La Liga Daily Report - 2026-04-26

Barcelona beat Getafe 2-0 on Saturday through goals from Fermín López and Marcus Rashford, moving 11 points clear of Real Madrid with five matches left. The win put Hansi Flick's side on the verge of a second straight La Liga title, and they can clinch it if they beat Osasuna next weekend and Madrid fail to beat Espanyol.

The result mattered even more because Barcelona were without injured wingers Lamine Yamal and Raphinha yet still handled a tricky away fixture. Rashford's goal lifted him to 13 goals and 13 assists in 45 appearances, underlining how quickly he has become a major factor in the title run-in.

Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at Real Betis after Héctor Bellerín struck deep into stoppage time, leaving Álvaro Arbeloa's side badly damaged in the title race. Madrid had led through Vinícius Jr after Federico Valverde's shot was parried into his path, but the late equaliser meant they dropped more ground on Barcelona.

The draw followed another poor spell for Los Blancos, who have won just one match since the March international break and have now failed to win five of their last six games across all competitions. With Barcelona moving to 82 points and Madrid trailing by 11, the gap looks close to decisive with only five league matches left.

Atlético Madrid beat Athletic Club 3-2 in a comeback win that keeps their Champions League push alive and gives Diego Simeone's team a timely lift before their semifinal against Arsenal. After Aitor Paredes headed Athletic in front, Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sørloth turned the match around, with Sørloth's stoppage-time goal proving decisive.

Alex Baena also played a key role, assisting Sørloth's first goal and leading Atlético for chances created with two. The performance was a welcome sign for Baena after a difficult first season in Madrid, in which he has managed only three La Liga assists and two goals despite creating 39 chances.

Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad drew 3-3 in one of the day's most dramatic La Liga matches, with Alemão's header in the ninth minute of stoppage time rescuing a point for the hosts. The game swung on a VAR intervention after Rayo thought Pedro Díaz had equalised in the 69th minute, only for the goal to be ruled out and a penalty awarded to Sociedad instead.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted that 76th-minute penalty to put the visitors 3-1 up, but Rayo fought back through Florian Lejeune and then Alemão's late equaliser at Vallecas. The result extended Rayo's unbeaten home league run to seven matches, with four wins and three draws.

Real Madrid have opened a legal battle with La Liga over the league's new protocol against discrimination, harassment and violence in stadiums. The dispute centres on a framework unveiled by La Liga in March, with Madrid taking a strong stance against how it is being implemented.

The move adds another flashpoint to the already strained relationship between Florentino Pérez and Javier Tebas. It also arrives at a moment when Madrid's on-field problems are mounting, making the club's off-field confrontation with the league another major storyline in an unhappy season.

Lamine Yamal has made more La Liga history by becoming the only player to win Player of the Month three times in a single season, adding April to his November and December 2025 awards. Even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never managed that feat, which underlines how unusual the Barcelona teenager's rise has been.

One report also said Yamal finished the campaign with 16 league goals, more than any of his teammates, despite now being sidelined by a season-ending injury. The flood of attention around him reflects not just his individual brilliance but how central he has become to Barcelona's title-winning profile.

Xavi Hernández spent the day reflecting on Barcelona's greatest modern stars, saying Lionel Messi was the clear winner over him in the 2010 Ballon d'Or debate and describing Neymar's first week at the club as the closest thing to Messi. He also said Barcelona won a Champions League, a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup during the Messi-Neymar era he shared in.

In separate comments, Xavi revealed he had tried to bring back Neymar, Pedro and Dani Alves during his coaching spell, highlighting how strongly he believed in restoring Barcelona's old core. The remarks keep alive the club's long-running debate over how close it came to reuniting its past and how that might have changed recent seasons.