Lamine Yamal claimed the spotlight and waved the banner high. On the final play of the first match in 2025-26, Barcelona's fresh No 10 - the young player given the jersey once worn by Ladislao Kubala, Luis Suarez, Diego Maradona, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi, the youngster Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called touched by divine gift and blessed by the same - found the net versus Mallorca. It marked his opening goal in senior football and he marked it with a self-styled crowning moment. The La Liga title chase was underway.

Nine months later after the race concluded, as Barcelona's team bus rolled through city streets, Lamine Yamal displayed a Palestine flag from the upper level of the trophy parade. Hansi Flick noted he usually dislikes such gestures yet discussed it with the player who chose freely as an 18-year-old. Growing up under public scrutiny proved tough and the year brought injuries plus what Lamine Yamal called an inner struggle, yet he secured a third league crown. Flick, the guiding presence whose father passed on the morning of the title win and who shared the moment with his extended family, earned his second. Asked if he had known such affection, the coach replied never before.

Barcelona had largely sealed the title against local foes Espanyol with seven fixtures remaining, Lamine Yamal striding to the finish line with arms spread like Usain Bolt eyeing rivals. They confirmed it mathematically in round 35, the first time a Clasico had decided the championship in 94 years. Three days after a dressing-room clash between Fede Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni that sent Madrid's vice-captain to hospital with craniofacial trauma requiring stitches, Marcus Rashford delivered the decisive strike. Barcelona had used three venues and triumphed in every contest there. This Clasico formed their 11th straight victory and 23rd success in 25 outings since the prior meeting 600 km away.

Matters looked far different earlier. In late October when Barcelona's worried coach cautioned that ego destroys achievement, Rayo had spotted the Flick approach and Sevilla had exposed gaps, Madrid took a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu to lead by five points. Jude Bellingham dismissed Lamine Yamal's comments as cheap talk and paired it with Elvis music while Dani Carvajal gestured dismissively. Yet Madrid faced their own issues as Vinicius Junior departed early. Xabi Alonso aimed to focus on priorities but those priorities shifted. With the coach sidelined matters deteriorated and divisions surfaced.

Barcelona's Super Cup triumph in the next meeting ended Alonso's spell in charge that had begun prematurely before an unhappy Club World Cup exit. A replacement arrived unable to steady the ship as Alvaro Arbeloa said appropriate words that failed to help. He offered a grey sofa for talks and rewarded good displays with doughnuts yet results stayed poor. By the May Clasico Madrid sat out of Europe and the cup while nearly losing their composure. Split and eager for closure they fell 12 points behind with nine games left and finished empty-handed once more. Kylian Mbappe had already departed for Sicily and posted support only after a 2-0 deficit.

Two days later president Florentino Perez spoke to media for the first time in over a decade and delivered a rambling address that clarified little yet revealed much. He had spotted Madrid's issue and resolved it by cancelling his ABC subscription.

Barcelona lifted the trophy on the evening it was secured and paraded it through the city along with the Super Cup yet missed the European Cup they craved most. Madrid also fell short though their stronger showings came in that competition. Villarreal and Athletic exited the league phase while San Mames remained the sole venue where PSG failed to score. Atletico Madrid who eliminated Barcelona from both domestic cups and abandoned title hopes came closest but left with nothing. Arsenal ended their first semi-final run in ten years and in their first Copa del Rey final for 13 years they fell to Real Sociedad on penalties where a reserve keeper made the key stop and kissed a former ball boy who scored the winner. Full-back Alvaro Odriozola who did not feature called it unmatched.

Barcelona, Madrid, Atletico and Villarreal who placed third return next season along with Betis who claimed the new fifth Champions League berth. Cup winners Real Sociedad joined them in Europe with Celta Vigo and Getafe whose coach Pepe Bordalas called qualification historic. That claim stretched belief yet Getafe began with only 13 senior players including two keepers. At the halfway point in the drop zone they fielded full-back Allan Nyom as striker. Bordalas said he would not wish the situation on anyone though he had caused many tough moments for others. Still they finished seventh after signing four lesser-known loanees in January. Their style featured the second-lowest goals fewest shots lowest possession and most fouls.

During Getafe's final-day pitch invasion a group of red-shirted players joined in. Relegation-threatened Osasuna waited to learn their fate the captain describing those minutes with tablets phones and radios as agonising and the worst sensation. They survived and celebrated with Getafe supporters and Nyom who delayed his exit until safety was assured. Osasuna coach Alesio Lisci called it a strange season and it was. The side had already marked survival via a 99th-minute goal against Sevilla a month earlier only to face another fight saved by results elsewhere.

The campaign featured few surprises at the top where the same five or six clubs stayed clear yet the bottom proved chaotic with sudden drops and dramatic recoveries. Only Real Oviedo returning to the top flight after 24 years and featuring Santi Cazorla making his primera debut for the club he joined at eight and rejoined at 38 on minimum wage departed early leaving no room for sentiment. Despite fielding both Lamine and Mbappe they scored just nine home goals and changed managers three times while securing only two away wins.

While Oviedo exited early the fight to avoid the other two relegation spots proved fierce crowded expensive and lasted until the end. With strong sides faltering and weaker ones rising a narrow margin separated European spots from the drop for much of the year. Nine teams entered the penultimate round battling the final two places yet Espanyol Sevilla Alaves and Valencia escaped while five sides remained in danger on the last day their outcomes linked. Elche and Girona met at Montilivi in a decisive clash where a late Thomas Lemar effort off the crossbar decided Girona's fate. Four points from their final eight games sent the side that challenged for the title two years earlier and played in the Champions League last season down on 41 points a tally that would have sufficed in prior seasons this decade. Mallorca also dropped on 42 points after a three-team tiebreaker with Osasuna and Levante despite a striker scoring 23 goals unmatched in 26 years.

Coach Martin Demichelis said the pain was real while Girona manager Michel Sanchez called football cruel. Elche coach Eder Sarabia noted the league's madness yet his side survived.

One final note remained the best for last. Rayo who transformed from modest to gloriously defiant could not return from Germany and their first European final with the Conference League trophy. Everything about Rayo felt off yet fitting including the banner in Leipzig that captured the essence better than any cup: I have known no greater victory than being with you in defeat.

Except perhaps claiming one of these awards.

Most charming president

Rayo Vallecano's Raul Martin Presa who labelled supporters drunk brainless and idle. His own supporters.

Most optimistic owner

Jesus Martinez who in week eight after dismissing the manager who promoted them and kept them safe insisted on discussing European qualification rather than mere survival. Two days later Oviedo sat in the bottom three and stayed there.

Best atmosphere

Unsurprisingly at San Mames though Athletic were not involved. Instead Euskadi faced Palestine.

Best tifo-type thing

Atletico fans welcomed their side with a toilet-roll cascade that turned the Metropolitano into the Monumental and Sevilla copied days later. Uefa and La Liga fined both clubs.

Best post-match singalong

Rayo belting out A Pirate's Life alongside CD Yuncos players they had just defeated.

Best party

And worst hangover. Picture winning the Copa del Rey for only the fourth time with kick-off at 10pm extra time penalties and departure from the stadium at 2am. Add a hotel disco at 2.39am a club visit at 4.45am a bus to the airport at 10.15am without sleep and duty-free drinks on the flight. The loudest voice declares it the best day ever and promises a great time which follows over several days with city parades beers and sunstroke amid hundreds of thousands of fans. Then imagine stumbling in the next afternoon still unsteady to prepare for a match you just want to finish only to learn it is against Getafe.

Most nostalgic fan

Lionel Messi quietly entering the Camp Nou alone on a cold November Sunday night.

Most brilliantly unexpected fan

Wait what.

Unluckiest fan

After Betis's 3-0 win over Mallorca one supporter eager for Cedric Bakambu's shirt rushed down the stand tripped over the barrier and landed at the striker's feet. That gained attention yet he still left without the shirt as Bakambu stood bemused. Contrast that with Osasuna keeper Sergio Herrera who after victory in Palma collected the whole team's kit and delivered it to fans without mishap or injury.

Naughtiest fan

Oviedo's match at Mestalla was postponed 24 hours due to heavy rain stranding fans in Valencia and disrupting travel so the club flew them home on the team charter the next day. Heartwarming until a photo appeared online and a mother in Asturias recognised a passenger. She posted asking Real Oviedo to tell her son she would speak to him on return. He was meant to be at his grandmother's house.