La Liga Lowdown

The first international break of the season is here and Atlético Madrid are the only team in LaLiga still with a 100 percent record. Barcelona and Real Madrid slipped up again, so we indulge in some title talk in this matchday three recap.We also look back at and study the Basque derby and have an in-depth discussion about Real Valladolid and how their season is shaping up.Euan McTear (@emctear) hosts and there are contributions from Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG), Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee), Sam Leveridge (@samleveridge), Dan Parry (@DanParry_) and Martin Devlin (@MartiRVCF) of @PucelaEscocia, plus commentary from beIN SPORTS and Cadena COPE.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Takefusa Kubo is one of world football's rising stars, and the 18-year-old Japanese prodigy has already passed through three Spanish clubs. After spending time at Barcelona's academy and after returning to Japan, he signed with Real Madrid this summer and has been loaned out to Real Mallorca.Euan McTear (@emctear) hosts this episode and speaks to Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) about Kubo's Barça days, to Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo) about his pre-season with Real Madrid and to Alex Fitzpatrick (@Mallorcalex100) about his arrival at Real Mallorca. We also hear from Ben Maxwell (@OnTheGas1999), the host of the J-Talk Podcast (@JTalkPod), for expert insight into Kubo's emergence in Japan. And Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) discusses Kubo's appearances with the Japanese national team. Thanks go out as well to J-League, Barça TV and Premier Sports for the Kubo clips. So listen in and enjoy. This is Takefusa Kubo's story so far...  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The second week of the 2018/19 LaLiga Santander season is in the books and there are just two teams remaining with a 100 percent record - Sevilla and Atlético Madrid. We discuss that and much more, speaking to multiple experts.We hear from Heath Chesters (@HeathGCF) in Granada, Paco Polit (@pacopolitENG) in Valencia, Joseph Sexton (@josephsbcn) in Vigo, Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee) in Barcelona, Alex Fitzpatrick (@Mallorcalex100) in Mallorca and Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo) in Canada, all hosted by Madrid-based Euan McTear (@emctear).There's an in-depth chat with Heath about Granada and their survival, we get the lowdown from Paco on Villarreal throwing away another lead and Kiyan talks Real Madrid's problems. That and and more is discussed and the conversation doesn't end there. Check us out on Twitter (@LaLigaLowdown) to let us know your thoughts on the first two weeks of the season.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Athletic Club striker Aritz Aduriz is a LaLiga legend. We all know this. But how did his story start? What bumps were there along the way? That and more is all discussed in this podcast looking at the Aritz Aduriz story. We speak to Phil Ball to explain how Aduriz, who grew up in San Sebastian, ended up playing for his hometown's biggest rivals. Alex Fitzpatrick talks about the Aduriz Real Mallorca years. Paco Polit reflects on what went well, and what didn't, for Aduriz at Valencia. Román de Arquer dissects Aduriz's role in Athletic Club's Supercopa de España win in 2015. And Gaizka Atxa looks ahead to his retirement along with your host, Euan McTear. Plus, commentary excitement from Mundo Futgol, Cadena COPE, beIN SPORTS, ITV and Radio Popular.So click play, and enjoy learning some more about one of LaLiga's all-time greats.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

LaLiga is back and it came back with a bang! From Aritz Aduriz's stunning winner against Barcelona in the opening match of the weekend to Joao Felix's impressive debut in Atletico Madrid's latest victory over Getafe, we've got it all covered. We start by breaking down Barcelona's problems and wondering what Ernesto Valverde has to do now.We also take an in-depth look at the newly promoted sides Real Mallorca, Osasuna and Granada as they returned to the top flight with positive results, with analysis from three reporters who were at their games. Granada's match was especially wild - an eight-goal thriller away at Villarreal.Paco breaks down the madness that went on in Valencia's draw with Real Sociedad, as they started the season with their favourite result - a draw.All of that and more is discussed in this podcast. Check us out on Twitter - @LaLigaLowdown - to let us know your thoughts on LaLiga's opening weekend.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Listen up! It's our second season-preview podcast, and this time we're focusing on all the other stories aside the Big Three in LaLiga.Host Euan McTear is once again joined by Paco Polit and Román de Arquer as they discuss the race for fourth place - can Valencia do it again, or will the recent turmoil at the club spoil their campaign before it's even begun? And what about the likes of Sevilla and Real Betis who have strengthened their squads, and can Villarreal improve on what was a terrible season in 2018-19? Or could there be a surprise package?The relegation battle could be equally fascinating - the new boys are Granada, Osasuna and Mallorca who were last in LaLiga 7 seasons ago, but do they have enough to stay up? And who else might struggle? Levante, Real Valladolid, Alavés or maybe even a bigger name? We also hear from LLL new recruit Matt Clark who saw Valencia, Espanyol, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad in pre-season while they were on tour in the UK.Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, and chec

Yes, La Liga Lowdown is back!The new Spanish football season is almost upon us, so it's the perfect time to get your ears around our preview podcasts, and this is the first...In this first preview, Euan McTear in Madrid chats with Paco Polit in Valencia and Román de Arquer in Barcelona as we look back at a summer of big spending by the Big Three, and look ahead to the new campaign. We ask some key questions:will Barcelona manage to integrate Antoine Griezmann successfully?can Eden Hazard turn on the style at Madrid..and how come Gareth Bale is still there?!is João Felix the real deal, and what about Atlético's new look-defence?We also discuss some of the young talents to look out for at all those teams, whether there might potentially have to be changes of philosophy and formation for the Madrid clubs, and we get the boys' predictions on the season ahead. We'll discuss European hopes and relegation in our next preview podcast out later in the week.Don't forget to follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/LaL

We've gone double-length for this podcast, as it's the final one of the season and we wanted to give you, the fans, TOP value. Of course this pod focuses on the Copa del Rey final where Valencia shocked Barcelona to win 2-1 at the Estadio Benito Villamarín to lift their first trophy in 11 years, while also denying Barça a domestic double - the culés have to settle for one piece of silverware.We dissect and analyse the final in real depth, the players who performed, the players who didn't, should Ernesto Valverde leave the Camp Nou and what this means for Los Che - David Garrido hosts, with Paco Polit who was at the stadium in Seville on Saturday night and Román de Arquer based in Barcelona.We also speak to Euan McTear in Madrid as we take a considered look at the main narratives of the 2018-19 campaign, and David and Euan also reveal their teams of the season, but with a twist: only 1 player allowed per LaLiga team!Don't forget to give us a lovely review and a 5-star rating if you'd be so kind, and

And so, LaLiga is done and dusted for another season...an up-and-down season finished with yet more twists and turns on the 38th and final matchday - with Valencia and Getafe in the race for Champions League qualification, and Athletic were the width of the crossbar away from the Europa League, but in the end, that accolade went to Espanyol as they snatched 7th place in the table.Relegation was almost decided before time - Girona needed a miracle, but they were put out of their misery at Alavés, while Iago Aspas was once again the hero as Celta Vigo pulled off yet another comeback, this time against Rayo.In the less meaningful matches, none of Barcelona, Atlético or Real Madrid managed to win, and in fact Madrid were awful in their defeat to Real Betis, who then announced that Quique Setién would not be carrying on as head coach.Also, the LLL squad give their "moments of the season" - there are some interesting choices! Thanks for listening, any lovely ratings and reviews are welcome and don't forget to

Football is often all about how you get up, not how you fell down in the first place. Barcelona and Valencia both responded to European exits last week by winning on Sunday, as all 10 matches in LaLiga were played at exactly the same time. Maybe it'll catch on, who knows? It made for a dramatic penultimate round of games, and a twist in the race for the Champions League.Getafe went to Barça and had their chances but lost 2-0, even though the champions were poor by their own standards...while Valencia came from behind to beat Alavés 3-1 at home, to take control of the battle for 4th place. It means matters are in their own hands going into the final day of the league campaign. Sevilla could only draw 1-1 away to Atlético Madrid, so they are almost certainly going to have to settle for Europa League football next season.There are still 3 teams who could finish 7th - Real Sociedad beat Real Madrid, Espanyol won at Leganés, Athletic Club defeated Celta Vigo...which in turn has implication

Finally, we've had 2 teams confirmed as relegated from LaLiga...Rayo Vallecano and Huesca gave it a good crack, but were put out of their misery after suffering big defeats on Matchday 36 - Rayo going down 4-1 at Levante, Huesca were smashed 6-2 at home by Valencia. Both of these are teams who came up from Segunda last season, so they return straight away - in truth, neither of them really looked like escaping the drop. But Real Valladolid still might - their 1-0 win at home to Athletic Club takes them out of the relegation zone...for now at least.In terms of the other relegation candidates, Celta Vigo pulled off a 2-0 win over champions Barcelona at Balaídos, while Villarreal could only manage a 3-2 defeat away to Real Madrid - Girona also lost, 2-0 at Getafe who continue to keep their unlikely Champions League dreams alive. This was a comfortable win but a huge 3 points, and if Geta finish 4th, it'll be an astonishing achievement. Sevilla look like they've given up the ghost with a 3rd d

Well, we knew it was coming, and in the end, Barcelona have done it with 3 games to spare. They are once again champions of Spain, retaining their title, making it 8 out of the last 11 that they've won and their 26th crown overall. Lionel Messi, who else, scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over Levante, meaning that Barça could celebrate their triumph in front of their own fans. Atlético Madrid also won 1-0 at home to Real Valladolid, so the gap is 9 points with 3 games to go, but because Barcelona's head-to-head record is better between themselves and Atleti, it means that they are deserved champions.Real Madrid surprisingly (or maybe not) went down at Rayo by the same scoreline, giving the side from Vallecas the slightest glimmer of hope that they might stay up, but there were also points for the teams around them. Huesca and Villarreal drew, and so did Celta Vigo, but Girona went one better and won.That result was significant in the race for 4th place, as Sevilla were the team on the

Another weekend of significant results, but the most significant is that Barcelona can win LaLiga again in this next week after their 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad. 2 defenders scored for them, while it was Karim Benzema whose hat-trick gave Real Madrid their most convincing performance of late, beating Athletic Club 3-0. Standby for some stunning stats about the Frenchman...It was 4th v 5th but Sevilla lost 3-0 at Getafe, and both sides finished with 10 men as referee Mateu Lahoz made himself the centre of attention - as per. Valencia took advantage by beating Real Betis away, with 2 rapier strikes from Gonzalo Guedes, but Rodrigo replaced the injured Denis Cheryshev and then got sent off. It's a compelling battle between those 3 teams for that 4th place...In the relegation battle, the bottom 2 drew which helped neither side as it finished Rayo 0 Huesca 0, but there were vital wins for Celta Vigo and Villarreal, both at home, both 2-1, while Levante and Valladolid both came from behind b

With the title race pretty much done in LaLiga, we had to major on the 4 derbies this week, especially the ones in Seville and Valencia, and in particular the 5-goal thriller at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán where Sevilla beat Real Betis 3-2. These 2 go at it hammer and tongs right from the first whistle, and even before then, the Sevilla anthem sends shivers down your spine. Just check out our Twitter feed -- @LaLigaLowdown -- if you don't believe us...Along with that game, Valencia took the local bragging rights against a Levante side whose defence is horrendously bad, and Getafe just about got a point at Real Valladolid to keep their hopes alive of finishing in the Champions League places. It was a result that wounded Valladolid more than it really helped Geta.Villarreal were the big winners this week in the relegation scrap, beating Girona 1-nil at Montilivi - Girona are so bad at home, it's just getting silly now. Rayo Vallecano lost by a single goal in 5 at Athletic Club, an

Oi, Diego Costa - the LaLiga title race is officially over, thanks to you. After you got sent off, Atlético Madrid held out at the Camp Nou until 85 minutes...and then lost. Just imagine what they might have done if you hadn't lost your rag... So yes, Barcelona are now 11 points clear after that 2-0 win over Atleti in the biggest fixture of Matchday 31, and that should really be that. Real Madrid might still finish 2nd - they needed to give their heads a wobble at home to Eibar and eventually turned that game around to win, but the Bernabéu still basically hates Gareth Bale. Elsewhere, Getafe and Sevilla both won in the race for 4th.As for the relegation battle, bottom side Huesca got a point at Levante who are sailing worryingly close to the bottom 3, while Villarreal missed a last-minute penalty and lost 2-1 at Real Betis, Santi Cazorla was seen crying after full-time. But it's not all tears and fears - the best result belongs to Rayo Vallecano after their 2-0 victory over Valencia,

At half-time of Celta Vigo's home game with Villarreal, it looked like the hosts were totally dead and buried...but for the irresistible force which is Iago Aspas, especially at Balaídos. 45 minutes later, Celta had fought back from 0-2 to win 3-2 and give their LaLiga survival hopes a real shot in the arm. The image of the night was Iago Aspas weeping on the bench, overcome by the emotion of it all - no doubt then about the hero of the weekend on Matchday 29 in LaLiga.In terms of the other relegation-threatened teams, all of Huesca, Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid held leads, but none of them could see take 3 points - even though plucky Huesca almost got a single point away to Real Madrid, before losing 3-2. Levante also dropped 2 points at home to Eibar.As for the title race, it really is Barcelona's to lose. They remain 10 points clear with now 9 games to go, after eventually getting past a stubborn Espanyol 2-0 - Lionel Messi with both goals, the first of which was a Panenka-style f

The Euro 2020 qualifiers are underway, and Spain are 2 from 2...so how are they shaping up after the excitement of the Nations League? In this special international podcast, Euan McTear hosts with Paco Polit and Román de Arquer as his guests, as we recap the 2-1 win over Norway and the 2-0 victory in Malta. If those scorelines sound underwhelming...it's because they were. So why did La Roja find it hard to smash their way through supposedly inferior opposition? We'll look at the situation with the strikers, who should lead the line, and what did we make of the rotations literally everywhere from Luis Enrique?One team who did impress were the Spain under-21s so we discuss the future stars of the national side and we also talk about Catalunya after they played Venezuela. Don't forget LaLiga returns this weekend with Matchday 29 and some intriguing encounters such as the Barcelona derby (Barça v Espanyol), Sevilla against Valencia, and the battle of the southern Madrid suburbs (Getafe v

You might as well just give Barcelona the title now. With 10 games to go they're 10 points clear, after another Lionel Messi-inspired display at Real Betis. That 4-1 win, coupled with Atlético Madrid's 2-0 defeat at Athletic Club means that the title race is effectively over, barring a total implosion from the champions.Real Madrid have got Zinedine Zidane back in the dugout, so we chat about the impact he's had already, how it might affect Gareth Bale and Marcelo's futures at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, as well as youth development - at least Zizou kicked off with a win second time around, as Madrid beat Celta 2-0 at home.Sevilla and Alavés both won to put pressure on 4th-placed Getafe, who drew at Valencia in a relatively dull game...and just up the road, Villarreal came from behind to defeat fellow relegation strugglers Rayo Vallecano 3-1. Elsewhere, Real Valladolid scored twice in stoppage-time to win at Eibar - a huge result.LaLiga now takes a break as we turn our attention to the Spain

It's a momentous time for Valencia - it's their 100th birthday this month, and the momentum is building in their season as well. Los Che are through to the Copa del Rey final, they've qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa League and they're on an unbeaten run in LaLiga which is edging them up towards that 4th place which they covet to return to the Champions League next season.In this bonus podcast, La Liga Lowdown's Paco Polit discusses all the big talking points with Che Scandinavia, a fan group from the most northern part of Europe. Hans and Oscar are representing this "peña", and they give their thoughts on how Valencia have turned their season around after a difficult start, who the main players have been, who has disappointed, who has delighted, with particular focus on a couple of the youth products, Ferrán and Kang-in Lee.They also tell us about their first memories of Mestalla, and discuss what is so good about the mad festival of "Fallas", which is this time of year in Valencia, a

The more things change, the more things stay the same...in some ways, it was a weird weekend. Madrid won, for one - that hadn't happened for 2 weeks. And Atleti played musical chairs with left-backs. And Barcelona went behind to the 2nd-bottom side...but guess what? Yes, they won. Again. LaLiga is theirs...The big results came just below that top 3. Getafe were trailing Huesca but Jaime Mata got them all 3 points to keep them 4th, and Sevilla, Valencia and Real Betis all got victories too...that battle for Champions League and Europa League is on, but you heard it here first...GETA ARE GOING TO FINISH 4TH.As for the relegation battle, Villarreal are out of the bottom 3 for the first time in a couple of months...was it a plucky battle and a hard-fought win? No, it wasn't. It was a game where neither they nor Levante wanted to win, but somehow the Yellow Submarine did. Oh, and Celta lost their first match under Fran Escribá.Hope you enjoy our little meander thro