The 2025/26 La Liga season continues to deliver twists and turns with every passing week, and Matchday 9 was no different.
The race at both ends of the table remains as unpredictable as ever, with Real Madrid retaining top spot, Barcelona grinding out a late win, and Real Sociedad slipping further into crisis.
Xabi Alonso’s men were far from their best but still managed to grind out a crucial 1-0 victory over a resilient Getafe side, while Barcelona left it late to seal all three points against bottom-placed Girona thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Ronald Araujo.
At the other end, Real Sociedad’s struggles continued as they dropped more points against Celta Vigo, keeping them firmly in the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Luis Carrión’s much-anticipated return to Real Oviedo didn’t go as planned, and Rayo Vallecano have begun to show signs of resurgence after securing back-to-back wins to climb up the table.
With plenty of movement across the standings and storylines unfolding on and off the pitch, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the key talking points from Matchday 9 of the 2025/26 La Liga season.
Getafe handed Real Madrid all three points
Getafe put up a sensational performance against the leaders, Real Madrid. They defended with everything they had and made sure the team in white didn’t create any clear-cut chances despite having one of the best attacks in the world.
With only 15 minutes left and the score 0-0, it looked like the home team would steal a point, but defensive blunders in the end handed Los Blancos the opportunity to claim all three points. Yet again, Kylian Mbappe rose to the occasion and helped them win 1-0.
Just moments after getting subbed on to strengthen the backline, Alex Nyom got sent off for blocking Vinicius Junior with a stretched-out arm. Three minutes after they were reduced to 10 men, Los Blancos bagged the only goal of the ball. Four minutes after the goal, Alex Sancris left Getafe with nine men for a completely unnecessary foul on the Brazilian.
Ronaldo Araujo saves the day for Barcelona
Bottom-placed Girona could have easily secured a point against defending champions Barcelona if Ronald Araujo had not bagged an injury-time winner. While Barcelona dominated the ball and created loads of chances, they were not clinical enough in the final third.
More importantly, the visitors exposed them on multiple occasions during the counterattack and created quite a few big opportunities. Girona went in 1-1 at halftime, but had they been better in the final third, it could have easily been 3-1 or 4-1 in their favour.
Barcelona’s defence certainly looked vulnerable on the break, just like they did in their 4-1 defeat to Sevilla, and these are certainly not the best of signs as they gear up for the Clasico. However, what’s important is that they secured all three points on the night and are now within touching distance of league leaders Real Madrid.
Luis Carrion’s return to Real Oviedo did not go as planned
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Carrion took Oviedo very close to promotion to the top flight two years back. But he then left the club to join Las Palmas, where he only lasted a couple of weeks. His decision to leave the project mid-way didn’t go down well with the fans, and his return hasn’t pleased them either.
Oviedo decided to sack Veljko Paunovic just eight weeks into the new season despite him having guided them to the top flight. It was a massive surprise for the fans, and the fact that they decided to bring in Carrion to replace him was an even bigger one.
In his first game in charge, the team squared up against Espanyol at home. It was a fixture that Oviedo should win if they wanted to stay up, but they ended up suffering a 2-0 defeat, which suggests Carrion has a massive task at hand. As things stand, they will have to completely turn things around to stand a chance of surviving in the top flight.
Rayo Vallecano climb up to 11th in La Liga with consecutive wins
After a run of six games without a win in the league, Rayo Vallecano have now won their last two league outings. They secured a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad prior to the break and have backed it up with a sensational 3-0 win over Levante.
Jorge de Fruto scored a brace in the first half against his former club, before Alvaro Garcia sealed the victory in the 65th minute. Rayo had a very disappointing start to the new season, and things were not looking that bright for them. As a result, consecutive wins in the league have certainly been a big boost for them.
Real Sociedad’s struggles in La Liga continue
Sociedad find themselves 18th on the points table, having won just one out of their first nine league outings. For a team that are expected to push for a European spot, this has been an extremely poor start to the season.
They squared up against winless Celta Vigo on matchday nine. Sociedad were expected to secure all three points for the second time in the season. However, they had to rely on an 89th-minute goal by Carlos Soler to secure a point against 10-man Celta.
The Basque club’s only win came against Mallorca. Their poor start is a sign that their project is going nowhere, and it could have a massive impact on their squad. Some of their top players could now even look to push for a move away.