La Liga

2024/25

Raphinha: ‘In my head I was leaving Barça, but a few small words can change you’

Two years ago the Brazilian thought his time at Barcelona was ending but, two La Liga titles later, he is now captain and the most potent No 9 in EuropeFor once, Raphael Dias Belloli puts the brakes on. The man who seems to be in perpetual motion, a footballer forever on fast forward, pauses, goes quiet for a moment and then, softly, utters something that says so much: “I think maybe people saw in me something I didn’t realise was there.” He did not know he was a leader, but he likes it. He did not know he was a captain, but according to his manager he is the “perfect captain”. And he did not know he was a No 9 either, but right now he is the best No 9 there is. In Barcelona or anywhere.There was a time when Raphinha did not know whether he would be in Barcelona, when, feeling unwanted, he had accepted it was over, but this week he extended his contract to 2030. He will be 33 then: he would like to retire here and they would like him to retire here, too, a legend built on empathy and affection. “This is the best decision the club has made,” said Hansi Flick, the head coach Raphinha says changed his life. Sometimes you cannot get what you want so you have to settle for the best. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/24/raphinha-barcelona-interview-la-liga-no9">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

From leaving Rangers to La Liga - Scotland is next step for Ure

Robbie Ure has made it all the way to Sevilla since failing to break through at Rangers and now a first Scotland cap awaits the striker, writes Tom English.

bbc

Man Utd & Liverpool eye Mitchell - Wednesday's gossip

Manchester United and Liverpool are keen on Crystal Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell, Aston Villa loan attacker Alejandro Garnacho is on the radar of La Liga clubs, while Chelsea want Gambian teenager Adama Jeng, plus more.

bbc

La Liga president says Real Madrid conspiracy claims are ‘in another galaxy’

<ul><li>‘The competition belongs to no one,’ says Javier Tebas</li><li>President hits out after Mourinho’s reaction to derby loss</li></ul>La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas, hit out on Tuesday at what he deemed accusations of a refereeing “conspiracy” by Real Madrid after their derby defeat against Atlético Madrid.Real Madrid’s coach, José Mourinho, brought two printed screenshots of what he thought were red-card tackles committed by Atéltico players to his post-match press conference after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/20/atletico-madrid-real-madrid-la-liga-match-report">the 2-1 defeat on Sunday</a>. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/22/la-liga-president-javier-tebas-real-madrid-conspiracy-claims-derby-defeat">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

'In another galaxy' - La Liga chief dismisses Real's ref conspiracy claims

La Liga president Javier Tebas says claiming there is a refereeing conspiracy against Real Madrid is like "living in another galaxy".

bbc

Furious Mourinho holds up pictures of ref errors after Madrid derby defeat

Jose Mourinho held up pictures of two tackles to the media in his post-match news conference after Real Madrid's 2-1 La Liga defeat to Atletico Madrid.

sky_sports

Atletico beat 10-man Real in thrilling LaLiga derby!

Highlights of the La Liga match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

sky_sports

Atletico win feisty Madrid derby against 10-man Real

Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid in a feisty derby to move above their rivals into second place in La Liga.

bbc

Raphinha nets hat-trick in Sevilla win to keep Barcelona top

Raphinha scores a second hat-trick in successive games as Barcelona claim a comfortable victory over Sevilla to increase their lead at the top of the La Liga table.

bbc

Socceroos captain Maty Ryan axed for Brazil friendlies

<ul><li>Goalkeeper dropped despite strong start to La Liga season</li><li>Seven uncapped players called into 26-man Australia squad</li></ul>Captain Maty Ryan has been left out of the Socceroos squad altogether for upcoming games against Brazil, while coach Tony Popovic has called up seven uncapped players for Australia’s first matches since the World Cup.Ryan lost his starting spot to young goalkeeper Patrick Beach at the World Cup, then was bizarrely substituted on for the round-of-32 penalty shootout against Egypt. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/18/socceroos-captain-maty-ryan-droppedr-brazil-vs-australia-friendlies">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

Carlos Espí gives Real Madrid hope in the face of Barcelona’s La Liga storm | Sid Lowe

With Barcelona racking up seven-goal thrillers, Real Madrid could not afford a collapse. Enter the forward quietly turning into José Mourinho’s ultimate secret weaponJosé Mourinho called and Carlos Espí came to his side. It was late, it was noisy and it was almost over – the match and maybe even something more – when Real Madrid’s coach took the forward who is also his flatmate to one side on Tuesday night. Standing close, Mourinho had a message to deliver; he also had a piece of paper. Small, folded, half-hidden in his hand, it was not big enough for much more than a single word, shown almost surreptitiously, the request written on it, like what he had whispered in Espí’s ear, <a href="https://x.com/sidlowe/status/2100074458664825169">left to your imagination</a>. Put ball in goal, perhaps. Or: Help. So he did.Madrid needed him to, which they should not have. Two goals up inside half an hour at Elche on Tuesday night, they could have added a third or a fourth, maybe even a fifth, before half-time. But, thinking it was as done as it really should have been, their minds perhaps on Sunday’s derby at Atlético too, they had stopped again, drifting. Vinícius Júnior had gone, Arda Guler had gone, Aurélien Tchouaméni might as well have done, barely able to move any more, and now, somehow, the game was going. Goals from Abiel Osorio in the 71st minute and Fer Niño in the 83rd had made it 2-2. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/17/carlos-espi-real-madrid-barcelona-mourinho-la-liga">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

Raphinha hat-trick helps Barcelona hit seven past Racing de Santander

Raphinha scores a hat-trick to help Barcelona thrash Racing de Santander 7-2 to maintain their perfect start to the new La Liga season, with the defending champions top of the table after six successive wins.

bbc

Raphina gets hat-trick and Jesus scores as Barca net seven

Highlights of the La Liga match between Barcelona and Racing de Santander.

sky_sports

Raphinha cashes in against Santander with hat-trick as Barça hit seven

<ul><li>Cancelo, Jesus and Lamine Yamal also score in rout</li><li>Atlético Madrid thrash Osasuna 4-0 to move into third</li></ul>Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona ripped Racing Santander to shreds in a spectacular 7-2 triumph in La Liga on Wednesday. The win makes Hansi Flick the club’s first manager to win ⁠the opening seven competitive matches of a season.João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal also scored for the unstoppable Catalan giants, who have netted 33 goals in those seven games across all competitions, and who move three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/16/raphinha-hat-trick-santander-barcelona-hit-seven-atletico-madrid">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

Football Daily | Madrid endure an awkward night after T-shirt trouble and Elche scare

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/info/2022/nov/14/football-daily-email-sign-up">Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!</a>Anxious to sample some traditional Spanish culture while taking in a La Liga match years ago, Football Daily and some friends decamped to Gran Alicant. As we prepared to leave a quaint bodega (the Dick Turpin), where we’d been sampling the local hooch (Guinness), to travel to the nearby stadium, an elderly local resident with an unmistakable mackem accent informed us that the Elche home game to which we were heading was not being played until the following evening. It had fallen victim to Spanish TV’s infuriating habit of rescheduling random top-flight matches with little or no notice or consideration for Johnny-come-latelys who might have travelled from afar to watch them. We never did get to see Elche play in the flesh but did get to watch the current La Liga basement-dwellers give José Mourinho an almighty fright on TV on Tuesday night, as they went this close to snatching a point from Real Madrid.I almost wish I was a West Ham fan. As an eternally suffering Spurs supporter, I find myself looking enviously towards the London Stadium these days. The Hammers are top of the table, banging in goal after goal (already 20 more than Spurs’ tally in the league). They score even when they lose and seem to have bought a proper No 9. My Spurs, meanwhile, continue the tradition of the last two years in style, sitting comfortably in 17th with 1,047 wingers on contract, and getting knocked out of one of the competitions they could ‘conceivably’ have won, the only competition they seem to be able to score goals in as well. In hindsight, West Ham made the right choice to go down. Hammers fans, you are welcome!” – Yannick Woudstra (and no others).Hugh Fordham’s idea [<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/15/football-daily-email-leeds-not-disunited">Tuesday’s Football Daily letters</a>] has some merit. But it reminded me of a pithy comment by Bill Nicholson. ‘Do you think he was interfering with play?’, he was asked. Nicholson responded: “If he’s not interfering with play, what’s he doing on the pitch?!’” – Harry McDonald.In support of Hugh Fordham’s suggestion, I remember discussing the idea of interfering with play while on a training course for referees back in the 1960s. We were told that unless someone was ‘lying injured near the corner flag’ any player should be treated as being involved in play. Not a lot of room for subjectivity in those days. And obviously no thought of stopping play for the hypothetical injured player!” – Trevor Field. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/16/real-madrid-elche-t-shirts-football-daily-newsletter">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

Mbappe scores and provides last-gasp assist to help rescue Real Madrid!

Highlights of the La Liga match between Elche and Real Madrid.

sky_sports

European football: Inter roar back to beat Udinese and join Roma at the top

<ul><li>Inter and Roma lead Serie A, Como move up to third</li><li>Real Betis beat struggling Villarreal in La Liga</li></ul>Inter fought back ⁠from two goals down to beat Udinese 5-3 on Monday, maintaining their perfect Serie A start alongside Roma, who won 2-0 at Torino before Saturday’s match between ⁠the joint leaders. Both sides have 12 points from four matches and share top spot before their encounter at the Stadio Olimpico, while Como are third on 10 points ⁠after beating Parma 2-1.Udinese stunned Inter with two goals in the opening 16 minutes, as James Abankwah headed home unmarked after nine minutes before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp doubled ‌the visitors’ lead with a ‌close-range finish seven minutes later. Inter hit back through Carlos Augusto, whose long-range effort flew into the bottom corner, ‌before Nicolò Barella levelled 10 minutes before half-time. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/14/european-football-inter-and-roma-maintain-perfect-starts-while-como-climb">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

‘Very weak. Very bad’: how Rodri’s verdict exposed woeful Valencia’s crisis | Sid Lowe

The World Cup winner’s off-the-cuff assessment was brutally honest. Within days their manager and CEO were gone, but the problems run much deeperKiat Lim wanted to see Valencia play so badly, so that is what he did. It was week four in La Liga, 6 September, and for the first time since he was given the presidency 18 months earlier, the owner’s 33-year-old son was going to watch his team play a competitive game. He was going to do it from the inside, too, so he took a flight to Spain, landing at Manises in a black mask and cap, a van to the hotel, then the team bus to Mestalla. He looked through the window as they rolled along Avenida Suecia, a huge, noisy crowd waiting, but when he got off and headed through the iron gate with its ornate club badge, he saw that this was no welcome.Above him as he went in were giant portraits of Mario Kempes, Antonio Puchades, Juan Sol, Gaizka Mendieta, David Villa and Santiago Cañizares, footballers from a better time; around him were yellow banners and whistles for the footballers there now. Inside, Lim saw the game start with the lower south stand empty as fans stayed away until the 19th minute, the sound of the protest drifting in from the street. They were out there still when, sitting alongside Joan Laporta, he saw Lamine Yamal score the sixth-minute opener then get a second. And although that, also from Lamine Yamal, was ruled out, he eventually saw Barcelona get four more, presiding over a 5-0 defeat. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/14/valencia-rodri-carlos-corberan-la-liga">Continue reading...</a>

guardian

Valencia sack Corberán, week after Rodri criticism

Valencia dismissed coach Carlos Corberán and chief executive officer Ron Gourlay on Sunday with the side winless and bottom of La Liga.

espn

European football: Lamine Yamal keeps Barcelona perfect, Leipzig rout Hamburg

<ul><li>Teenager hits two in 4-2 victory at Levante</li><li>Lepizig smash five past struggling Hamburg</li></ul>Barcelona continued their perfect start to the ⁠season with a hard-fought 4-2 La Liga victory over Levante in Valencia ⁠on Sunday.Levante ⁠found themselves two goals down within 19 minutes after swift play from ⁠Barcelona led to goals for Xavi Espart and Lamine Yamal. The home side ⁠then rallied, finishing the half with six shots to Barcelona’s ‌three.This story will be updated <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/sep/13/european-football-barcelona-bayern-munich-napoli-juventus">Continue reading...</a>

guardian