Matchday 20 of La Liga proved costly for Barcelona, as a surprise defeat reopened the title race and set the tone for a dramatic weekend.
The latest round of La Liga fixtures delivered drama across the table, with momentum swinging sharply at both ends of the standings. From relegation battles to title-defining moments, the weekend once again underlined how quickly narratives can shift in Spain’s top flight.
While Girona’s resurgence gathered pace and offered a timely boost in their fight for survival, familiar giants found themselves under scrutiny. Real Madrid finally steadied the ship under new management, Barcelona were made to rue fine margins in a damaging defeat, and Villarreal’s title charge suffered another setback.
Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid’s ongoing struggles in front of goal continued to raise questions. With pressure mounting, confidence wavering, and form lines being redrawn, the latest matchday provided plenty of talking points. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at another eventful weekend in La Liga.
Girona are on a roll: three straight La Liga wins
Girona were off to a very disappointing start with just two wins in their first 15 outings. They found themselves towards the bottom of the table and looked set for an intense fight for survival in the Spanish top flight. Michel Sanchez, who has done wonders for them, was fighting to save his job.
Fast-forward a few weeks, and the City Group-owned club have now climbed up to 11th in the 2025/26 La Liga standings, thanks to four wins in five games. They have won each of their last three league games against RCD Mallorca, Osasuna, and Espanyol.
They secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday, courtesy of two clinical penalties from Vladyslav Vanat in added time of both halves. While it was not their best performance, they won’t find bagging another three points given how difficult things were for them in the initial phase of the season.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s first win as Real Madrid boss
After a disastrous start to life as Real Madrid’s manager, Arbeloa finally got a well-deserved win against Levante on the weekend. The Spaniard’s tenure started in the worst possible way as they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by second-division outfit Albacete.
It was a massive blow for Los Blancos, who had just sacked Xabi Alonso, following their defeat to Barcelona in the Super Cup final. Given their disappointing results, the Real Madrid players certainly felt the heat at their home turf against Levante.
The players were relentlessly booed, with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, in particular, bearing the brunt of the hostility. Despite the hostile environment at the Bernabeu, the team in white got the job done with second-half strikes by Kylian Mbappe and Raul Asencio. The biggest positives were the fact that they took 27 shots at goal, 12 of them on target and even kept a clean sheet.
High-flying Villarreal stunned again
Villarreal were on a roll since the start of the season, and they were very much in the race for the 2025/26 La Liga title, but two defeats in the last month have stopped them in their tracks. While they remain in a very comfortable position with regards to the top-four race, the title race is now very tricky for them (8 points behind Barcelona with a game in hand).
Following their 2-0 defeat to Real Betis, they now have 41 points in their 19 outings. While they are level on points with fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, they do have a game in hand. More importantly, they have a seven-point cushion over the team in fifth.
While they were expected to come out on top against Real Betis, given the kind of form they have been in, Villarreal were completely outplayed on the night. Los Verdiblancos had more of the ball, they created more chances and got the job done.
Barcelona drop valuable points in La Liga
Barcelona’s incredible 11-match winning streak ended against Real Sociedad (1-2) last time out, and with this defeat, they now only have a one-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid. The 2025/26 La Liga title race is once again wide open.
Hansi Flick’s men will feel luck was simply not on their side as they had three goals and a penalty ruled out after VAR interventions. The majority of these decisions were marginal, and since they didn’t go Barcelona’s way, the players were infuriated.
Referee Gil Manzano’s decisions were certainly the biggest talking point. Apart from the decision-making, luck also did not favour the Catalan giants, as they struck the woodwork five times in the second half while chasing an equaliser. On another day, it could have been a comfortable win for them. However, things simply did not go their way, and Real Madrid are now breathing down their neck.
Atletico Madrid are finding it difficult to score goals
Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga against Deportivo Alaves last time out. While they dominated proceedings, enjoyed the bulk of possession and created plenty of chances, they could only find the back of the net once.
If it were a one-off, Diego Simeone would not have much to worry about, but that has been the story for Atletico Madrid since the start of the new year. They have scored just one goal in each of their four games in 2026.
They dominated possession in all four matches and registered more shots than the opposition in three of those fixtures, yet still struggled to convert their chances. With a star-studded attack featuring Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Antoine Griezmann, their lack of cutting edge is something Simeone will certainly be concerned about.
