La Liga Lowdown

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 striker John Guidetti which you can see on our YouTube channel on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Diego looks at Barcelona and why some fans have doubted Ernesto Valverde despite Barça doing the domestic double. Euan assesses Atlético Madrid's campaign in which they finished 2nd in LaLiga and also won the Europa League, while rivals Real Madrid let a 2-goal lead slip at Villarreal and had to settle for 3rd...and Zinedine Zidane's team selection was interesting ahead of their Champions League final against Liverpool next Saturday - could Gareth Bale start in Kiev after 4 goals in his last 3 games? Paco focuses on all 3

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, and in fact 43 in total. Real Madrid intensified their preparations for the Champions League final by putting 6 goals past Celta Vigo...but a double from Gareth Bale and a superb strike from Isco has caused a headache for Zinedine Zidane who will soon have to decide on his starting XI versus Liverpool. Elsewhere, a pulsating Gran Derbi finished honours even, as Sevilla went behind, then in front and Betis finally equalised in a 2-2 draw - Joaquín Caparrós' side clinch a place in the Europa League qualifiers with a game to spare, as Getafe lost at home to Atlético Madrid. There was also Xabi Prieto's victorious farewe

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 Espanyol but then they did field a severely weakened side as they turn their full attentions to the Europa League final next Wednesday, while Valencia were also defeated at Villarreal, but they can at least celebrate a return to the Champions League - having been away from Europe for 2 years. The race for 7th place is still going strong with all of Sevilla (under a new boss), Getafe and even Eibar winning - and you can't discount Girona just yet.  And speaking of Betis, we've also got a snippet of our extensive, EXCLUSIVE interview with defender Jordi Amat which we'll be releasing in 2 parts on our YouTube channel later

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 with three games to spare, and add that title to their Copa del Rey success in a domestic double - we discuss how they did it, what the key factors were in a season which had started with the departure of Neymar and a real humbling at the hands of Real Madrid in the Supercopa. Before the game, Andres Iniesta confirmed he is leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, so Diego, Alex and Euan thrash out whether it's the right decision, and what legacy "El Don" leaves. The 4-2 victory relegated Deportivo La Coruna, who will therefore be playing in Segunda Division next season along with Las Palmas and Malaga...and the r

"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 was confirmed in disastrous fashion - losing 4-0 at home to Alavés. Deportivo are almost down too after only drawing at Leganés. While Atlético Madrid looked like they were saving themselves for Arsenal in a goalless draw with Real Betis, the real momentum in the race for the Europa League lies with Getafe, who are now 8th after three straight wins, and it'll be a proper bunfight from here on in. Espanyol won their first game under interim head coach David Gallego who has replaced Quique Sánchez Flores, so we tell you about the new man and round up the rest of the talking points from Matchday 34. Why not check out

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 football next season goes on - Real Betis' winning streak continues, while Sevilla and Villarreal shared the points (and the red cards) in a crazy game at the Sánchez Pizjuán.  A brilliant goal there from Steven N'Zonzi, likewise from Damián Suárez for Getafe - real golazos, both. At the bottom, there is life in the relegation battle as Deportivo La Coruña won again while Levante lost - Málaga's position is so dire that they could get relegated on Thursday.  We'll also have your 3-Word Verdicts on the weekend just gone - there are some crackers in there. Find us, follow us and chat with us on Twitter:  twitter.co

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 somewhere? Diego looks at that, Euan gives both Madrid teams his report card, while they're split by Valencia who made it 25 points out of 27 with another win - Paco is delving deep into their head coach Marcelino. The other significant outcome came at Valencia's neighbours, Levante, who beat Las Palmas 2-1 to go eight points clear of the relegation zone and almost certainly consign the Canary Islanders and Málaga to life in the Segunda División next season, while Deportivo finally won a game! There's also the latest on the fight for Europa League football, with Real Betis looking very attractive indeed and Celta Vigo

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 for Ernesto Valverde's men to give up the title they have in their grasp… Málaga won for the first time in 15 games and 112 days as they defeated a poor Villarreal at La Rosaleda, while Girona surrendered a lead but picked up a point, as they kept pushing for Europa League. We hear from Girona's head coach Pablo Machín in a snippet of our exclusive interview, which you can watch on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdown Find us, follow us and chat to us on Twitter: twitter.com/LaLigaLowdown Check out our new website: www.laligalowdown.com Enjoy! #LLL  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and

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-choice “striker”? having two world-class keepers on show what is it like having two teams to support at a major tournament?!  David and Diego share their stories... We feature YOUR comments throughout as well, so thank you for sending those through to us on Twitter:  twitter.com/LaLigaLowdown Subscribe to our YouTube channel here:  youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdown And our website is now LIVE:  laligalowdown.com Enjoy! #LLL  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 at the top. Crucial games at the bottom too, with Deportivo and Las Palmas still in the relegation zone after they drew at Riazor, but Levante won again under new boss Paco Lopez - La Liga Lowdown was at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia to hear from some ecstatic fans, PLUS there's a couple of snippets from our chat with Levante full-back Shaq Moore. If that wasn'tenough, we assess the Champions League and Europa League quarter-final draws and we've got your 3-word verdicts! If you like this minipod, rate us 5 stars and subscribe now, plus... Find us, follow us and chat to us on Twitter:  twitter.com/LaLigaLowdown

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 gives both teams marks out of 10, as Los Che close in on a return to Europe's top table for next season.  And not too far away from them, Levante FINALLY get a win at the 16th time of asking, to pull away from the relegation zone. Villarreal bounce back to win and go 6th, while Girona keep up the habit and they're amazingly they're just 2 points off 5th themselves. Also, Diego Lorijn and Euan McTear make their minipod debuts, while there are some cracking 3-word verdicts on Matchday 28 in LaLiga! Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdown Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/LaLigaLowdown And subsc

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 López now replacing Juan Muñiz for the rest of the season, plus we have part 2 of our exclusive interview with Luis García, where he tells us about the early Barcelona years, working with Rafa Benitez, his return to Atlético and also the highlight of his career with the Spain national team. Don't forget there's your 3-word verdicts on Matchday 27 in LaLiga! Subscribe to our YouTube channel:  youtube.com/c/LaLigaLowdown Follow us on Twitter:  twitter.com/LaLigaLowdown  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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 content over the next few days.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.