With just nine games remaining, the stakes continue to rise in the 2025/26 La Liga season, and every point is proving to be decisive. Barcelona managed to hold firm at the top despite not being at their best, while Real Madrid kept the pressure on with a hard-fought win in the Madrid derby.
At the other end of the table, the fight for survival produced significant movement. Levante boosted their hopes with a vital win, while Elche and Alaves picked up timely victories to stay clear of immediate danger. Meanwhile, Real Betis’s dip in form has put their European ambitions at serious risk. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at five key takeaways from Matchday 29 of the La Liga season.
Levante secured a very important 4-2 win over Real Oviedo in Matchday 29 of La Liga. With both teams fighting for survival in La Liga, this game not only hands them three important points but also makes life difficult for a direct rival.
While Real Oviedo were the ones who dominated the ball, Levante created a lot more chances on the break, and they made the most out of it. With this win, they have now accumulated 26 points in their 29 outings. Levante are only three points off safety.
A few weeks back, their chances of survival were minimal, but a four-match unbeaten run, where they have claimed eight points, has certainly given them some hope heading into the final nine games of the season.
Relegation-threatened Elche and Alaves secured three very important points in Matchday 29 of the 2025/26 La Liga season. Both teams managed to end their winless streak. With Elche 17th and Alaves 16th on the table, the pressure was mounting on both teams.
Alaves had been winless in their last six games, while Elche have not won a single La Liga game in 2026 (11 match winless) heading into this round of fixtures. Elche got the better of RCD Mallorca, who are also fighting for survival, while Alaves took down European hopefuls Celta Vigo.
With this win, Elche are a point clear of the drop zone, while Alaves have a three-point cushion. This win has come at the right time for both teams, but they cannot afford to relax as things are just starting to heat up.
Heading into the Matchday 29 fixture against Rayo Vallecano, Barcelona were out-and-out favourites as they had won six out of their last seven games while bagging 24 goals in those fixtures. They had 14 wins at home, and the visitors were winless in their last eight outings in La Liga.
Having smashed Newcastle United 7-2 earlier in the week in the UEFA Champions League, everyone expected the Catalan giants to run the show against Rayo. While they dominated the ball, to everyone’s surprise, they were not clinical enough in the final third.
Once again, they had to rely on Joan Garcia to make some incredible saves to help them out. Despite not being at their best, the Blaugrana did get the job done, and with these three points, they retain control of the title race.
With Barcelona winning earlier in the day and going seven points clear at the top, the pressure was on Alvaro Arbeloa’s Real Madrid. They had to win at all costs to keep the title race alive heading into the final nine games of the season.
However, it was not going to be easy as they were going up against City rivals Atletico Madrid, who had every intention to spoil the party. Los Blancos delivered on the big night as they secured a hard-fought 3-2 win over Diego Simeone’s men courtesy of a Vinicius Junior brace.
While Atletico Madrid took the lead, Real Madrid bounced back in the second half and were in complete control of the proceedings post that, despite Federico Valverde’s red card. With this win, they have managed to keep the gap at the top down to four points.
Real Betis were in a very comfortable position in their pursuit of a European spot until mid-February. However, things have not really gone according to plan for them over the past month, as they have failed to win any of their last five league outings (D3 L2).
The defeat to Athletic Club (2-1) this week was another disappointing performance from them. While they dominated the ball, Los Verdiblancos were unable to make the most out of it. A top-four spot is already out of the picture as they are 13 points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.
The bigger problem for them is that they could miss out on European football entirely if they don’t get things back on track in the coming weeks. They currently occupy a Europa League spot, but are only three points clear of the team below them, and there are only six points between them and the team in seventh. The Andalusian outfit have dropped 12 points in their last five games, which suggests things could get uglier if they do not manage to turn things around.
