La Liga

19-year-old Xavi Espert completed 90 minutes in the two opening rounds and once again impressed the Barcelona coach, who previously compared him to the Bayern Munich legend: "I am a bit surprised by how he plays."

Jose Mourinho enjoyed a successful home debut as Real Madrid coach, largely thanks to Kylian Mbappe. The star striker led the team to a 4:1 victory over Real Sociedad with a hat-trick (40', 60', 80'), while Vinicius also found the net (68'). Luka Sucic scored the lone goal for the visitors (44').

The Blancos looked far from their peak, but a goal by Carlos Aspi in the 90th minute secured a 1:2 win over Espanyol in the Portuguese manager's return debut. Fans were enthusiastic about the winning mentality: "Mourinho's dark magic is back."

In December, Diego Simeone will mark 15 full years as head coach of Atletico Madrid. On Wednesday, the team opened the new season with a 2-0 home victory over Malaga. The visitors, who returned to the top flight after eight years, held firm for 70 minutes before ultimately falling to defeat.

Following the events surrounding the match against Leganes and Viktor Tsygankov's refusal to come on as a substitute, the player posted screenshots of internal club communications on social media. The player hinted at a conflict, captioning the posts with: "One day I will speak."

After it seemed he wouldn't be a significant player, the coach changed Marc Pubill's position and created a star. This season he arrives to show he is the leading center-back in Atletico's defense. Do you have something to say too? Send us columns to the address: kick@ynet.co.il

Like Racing Santander, Deportivo La Coruña failed to celebrate its return to La Liga after an eight-year absence with a home victory. The 2000 Spanish champion, which dissolved after relegation in 2018 and was still playing in the third division in 2024, led at Riazor against Elche, but ultimately settled for a point after a 1:1 draw in the opening round.

The Spanish league season kicked off with high drama. Sevilla secured a last-gasp win against Rayo Vallecano, while Alaves dominated Getafe in the second half.

The 2026/27 La Liga season kicks off tomorrow, but Real Madrid and Barcelona will miss the opening round. Both teams will begin their campaigns next week due to the heavy workload of players who participated in the final stages of the 2026 World Cup.

The Barcelona star denied reports of a crisis with coach Hansi Flick, attacked the rumors surrounding him and clarified: "I have been here for seven years, it has always been my dream."

Barcelona is counting on Rodri and the generation of stars from the World Cup, but is stuck without a striker. Real Madrid has brought back Mourinho to bring order to the locker room and, above all, to turn Mbappe from a goal-scoring machine into a trophy-winning machine. After the national team conquered the world, the two giants of La Liga will not only fight for the crown of Spain — they are...