While English football wrestles with its own identity, Spain has been quietly putting its house back in order.
La Liga — which endured years of decline after the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar — is rediscovering its rhythm. Teams have become tactically bolder, younger talents are emerging, and there’s a renewed sense of competition at both ends of the table.
This season, Spanish sides have netted 215 goals in 80 matches, an average of 2.7 goals per game – putting it ahead of the Premier League for the first time in years. It’s not a seismic gap, but symbolically, it’s huge.
Spain, often derided for its tactical conservatism post-2018, is once again producing the kind of open, attacking football that made it a global benchmark in the early 2010s.