La Liga’s second matchday had it all, dropped points, stunning comebacks, dominant wins, and the early signs of trouble for some of Spain’s biggest clubs.
Matchday 2 of La Liga 2025/26 was just as dramatic and exciting as the opening weekend. Atletico Madrid dropped points for the second game running, while Barcelona scripted a stunning comeback win and Real Madrid delivered a dominant display.
Meanwhile, Girona’s dramatic decline continues, as they suffered another heavy defeat. After an outstanding 2023/24 campaign that saw them finish in the top four, things appear to have completely unravelled for the City Group-owned club.
Having looked closely at all the fixtures, The Hard Tackle breaks down five key takeaways from the second round of action in the 2025/26 La Liga season.
Pressure continues to mount on Diego Simeone
After yet another disappointing 2024/25 campaign, Atletico Madrid broke the bank this summer and made significant changes to their squad. Despite all that, they started the 2025/26 La Liga season with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Espanyol away from home.
While everyone expected to bounce back against newly promoted Elche on Matchday 2, things did not go according to plan. They ended up dropping points at home against a team that are one of the favourites to get relegated.
Alexander Sorloth gave the home team the lead within the first ten minutes, but Elche bounced back in no time and managed to hold their own against Atletico Madrid’s star-studded attack to secure a point.
They are already five points behind Barcelona and Real Madrid in the title race. If they fail to get the desired result next time out, they might even say goodbye to their title hopes. And, if that happens, it might also end up being Simeone’s last season at the club.
Selling Inigo Martinez might haunt Barcelona in La Liga title defence
While Barcelona did secure all three points in their opening La Liga fixture, Hansi Flick was not really pleased with his team’s performance in the final third. However, this time around, it was the defence that didn’t deliver.
After going 2-0 down in the first half, the Catalan giants did manage to script an incredible comeback in the second half thanks to their attacking prowess. But the game did highlight quite a few issues at the back.
The defensive partnership of Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi does not seem to be as reliable as the one where he had Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez. While Martinez was in the final phase of his career, he was still their best defender last season and letting him leave to balance their books could come back to haunt them in the long run.
Araujo and Cubarsi can certainly turn things around, but with Martinez, the Catalan giants have greater depth and quality at the back, which would have helped them defend their La Liga crown.
Vinicius Junior is getting back to his best
While Real Madrid did get the job done on Matchday 1 to secure all three points, they were far from their best. It wasn’t really a clinical performance from them, but Kylian Mbappe powered them to all three points.
Mbappe carried his sensational form into Matchday 2, as Los Blancos secured a clinical 3-0 win over newly promoted Real Oviedo. Xabi Alonso rotated his team for this fixture, and he will certainly be happy with how the majority of his players performed.
While Mbappe was once again the star of the night, it was Vinicius Junior who stole the show with his cameo off the bench. Many were surprised to see him not start in this fixture, but given how he performed, Alonso will be pleased with the reaction of the Brazilian.
Under Alonso, Vinicius Junior, who has recently seen speculation around him, is starting to turn into a pressing machine. He won the ball off Real Oviedo’s Haissem Hassan to set up Mbappe’s second goal, before smashing home the third of the night himself. With a goal and an assist, the Brazilian seems to be slowly getting back to his best.
Given his recent defensive work, it could well be that Mbappe and Vinicius can actually co-exist in the same XI without compromising the team’s solidity, boosting Real Madrid’s hopes of returning to the summit of La Liga.
Girona seem to be on the decline; La Liga relegation beckons?
After an exceptional 2023/24 season, where they were title contenders and ended up finishing in the top four, things have only gone downhill for the City Group-owned club. They lost quite a few players to big clubs in the following summer and failed to get the desired results in the league as well as the Champions League.
Girona barely managed to survive the drop last time out. But, since they do not have any European commitments this time around, many expected them to have a much better season. However, their start suggests they might actually be fighting for survival this time around as well.
They started the new campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Rayo Vallecano at home. While they would have hoped for a much-improved performance against Villarreal, the Catalan club ended up getting smashed 5-0. Despite having a decent amount of the ball, they could hardly make it count.
Michel is already under pressure, and with Sevilla up next, things do not look promising for Girona. Not only is his job at risk, but the club could also find themselves dragged into a relegation battle if their defensive struggles continue.
Dream start for Villarreal in La Liga
Villarreal finished fifth last season and secured a UEFA Champions League spot. After an impressive campaign last time out, Marcelino was keen to build on it; as a result, they ended up making seven new additions to their squad.
Those signings seem to be doing wonders for them as they have had a perfect start to the new campaign. The Yellow Submarine started the season with a 2-0 win over Real Oviedo and then ended up smashing Girona 5-0 at home.
Tajon Buchanan bagged a hat-trick as Villarreal eased past the Catalan club. The €9 million that they paid to make his move from Inter Milan permanent following an impressive loan spell already seems to be a massive bargain.
While the real challenge for them will be balancing league and Champions League commitments, they could not have asked for a better start as they sit top of the table.
