The crossing of the halfway point of the League was sealed with the agonizing end of Xabi Alonso in the torture seat of the Bernabéu stadium. The Basque was the fifth coach to be dismissed, the previous ones were Julian Calero (Levante), Sergio Francisco (Real Sociedad), and Veljko Paunovic and Luis Carrión (Oviedo), in a first half of the league where Barça took the spotlight: winter champion and winner of the Supercopa. In the grading, Espanyol stood out with an outstanding performance, being the team that has improved the most compared to the first half of 2024-2025. Back then, they were in a relegation position, eighteenth, with 16 points. Now they are fifth, with 34. The teams that have worsened the most were Athletic and Mallorca, both with 12 points less. In the middle of the season, the strikes of Kylian Mbappé and the flight of Joan Garcia stood out.
The coach from Tolosa left Real Madrid after betraying the model and playing system for which he was hired after his success at Bayer Leverkusen. He failed to connect with the bench and in the last two months, he survived with anguish on the edge of the precipice.
The efficiency of the Frenchman was the most positive aspect of an erratic Real Madrid. The Bernabéu is starting to acknowledge the kyliandependence. He leads the league's scorers list with 18 goals, seven more than Ferran and Mallorca's Muriqi. Almost half of Madrid's goals, 41, are in his bag.
Everything good he displayed at Espanyol has been enhanced at Barcelona. The Spanish goalkeeper is indisputable for Hansi Flick and one of the pillars on which a leading team relies, presenting the best goal difference: 53/20. His superb interventions have sparked an interesting debate about his call-up to the national team. A dilemma for Luis de la Fuente, torn between logic and loyalty to the group.
The one destined to be the flagbearer of Atlético reflected the apathy and lack of consistency of Simeone's team (strong at home and weak away). The Argentine forward scored seven goals, one more than the previous season, but back then he scored in six matches, now only in four (three against Rayo). In the season where he was supposed to confirm himself as a great international star, he appears blurred and lacking ambition. His low morale affects him and drags down the whole team. Simeone has pampered him with 18 starts.
The Asturian coach handled himself with ease in the league - a different story in Europe - with only three losses (one less than Real Madrid and Barcelona) and dared to challenge the big three at the top. One of his secrets was defensive solidity: conceding only 17 goals, a figure shared with Madrid and Atlético. Moleiro became the new emblem of La Cerámica.
The Galician coach, who shies away from the media spotlight, convinces with his method. With a squad assembled with minimal resources, he has turned Espanyol into the revelation squad. After suffering immensely last season to secure survival, they are now in the European zone. They are fifth, just four points behind Atlético Madrid. Through his tactics, players like Carlos Romero have flourished, the most scoring defender in the league (four goals), second only to Pere Milla at Espanyol, with just two goals less.
The Catalan coach embodies the disappointment of Oviedo, newly promoted and a permanent bottom-dweller. The coach, who took over from Veljko Paunovic, failed to steer the Asturian ship in the right direction. He began his second stint at the club on October 9 and was dismissed on December 14 after managing nine matches without a single victory. He only gathered four points and was knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Ourense. His position was taken by the Uruguayan Guillermo Almada, amidst protests from Oviedo fans, who also struggles to secure wins.
If Oviedo is a serious candidate for relegation, Valencia fights desperately to avoid the drop. The Valencian coach managed to awaken a disappointing team last season by betting on youth players, but now he is caught in a negative spiral. They have only won three matches and are third from the bottom, with just three points more than Levante (with a game in hand) and four more than Oviedo.