Barca maintains La Liga's honor, while Real Madrid struggles in the play-off round

Barca earned a direct spot in the Champions League knockout phase, but Real Madrid faltered in the last round, falling into the play-offs, complicating the path for La Liga teams.

Based on the 2025–26 Champions League league phase standings and the final matchday results, La Liga representatives experienced a rollercoaster journey filled with various emotions: some advanced directly to the knockout stage, some had to face the risky play-offs, and several teams were eliminated early.

Barcelona is the La Liga representative with the most impressive performance. The Catalan club finished the league phase in 5th place with 16 points from 8 matches, a +8 goal difference, thus securing direct entry into the knockout rounds. In the final match, Barcelona demonstrated their strength by defeating Copenhagen 4-1, a decisive victory that helped them maintain their top 8 position and avoid the unpredictable play-offs.

Real Madrid entered the last match aiming to break into the direct qualification spots, but a 2-4 loss away to Benfica left the "White Falcons" in 9th place overall, with 15 points and a +9 goal difference. This result forced the Spanish giants into the play-off round. It was clearly a disappointing slip for a title contender, although Real Madrid's chances of progressing remain high due to their experience and squad depth.

Atletico Madrid faced a similar situation. Diego Simeone's squad ended the league phase in 14th place with 13 points. A 1-2 loss to Bodo/Glimt in the last match prevented Atletico from advancing directly, forcing them to compete in the play-offs for a spot in the round of 16. Their pragmatic style keeps hope alive, but they clearly face a tough challenge ahead.

In contrast to the three "big clubs" mentioned above, Athletic Club and Villarreal are the two La Liga representatives who exited the Champions League early. Athletic Club ranked 29th with 8 points after losing 2-3 to Sporting CP in the final match. Villarreal finished as low as 35th, with only 1 point, concluding their campaign with a heavy 0-3 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

Thus, after the 2025–26 Champions League league phase, La Liga has one team advancing directly to the knockout stage (Barcelona), two teams entering the play-offs (Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid), while Athletic Club and Villarreal are officially out. The road ahead remains open for the remaining teams, but Spanish football has clearly faced a challenging and surprising league phase.