The 2025/26 La Liga season delivered another dramatic twist in Matchday 15, with the title race tightening at the top and tensions rising.
Barcelona extended their lead atop La Liga with a statement win, while Villarreal’s remarkable resurgence showed no signs of slowing down. On the flip side, Real Madrid’s alarming dip in form intensified the scrutiny around Xabi Alonso, Atletico Madrid’s title ambitions suffered a significant blow, and Real Oviedo’s managerial gamble continued to backfire.
With the pressure mounting on multiple fronts, Matchday 15 proved decisive for several clubs. The Hard Tackle breaks down the five biggest talking points from the latest round of fixtures in the 2025/26 La Liga season.
Villarreal keep winning streak intact
While Villarreal have not been in the best of form in Europe, they have certainly been on a roll in La Liga. The Yellow Submarine have won each of their last six league games following their 2-0 win over Getafe in Matchday 15.
It was a very comfortable day at the office for the team in yellow as they dominated the proceedings and secured all three points without much trouble. With Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid dropping points, they have significantly strengthened their position inside the top four.
Villarreal are five points behind La Liga table-toppers Barcelona, but they do have a game in hand. Given the kind of run the Yellow Submarine have been in, they are becoming serious title contenders with every passing week.
Ferran Torres’s hat-trick helps Barcelona extend their lead atop La Liga
Ferran Torres might not be a regular starter for Barcelona under Hansi Flick, but he certainly delivers the desired results every time he gets an opportunity. While the limelight often tends to be on the likes of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Marcus Rashford, Torres is an equally lethal option for the Catalan giants.
He certainly proved it with a first-half hat-trick against Real Betis in an entertaining 5-3 win for Barcelona. While the scoreline might suggest that Betis made life difficult for Flick’s team, in reality, the game was already over in the first half as the Catalan club were up 4-1 heading into the break.
Since losing to Real Madrid in the Clasico towards the end of October, Barcelona have won each of their last six La Liga outings. The Blaugrana have been in sensational form in the league, and they have established a four-point lead at the top, with the team in white dropping points yet again.
La Liga title hopes crumble again for Simeone’s men
After a slowish start to the season, Atletico Madrid eventually picked up the pace and were on a six-match winning streak. They looked like serious contenders for the 2025/26 La Liga title just a couple of months after languishing towards the middle of the table.
While Los Rojiblancos were within touching distance of the league leaders, the last two fixtures haven’t gone their way, and they have been stopped in their tracks. After suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Barcelona midweek, they lost 1-0 to Athletic Club this past weekend.
The Colchoneros were expected to dominate the proceedings against Athletic Club following a disappointing result against Barcelona. However, things did not go their way as they were not creative and clinical enough in the final third. Now, all of a sudden, they are nine points behind the league leaders, and things certainly do not look promising for them.
Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid have lost their way
A few weeks ago, Real Madrid were comfortably sitting at the top of La Liga. However, they now find themselves four points behind leaders Barcelona. A run of five games with just one win has seen them give up the top spot and hand the defending champions a decent lead in the title race.
While the 3-0 win over Athletic Club in the midweek La Liga clash suggested they were back on track, Los Blancos suffered a shocking 2-0 defeat at the hands of Celta Vigo last time out. They did not really look threatening enough, and serious disciplinary issues resulted in three red cards.
Eder Militao’s first-half injury might have played a part, but Alonso still had enough quality in his ranks to get the desired result. But the team never really looked like they were going to win. Despite dominating the ball and taking 20 shots at goal, they came out second best.
Alarm bells are ringing for Alonso. If Real Madrid fail to get the desired result against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, Los Blancos could even consider sacking the Spanish manager. Despite an excellent start to life at the club, the Spaniard no longer seems to have full control over the dressing room.
Real Oviedo’s managerial change has not worked out
Real Oviedo decided to sack Veljko Paunovic after a run of eight games with just six points. They ended up replacing him with Luis Carrion, who rejected a new deal back in 2024 to join Las Palmas. The decision was criticised by fans.
While Oviedo were hoping positive results could help calm things down, that has not happened. Following their 0-0 draw against RCD Mallorca last time out, the newly promoted outfit only have 10 points in their 15 outings. Carrion has only managed four points in his seven outings.
The team have failed to secure in six of those seven fixtures, which is a massive concern for them. While they have certainly been hard to beat under Carrion, this is not what the club and the fans were hoping for when they let go of Paunovic.
