar, Leganés and Girona in past seasons, will ANOTHER first-time LaLiga team manage to stay up? Can Huesca pull off the Houdini act? And can Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid do enough to stay clear of the trap door? Who else might just struggle?We get through it all in less than half an hour - it's a power-packed pod! Here are our other platforms where you can find the best of Spanish football content on so