The latest round of fixtures in La Liga delivered defining moments in the title race and crucial twists in the battles for European qualification and survival.
Matchday 34 of the 2025/26 La Liga season brought the leaders one step closer to glory. Barcelona tightened their grip at the top with another hard-fought win, while Real Madrid ensured the title race stays alive for at least another week with a comfortable victory ahead of El Clasico.
Elsewhere, the race for European football saw a significant shift, with Celta Vigo strengthening their position in the top six. At the same time, the relegation battle remains wide open, as Sevilla climbed out of the drop zone while Girona’s struggles have dragged them back into danger. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at five key takeaways from Matchday 34 of the La Liga season.
Barcelona three points away from the 2025/26 La Liga title
Barcelona recorded a hard-fought 2-1 win over Osasuna in Matchday 34. While they dominated the ball and created a lot of chances, they were not as clinical as they would have liked to be. However, strikes from Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres within the final ten minutes gave them all three points.
While Raul Garcia’s 88th-minute strike did cause a bit of panic, Hansi Flick’s men were able to hold onto a goal’s advantage and ended up recording their 10th straight win in La Liga. There are still four games to go in the season, but the Catalan giants can now wrap up the title with a win on matchday 35.
Real Madrid return to winning ways ahead of El Clasico
With Barcelona securing all three points against Osasuna, Real Madrid were under pressure, as dropping points against Espanyol would have handed the Catalan giants the title and resulted in a potential guard of honour at Camp Nou in El Clasico next week.
Real Madrid fans will be pleased that Alvaro Arbeloa’s men returned to winning ways with a comfortable 2-0 victory. Despite being without their top scorer, Kylian Mbappe, Los Blancos hardly had any problems. In fact, they looked better organised and managed to dominate an opposition that has not won a single game in 2026.
While they may have avoided a potential guard of honour, they have set up El Clasico in the best possible way. Barcelona can now win the title at home in front of their fans against their arch-rivals, while Real Madrid will look to salvage some pride by delaying the Catalan giants’ title triumph.
Celta Vigo’s chances of European qualification boosted
With a dominant 3-1 win over Elche, Celta Vigo have significantly bolstered their chances of securing Champions League football. They have climbed up to sixth on the points table, a spot that guarantees Conference League football.
While Elche were the ones who dominated the proceedings and created more chances, Celta Vigo were clinical in the final third and managed to keep the relegation-threatened team’s forwards at bay. Getafe were sixth on the table heading into matchday 34, but a defeat to Rayo Vallecano handed Celta the opportunity to take control.
Celta now have a three-point cushion and heading into the final four games, this could prove to be very vital in the race for a European spot.
Sevilla move out of the drop zone
Sevilla remain in the relegation battle, but they have managed to jump out of the drop zone with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Real Sociedad. While it was a closely fought encounter, the home team created better opportunities, and in the end, the veteran forward Alexis Sánchez found the back of the net to win three very important points for his team.
With this win, Los Nervionenses have moved out of the drop zone. They are now 17th on the table and have a points lead over 18th-placed Alaves, who suffered a smashing 4-2 defeat at the hands of Athletic Club. While a one-point lead is not much in a relegation battle, it does give them some confidence heading into the final four games.
Girona’s top-flight status is in jeopardy
Girona had a poor start to the season, and they were very much a part of the relegation battle for a few months. However, a good run of form helped them move closer to mid-table, but three consecutive defeats have dragged them back into the survival battle.
Following this run of four league games without a win, they are only two points clear of the drop zone. They squared up against RCD Mallorca, who are also in the race for survival. Girona were hoping to get things back on track with a win, but they ended up losing 1-0.
Despite dominating the ball and taking more shots on goal, Girona couldn’t get the job done, as they were not clinical enough in the final third.
