La Liga Roundup, Matchday 38
The 38th matchday of the 2025/26 La Liga season has concluded, featuring exciting games, impressive individual displays, and surprising outcomes. Below is a recap of these La Liga encounters.
Valencia 3-1 Barcelona
Valencia concluded the season with a notable 3-1 victory against Barcelona, breaking an 11-match winless streak in La Liga head-to-head encounters, although it wasn’t sufficient to qualify for European competition next season. The home team secured a commendable ninth-place finish. On the other hand, Hansi Flick’s team wrapped up their season with their sixth league loss in an otherwise outstanding campaign, finishing eight points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of the standings.
Real Madrid 4-2 Athletic Bilbao
Dani Carvajal made his farewell appearance for Real Madrid by delivering an excellent assist as Los Blancos comfortably secured a 4-2 win against Athletic Club in their last La Liga match of the season. Regarding Athletic, they failed to secure a top-half finish, losing eight of their last 12 La Liga games.
Mallorca 3-0 Oviedo
Although Mallorca ended their three-match winless streak with a 3-0 win over Real Oviedo, their relegation from La Liga was confirmed despite earning 42 points, the highest points total for a relegated team since Deportivo de La Coruña in the 2010/11 season. Mallorca finished in 18th place and were relegated after losing the tiebreaker to Osasuna and Levante, who also had 42 points. Real Oviedo had already been relegated by matchday 35 and finished the season at the bottom of the table following a seven-game winless streak.
Girona 1-1 Elche
Girona’s three-year run in La Liga concluded after the Catalan team managed only a 1-1 draw with Elche at Estadi Montilivi, ensuring Elche’s survival at the expense of Míchel’s squad. Elche’s defense fought hard to maintain the draw, securing their place in the top division for another season following their promotion last year.
Getafe 1-0 Osasuna
Getafe will participate in European football next season after José Bordalás’ team secured a spot in the UEFA Conference League (UECL) on the last day of the 2025/26 La Liga season with a hard-fought 1-0 home victory against Osasuna. Osasuna managed to avoid relegation thanks to other match outcomes, remaining in Spain’s top division. However, their 17th-place finish marks their lowest standing since their relegation in 2019.
Espanyol 1-1 Real Sociedad
Espanyol and Real Sociedad finished in a 1-1 draw at the RCDE Stadium in La Liga. As a result, the visitors have gone without a win in their last seven matches (four draws and three losses) since their Copa del Rey victory. Despite the draw, Sociedad moved ahead of Espanyol into 10th place on goal difference after drawing both head-to-head matches. They had already secured a spot in the UEFA Europa League by winning the Copa del Rey.
Celta Vigo 1-0 Sevilla
Celta Vigo secured a spot in the UEFA Europa League for the second consecutive season by winning 1-0 at home against Sevilla on the final day of La Liga. Sevilla, who had already ensured their survival, ended the season in 13th place. They finished with 19 losses, just one less than the number of defeats they had during their relegation season in 2000.
Betis 2-1 Levante
Levante narrowly escaped relegation despite a 2-1 loss to Real Betis, marking their first defeat on the final day in eight seasons. The win meant little for Betis, who were already assured of finishing fifth regardless of the outcome, but it allowed them to end the season on a positive note.
Alaves 1-2 Rayo Vallecano
Randy Nteka netted a winning goal in the 90th minute as Rayo Vallecano rallied to defeat Deportivo Alavés 2-1 on the last weekend of the La Liga season, ensuring they finished in the top eight. However, the late excitement at Mendizorroza Stadium was insufficient for the visitors to secure a spot in European competition next season, as they fell short of a top-seven finish by only one point.
Villarreal 5-1 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal secured third place in La Liga following a 5-1 victory over Atlético Madrid, breaking a streak of six matches without a win against them and giving a fitting farewell to outgoing head coach Marcelino. This marks the first time since the 2007/08 season that Villarreal has finished in the top three, concluding a highly successful domestic season. On the other hand, Diego Simeone will likely view Atlético’s season as disappointing by their standards, having finished outside the top three for the second time in three years and trailing champions Barcelona by 25 points.
