La Liga Lowdown

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Another Messi hat-trick, another step towards the title for Barça... Matchday 28 recap! Mar 18, 2019

Show notes

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 national team. Don't forget to listen to our bonus podcasts here at La Liga Lowdown, as well as checking out our Twitter feed - you can find us at @LaLigaLowdown on Twitter.

Enjoy!

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BONUS PODCAST! Valencia CF: their revival, their centenary...and more! Mar 15, 2019

Show notes

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, as well as the upcoming Spain v Norway friendly and legends' game at Mestalla.

Thanks so much to Hans and Oscar for being part of this bonus podcast, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter - our handle is @LaLigaLowdown.

Enjoy!

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They won 4-1, so how come Madrid were still...meh? Oh, and Villarreal won. (Finally.) - Matchday 27 recap. Mar 11, 2019

Show notes

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 through the action on Matchday 27 in Spain's top division - if so, feel free to rate us 5 stars and say nice things about us in a review...and check out our Twitter feed as well - we are @LaLigaLowdown.

Enjoy!

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The Giant Has Fallen... Real Madrid bonus podcast! Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

In this bonus podcast, Euan McTear speaks to 2 colleagues in the Spanish capital about Real Madrid after Los Blancos suffered 7 days of their worst nightmares: being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Barcelona, then losing in LaLiga to Barcelona and finally (and perhaps most shockingly) throwing away a 2-1 away first-leg advantage to crash out of the Champions League to Ajax.

In part 1, Euan and Robbie Dunne pick apart the week of woe, why it's gone so badly wrong, they discuss how much head coach Santi Solari is to blame or how much he has been let down by his players, and how much pressure is now on the Madrid president Florentino Pérez to take the right steps going forward.

In part 2, Euan speaks to Kiyan Sobhani about the Real Madrid loanees who are at other clubs, including Mateo Kovacic and Theo Hernández, but also the likes of Oscar Rodríguez at Leganés, Borja Mayoral at Levante and Raúl de Tomás at Rayo Vallecano. So how bright could the future look for Real Madrid, and who is likely to return to the Bernabeu and force their way back into the first team? Plus, who is the better player - Martin Ødegaard or Frenkie de Jong?!

You can find Robbie on Twitter at @robbiejdunne, and Kiyan is also @KiyanSo - thanks again to both for their contributions to this bonus podcast. Our Twitter handle is @ LaLigaLowdown so feel free to check that out too, and please do leave your lovely reviews and 5-star ratings for the pod if you've enjoyed it.

Enjoy!

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CLÁSICO RECAP: Piqué rules the Bernabéu, as Barça master Madrid. Mar 05, 2019

Show notes

Real Madrid fans, we apologise. This won't be an easy listen. But it will be a comprehensive one, as we pick apart all the big talking points of El Clásico - the 4th clash between Madrid & Barcelona this season, and a 3rd win for Barça coming swiftly after their victory at the Bernabéu in the Copa del Rey. Gerard Piqué was majestic, but a few other players also stood out in an intense match. David Garrido speaks to Euan McTear in Madrid and Román de Arquer in Barcelona to dissect the big game of the weekend, but that wasn't the only action on another potentially pivotal Matchday 26 in Spain's top division...

David chats with Alex Jonson about Atlético who are just about keeping the LaLiga title race alive thanks to Alvaro Morata, and also the breaking story at Celta Vigo after they changed coach...and Paco Polit was at Mestalla as Valencia won and moved up to 7th in the table, but Villarreal lost yet again.

We also wrap up the rest of the games well inside half an hour, including Huesca's late heroics against Sevilla, Alavés keeping their miracle season going at Betis and history being made at Espanyol by one of their latest signings.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter (@LaLigaLowdown) as well, and feel free to leave us a lovely review of this podcast and a 5-star rating if you'd be so kind!

Enjoy!

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Messi smashes Sevilla, and the oh-so-curious case of Casemiro - Matchday 25 recap Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

What would Barcelona do without Lionel Messi? Well, lose a lot more for a start. The little Argentine came back to haunt Sevilla once again with an utterly outstanding hat-trick, helping them come from 1-0 and 2-1 to win at the Sanchez Pizjuan in the last 5 minutes. We celebrate Leo and all his stats, but it's still a bit of a worrying picture for out-of-sorts Philippe Coutinho...

Even more worrying is how referee Iglesias Villanueva gave a penalty as Casemiro got only feather-light contact from Cheick Doucouré if anything, perhaps one of the most controversial calls of the season, as Real Madrid beat Levante...VAR once again in the spotlight. If it wasn't used, why? Whose fault is it? Why couldn't they get it right? We are demanding answers...

Atleti also won, as did Getafe, and we're talking up LaLiga's unfashionable side from the southern Madrid suburbs, because they bloody well deserve it, even if you don't really like them.

That meant defeats for Villarreal & Rayo, while Huesca, Celta, Girona & Espanyol all picked up a single point in their survival battle...it's still tight, it's still tense, it could go down to the wire.

All of that in less than half an hour, feel free to give us a nice review and a 5-star rating on this podcast, and don't forget to check out our Twitter feed as well too - @LaLigaLowdown.

Enjoy!

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BARCELONA BONUS PODCAST - Román speaks to journalist Marco Chiazza Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

There are so many talking points surrounding the LaLiga champions and Copa del Rey holders, and in this special bonus podcast edition, Román de Arquer speaks to respected journalist Marco Chiazza. If you're a Barcelona fan, or even if you're not, this is definitely for you.

Roman & Marco discuss all of the following topics, in a tight but informing half-an-hour chat:

- reaction to Barça's Champions League draw with Lyon

- why the rotations aren't quite working at the moment

- Coutinho, Arthur and Kevin-Prince Boateng - how are they doing?

- contract situations for Valverde, Jordi Alba and Rakitic

- the 2 Clásicos coming up against Real Madrid in Copa del Rey and LaLiga

- what titles will Barcelona win this season?

Thanks so much to Marco for coming on the show and speaking to us - you can follow him at @MarcoChiazza on Twitter, and you can follow us @LaLigaLowdown.

Enjoy!

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Thanks, Real Madrid, for basically ending the title race early... Matchday 24 recap Feb 19, 2019

Show notes

Just when you thought you could predict LaLiga, it does something else to confuse you, and this time it's called Real Madrid. Every bit of form pointed towards them not only beating Girona but MAULING THEM...and yet they lost 2-1 at home, and it was basically all their fault. And it's also their fault that Barcelona keep inching further ahead, without doing anything special.

Lionel Messi's tale of 2 penalties was the main storyline from the Camp Nou as Barça just about did enough to beat Real Valladolid, and Atlético weren't much better in their victory at Rayo. For all the big teams, they're struggling to rotate effectively, as the Champions League returns. Sevilla also found that out to their cost as they lost 3-0 at Villarreal - a very poor performance.

So that's 3 vital points for the Yellow Submarine, helped by the fact that Huesca and Rayo lost, and Celta did too, in perhaps the most woeful display of the weekend, smashed 4-1 by Levante.

It's super tight by the way in the bunfight for Europe - 8 points separate 4th and 14th places.

We also look ahead to the Champions League last 16 ties involving Barça and Atleti this week.

Enjoy!

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V-A-arrrrgh! Madrid win an eventful derby v Atleti, while off-colour Barça are held... Feb 12, 2019

Show notes

You can still hear the fans arguing in the bars of Madrid. To say there were a few controversial or questionable decisions in Saturday's derby is putting it mildly, and the poor old buggers in the VAR booth were right at the centre of it all...but the fact is Real Madrid beat Atleti to go 2nd in the table - they were better, and it's now 5 straight LaLiga wins for them, just 6 points off Barcelona.

The champions looked flat away to Athletic Club, and in fact could have lost this game if it wasn't for Marc-André ter Stegen...Sevilla drew too, getting a Desmond at home to Eibar, but only just...they had been 0-2 down with 10 men with less than 3 minutes to go, before Pablo Sarabia inspired the comeback.

Getafe and Alavés both stay to keep on Sevilla's coat-tails, while at the bottom Huesca won a 2nd consecutive game, defeating the woefully out-of-form Girona at Montilivi, but Villarreal continue to struggle and Rayo make up the bottom 3.

Elsewhere Leganés smashed Betis 3-nil at home, while Celta threw a bit of a hissy fit, complaining about the ref who sent off Maxi Gómez at Getafe.

Don't forget to check out our Twitter feed - @LaLigaLowdown - to keep up with all the European football this week, and we'll see you here next Tuesday!

Enjoy!

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BONUS PODCAST - Madrid edition! Real & Atleti in sharp focus... Feb 08, 2019

Show notes

In our first special bonus edition of the La Liga Lowdown podcast, Euan McTear speaks to Madrid-based journalist and reporter Antía André about everything that's going on at the 2 big clubs in the Spanish capital.

In a comprehensive chat, they discuss their current form, and also the huge derby at the Wanda Metropolitano this weekend, so find out who Euan and Antía are backing for the game itself...here's a clue: they don't agree!

There's discussion of Alvaro Morata and whether he'll have an impact in the game, as well as Karim Benzema who has hit form, while Euan & Antía also talk about both clubs' genuine hopes in the Champions League as the competition moves into the knockout stages - Madrid face Ajax, Atleti meet Juventus.

Don't forget to check out our Twitter feed, @LaLigaLowdown, for all of the coverage of Matchday 23 in Spain's top division, and our next podcast, also broadcast on SiriusXM FC 157 in North America is out next Tuesday.

Enjoy!

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