How to watch La Liga opening weekend: TV & streaming for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid

Simon Borg

How to watch La Liga opening weekend: TV & streaming for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid image

It’s a dream scenario for fans of La Liga and its clubs in the United States this year: Every single match — all 380 of them — will be streamed live in both English and Spanish on ESPN+ in the first year of an eight-year deal.

That means the full 10-match slate that opens the 2021-2022 season is available with the action wrapping up on Monday. The favorites — Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona — all won over the weekend.

Here’s the full rundown and schedule for Matchday 1, which will see the return of fans to stadiums:

MORE: La Liga betting favorites

How to watch La Liga in USA

In addition to all 380 matches of the 2021-2022 La Liga season being streamed in English and Spanish on ESPN+, select matches will also be aired on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Barcelona's opener against Real Sociedad on Sunday was televised on ABC, the first live La Liga match on U.S. broadcast television.

  • Dates: Aug. 13, 2021 - May 22, 2022
  • Matches: Total of 380 league matches in 2021-2022
  • Streaming: ESPN+ (all matches in English & Spanish)
  • TV Channels: ABC, ESPN (select matches)
  • Spanish-language TV: ESPN Deportes (select matches)

La Liga Schedule - Matchday 1

Friday, Aug. 13

Match  
Valencia CF 1, Getafe 0 Highlights

Saturday, Aug. 14

Match  
CA Osasuna 0, RCD Espanyol 0  
Cadiz CF 1, Levante UD 1 Highlights
RCD Mallorca 1, Real Betis 1 Highlights
Deportivo Alaves 1, Real Madrid 4 Highlights

Sunday, Aug. 15

Match  
Celta Vigo 1, Atletico Madrid 2 Highlights
Barcelona 4, Real Sociedad 2 Highlights
Sevilla 3, Rayo Vallecano 0 Highlights

Monday, Aug. 16

Match Time (ET) TV channels Stream
Villarreal vs. Granada 2 p.m.   ESPN+
Elche vs. Athletic Bilbao 4 p.m.   ESPN+

La Liga Monday lookahead

Villarreal vs. Granada (Monday): The defending Europa League champions open at home against a Granada side that is showing it belongs in La Liga with two straight top 10 finishes. A result at Villarreal would send a clear message that Granada means business again in 2021-2022.

Elche vs. Athletic Bilbao (Monday): Elche will be fighting for La Liga survival this year, while Athletic is aspiring to do much better than last season's 10th place. Led by veteran Iker Muniain, Athletic is coming off a strong preseason (including a draw against Liverpool) and it will be tested by Elche’s defensive resistance.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.