La Liga Lowdown

In this episode, we take a look back to 1992, when the Olympic Games came to Barcelona and Spain. The Spanish squad won the football tournament, the only time they've claimed gold at the Olympics.We hear from Matt Clark (@MattClark_08), who picks out the most interesting names from the squad. We hear from Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG), who explains how Spain reached the final and how they did so in Valencia. Euan McTear looks back on the final, along with some wild commentary. And we hear from Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee), who reflects on the legacy of those Olympics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start off this week's matchday recap with host Euan McTear (@emctear) discussing what he saw at the Bernabéu as Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 with Celta Vigo, complete with post-match comments from the back-from-injury Eden Hazard. The other team in the title race is Barcelona and they got the better of Getafe, winning 2-1. Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) is on hand to analyse that one.There's also a look at the relegation battle and Real Mallorca's crucial win with Alex Fitzpatrick (@Mallorcalex100), there's discussion of the Valencia vs Atlético Madrid draw with Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG), there's a chat about Athletic Club's struggles in the league with Dan Parry (@DanParry_) and there's a match report from Gregor Chappelle (@gregorchappelle) as he tells us what he saw as Sevilla drew with Espanyol.That's what we've got in this episode, complete with some audio goodness from Cadena Cope and Movistar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's midweek podcast, we take a look at the Martin Ødegaard story so far.We've got Alex Fitzpatrick (@Mallorcalex100) on his origins in Norway. We've got Sam Leveridge (@samleveridge) on his arrival at Castilla, Real Madrid's B team. We've got Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) on his loan spells in the Netherlands. We've got Dan Parry (@DanParry_) on his time so far at Real Sociedad. And we've got Matt Clark (MattClark_08) on his international career.All hosted by Euan McTear (@emctear) and with commentary clips from Sky Sports and Cadena Cope. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is the next in our series looking at every club in Spain’s top division. This time the focus is on one of the country's most successful clubs - Atlético Madrid. Euan McTear (@emctear) hosts and looks at a few of Atleti's most glorious moments, before Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) and Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) talk us through the club's history.Sam Leveridge (@samleveridge) then names three all-time Atleti legends, before Ricardo Menéndez (@rickyam) explains what the matchday experience is like at the Wanda Metropolitano and what it used to be like at the Vicente Calderón. 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.

All the Supercopa & LaLiga action delivered straight to your ears by our experts Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee).In part one, they delve into another action-packed ‘el clásico’. Barça conquered the Supercopa de España against an atypical Real Madrid, who sat back really deep, ultimately falling short and being eclipsed by Raphinha’s fantastic performance. Will Xabi Alonso continue? Only time will tell...In part two, they focus on LaLiga and the seven fixtures that took place during the weekend. Girona finally escape the relegation zone, Villarreal keep up their winning momentum with an inspired Moleiro, Oviedo and Levante keep adding points to their tally, Rayo finally win after a dry run, and more...Thank you for listening to our pod, and remember 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.

Happy New Year! LaLiga is back and so are we, with our first Matchday review of 2026. The honour is for Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee), who analyse this weekend's exciting fixtures. Who started the year strongest? Who will be wishing it's still Christmas.We start with the Catalan derby between Espanyol and Barça, which for many ended in an unfair result. Espanyol's admirable efforts were parried away by an towering Joan García, who was unfazed by the hostile environment in his return to the RCDE Stadium. Real Madrid's commanding win vs Betis follows, with Gonzalo eclipsing Mbappé's absence, and then we review Atleti's draw against Real Sociedad and Villarreal's victory toppling Elche's fortress.In Part Two, we look at the teams in the relegation battle, with a special focus on Girona climbing out at Valencia's expense, Levante grabbing a very big win at Sevilla and Oviedo deserving to win but ultimately failing to do so. It was a solid showing for the new managers in their respective first outings.All this and more in our first pod of the year! Thank you for listening, and remember you can access our bonus podcast and multiple weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matchday 17 was a weekend which started off with draws and then became a series of one-way results, some in emphatic fashion. Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) review it all.We start with the on-paper partidazo between Villarreal and Barcelona, which was unfortunately conditioned by a first half red card. The visitors won comfortably in the end to become Christmas number one, keeping Real Madrid four points back. Los Blancos had their own 2-0 victory on Saturday night against Sevilla, but left more doubts once again. The only real bright sparks were the form of Thibaut Courtois and Kylian Mbappé, who equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's club record for goals in a calendar year.Atleti won convincingly on the road to leave Girona in the danger zone, while Betis put four past Getafe to apply some pressure on Espanyol.In Part Two we discuss Elche returning to their best form and our concern for Rayo, who might be taking their eye off the ball domestically. The managerless sides played out a 1-1 draw, but Real Sociedad will really feel that it was two points dropped. Both clubs confirmed the appointments of their new coaches, so we evaluate their potential chances. Guillermo Almada has already begun life at Oviedo, but could not prevent the inevitable stalemate. We end by picking our moments of the year and wishing our listeners and subscribers at lllonline.substack.com a happy festive season. ¡¡Feliz Navidad!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) review Matchday 16 in our latest podcast!Part One kicks off with Real Madrid winning... but not convincing. Matt and Román share their views on Xabi Alonso's future, which could be far from the Bernabéu if he fails to succeed in his next two matches. They also highlight Raphinha's doblete to keep Barça up top, as well as Atleti's veterans, Koke, and particularly Antoine Griezmann, who ensured Atleti doesn't lose grip of the top three. In fact, it's Villarreal who hold that 3rd spot, but their fixture was postponed, giving way for an unstoppable Espanyol to round off the first half of the show with the praise they deserve.Part Two focuses on the manager sackings of the weekend, with Sergio Francisco and Luís Carrión having to say goodbye after further poor results from their teams. Is it the right call? Who could take over? Our podcasters help answer those questions as well as analysing Mallorca's convincing performance over Elche, Celta's first home win, and more...Thank you for listening, and remember you can access our bonus podcast and multiple weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LaLiga continues to provide entertainment and unexpected results, especially with Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid dropping points in the title run.Our very own Ben Sully (@SullyBen) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) kick off the weekend review, dissecting Madrid’s shocking defeat versus a fantastic Celta de Vigo. It’s been just under two decades since Celta last managed to snatch a win at the Bernabeu... this time raising big questions regarding Xabi Alonso and his players.Atleti also dropped points, extending their awful away form and losing grip of the title run, while Athletic Club finally secured a big win this season. A contrasting result with Barça’s visit to la Cartuja, where eight goals livened up the night despite the disappointment felt by Betis fans.In part one, they also take some time to analyse Villarreal’s contrasting form, with their best version showing in LaLiga, before moving on to part two and reviewing Elche’s first win in over two months, Espanyol’s unstoppable European form, Oviedo’s serious issues and more...We thank you for listening to our pod, and want to remind you that you can access our bonus podcast and written articles over at lllonline.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To accompany you as you open the first window in the advent calendar, we have a fresh podcast! The temperature may be getting colder, but LaLiga is hotting up, with plenty for Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román De Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to unpack from Matchday 14.We begin at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, where Betis confirmed their superiority in the city of Seville. Victory here made it back-to-back gran derbi wins for the first time in 30 years! What a watch to celebrate the renewal of Manuel Pellegrini's contract.We then turn to the title race, which could barely be much closer. Just three points separate the top four. Real Madrid dropped points for the third consecutive match – this time at Montilivi – to cede leadership of the league and hand it back to Barcelona, just a month after beating them to go five points clear. We ask why it's going wrong lately, and where they go from here (Bilbao, because they have yet another away game).Despite being top anew, Barça have problems of their own, not least Hansi Flick's demeanour on the bench or the club's problems with the digital tickets at the new Camp Nou.In Part Two, we headline with the goal-fest of the weekend, as Villarreal maintained their rhythm, domestically that is. A genuine two-faced team, they fought to the end to ward off the La Real comeback and position themselves nicely in third spot.Atleti won their seventh game in succession, but the big test is Tuesday night in Barcelona.Elsewhere, Espanyol keep up their bright start, Celta still can't win at home, Getafe keep doing their thing, and a referee sent off a former referee.Last, but by no means least, Levante are looking for a new coach after they sacked Julián Calero following their 2-0 defeat at home to Athletic. Winless at home, albeit with a tough run of fixtures, Luis García Plaza is the favourite to replace Calero.Two big LaLiga matches and the next round of the Copa del Rey to look forward to this week, as well as plenty of content at lllonline.substack.com. Subscribe now for all the access. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barcelona are back home, but Real's travails on the road continue. Join Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) to review Matchday 13 in LaLiga EA Sports!Is a four-horse race on the cards? In Part One, our two LaLiga experts look into the matches, kicking off with Barça's grand return to the Spotify Camp Nou, with Román actually being there to see it all unfold. He explains the new experiences before analysing the win over Athletic and first clean sheet in two months. Then they review Madrid's second league draw in a row against a brave and bold Elche, followed by Villarreal and Atlético de Madrid achieving narrow wins to keep close track of the top two. Just four points separate the top four now!!In Part Two, Matt and Román talk about the the Valencian derby, and the slow yet steady rise of Real Sociedad and Celta de Vigo in the standings with a win apiece. They also review the other two draws of the weekend, with a goalless Oviedo vs Rayo and a controversial Betis vs Girona, ending with Antony being sent off and missing the derby against Sevilla.Once again, thanks for listening, and remember you can access our bonus podcast and multiple weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.