The new season is here | La Liga is still "two supers and one strong", but Real Madrid and Barcelona have "hard to recite scriptures"

Reprinted from: Yangzi Evening News

On August 16, the 2025-2026 La Liga season is about to kick off. The overall pattern of "two supers and one strong" in La Liga in the new season is likely to continue, but Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are all facing their own difficulties. Who can break the deadlock first will not only affect the direction of the league championship, but also may also affect the competitive situation in the European arena.

The dominant pattern of the "two supers and one strong" in the league is stable

The La Liga pattern will not change

In the past few seasons, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have been at the top of the league with their distinctive styles: Real Madrid relies on their deep heritage and top star cluster dominance, Barcelona has gained a foothold with their pass control system and youth training, and Atletico Madrid has established a position with iron-blooded defense and efficient counterattack.

In the new season, the top three are still the core competitors of the championship. Real Madrid's star lineup, Barcelona's system resilience, and Atletico Madrid's tactical discipline are still insurmountable barriers for other teams. Among the mid-range teams, Athletic Bilbao's local youth training power and Villarreal's European combat experience are worth paying attention to, but their realistic goal is to impact the European combat seats rather than shake the dominance of the three strongholds.

It is worth noting that the top three will focus more on the Champions League in the new season. In recent years, La Liga's competitiveness in the European competition has declined, and Real Madrid and Barcelona are particularly eager to regain their former glory. This strategic leaning may lead to increased league rotation and create opportunities for mid-stream teams. Real Madrid's imbalanced lineup tests new coach Alonso

to take over Real Madrid, Alonso has huge pressure

Real Madrid's summer window operation is clear: spend huge sums of money to introduce central defender Heysen to strengthen air defense shortcomings, and spend more than 10 million to introduce Liverpool right back Arnold in advance to improve the offensive and defensive connection between the wing, and Argentine star Mastantono introduced the forward line to increase the depth of rotation. These signings have significantly improved the strength of the defense, but the structural problems in Real Madrid's midfield and frontcourt have not been resolved.

After Kroos and Modric left the team, Real Madrid midfielder lost the "melodder" to control the rhythm. Although Bellingham contributed impressive data of 16 goals and 8 assists last season, his impact style is more suitable for forward insertion rather than scheduling; although Valverde and Camavenga are full of energy, they lack the ability to control the rhythm of the game. This flaw is exposed in this summer's Club Cup.

Taking over the command of the "Galaxy Battleship" from Ancelotti, the new coach Xavi Alonso is under great pressure. The former Leverkusen coach is good at creating a compact offensive and defensive system, but Real Madrid's superstar lineup needs a more refined art of balance. How to activate Arnold's wing organization ability and Heysen's goal-out attributes to enable them to form an effective link with the midfield? How to find a balance between Mbappe and Vinicius’ personal breakthroughs and team transfers and controls? The answers to these questions will determine whether Real Madrid can get out of the dilemma of "sweeping against weak and being busy with strong". The hidden worries of Barcelona's lineup under the financial haze are still there. Barcelona's financial problems are the heart problems of club chairman Laporta. Barcelona won the championship with a "four kills" of Real Madrid last season, but its financial difficulties have always been with them.

According to Spanish media, due to financial fair rules, Barcelona only invested 25 million euros to sign up this summer and closed the transfer window early. This is much lower than Real Madrid's investment in signings. Not only that, in order to meet the registration requirements of the main lineup players, Barcelona was also "forced" to sell central defender Inigo Martinez, and even news that it may sell youth training stars such as Fermin, which will undoubtedly weaken the team's long-term competitiveness. At the

lineup level, Barcelona's defense was hit the most. After Martinez left the team, only four of Barcelona's central defenders were left with Kubasi, Araujo, Christensen and Eric Garcia. Once there is a reduction in staff in the new season, the thickness of the defense line will face severe tests. The hidden worries on the

forward line are concentrated in the center position. Although Lewandowski, 36, ranked second in the scorer's list with 27 goals last season, his physical decline caused his average running distance to decrease and his condition also showed a significant decline at the end of the season. How to extend Lewandowski's efficient period through tactical adjustments and at the same time tap the potential of young players' mid lane will directly affect Barcelona's attack efficiency.

La Liga in the new season not only continues the main theme of "two supers and one strong", but also contains variables that break the deadlock. Real Madrid's midfield reconstruction and Barcelona's fiscal breakthrough will become the most noteworthy plot line in the league. In the double-line game between European and leagues, whoever can better balance the choices will be the ultimate winner.

Yangzi Evening News/Zi Niu News reporter Huang Xiyin

Proofreading Sheng Yuanyuan