Happy New Year! LaLiga is back and so are we, with our first Matchday review of 2026. The honour is for Matt Clark (@MattClark_08) and Román de Arquer (@Aeroslavee), who analyse this weekend's exciting fixtures. Who started the year strongest? Who will be wishing it's still Christmas.

We start with the Catalan derby between Espanyol and Barça, which for many ended in an unfair result. Espanyol's admirable efforts were parried away by an towering Joan García, who was unfazed by the hostile environment in his return to the RCDE Stadium. Real Madrid's commanding win vs Betis follows, with Gonzalo eclipsing Mbappé's absence, and then we review Atleti's draw against Real Sociedad and Villarreal's victory toppling Elche's fortress.

In Part Two, we look at the teams in the relegation battle, with a special focus on Girona climbing out at Valencia's expense, Levante grabbing a very big win at Sevilla and Oviedo deserving to win but ultimately failing to do so. It was a solid showing for the new managers in their respective first outings.

All this and more in our first pod of the year! Thank you for listening, and remember you can access our bonus podcast and multiple weekly articles over at lllonline.substack.com.

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