Real grab first Spanish crown in 5 years
Real Madrid won the Spanish league for the first time in five years yesterday, and kept rival Barcelona from their third straight championship.
Zinedine Zidane’s team secured their 33rd league title with a 2-0 win at Malaga with goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
“To win the title in the last round feels that much better,” Cristiano Ronaldo said. “We deserved it.”
The last-round victory gave Madrid a three-point advantage over second-placed Barcelona, who rallied from two goals down to beat Eibar 4-2 at the Camp Nou.
Madrid entered the final weekend needing a draw to guarantee their first title since 2012 and avoid their worst title drought since the 1980s.
Ronaldo put Madrid in control early in Malaga, scoring from a pass by Alarcon two minutes into the match at the Rosaleda Stadium. It was Ronaldo’s 14th goal in his last nine matches in all competitions.
While Barcelona struggled in their game against Eibar, Karim Benzema sealed the victory in the 55th minute off the rebound of a shot by Sergio Ramos, securing Madrid their second league title in the last nine years.
Madrid hadn’t gone five straight seasons without a league title since 1981-85. They will pursue their third Champions League title in four seasons in a final against Juventus in Cardiff on June 3. It would be Madrid’s first double in the European competition and in La Liga in nearly six decades.
It was the first league title for Zidane.
“It is very important to lift this trophy again after so many years without being able to win La Liga,” said Zidane. “This is the happiest day in my professional career.”
Madrid have already won the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup this season.
At the Camp Nou, Barcelona saw their chances of another league title take a hit after Japanese midfielder Takashi Inui scored in the seventh and 61st minutes.
Barcelona started their comeback with an own-goal by Eibar defender David Junca in the 63rd, and Luis Suarez equalised in the 73rd.
Lionel Messi, the league’s scoring leader with 37 goals, converted another penalty in the 75th and closed the scoring in injury time.
Atletico Madrid earned a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in an emotional final game at the Vicente Calderon Stadium, which will be demolished to give way to a housing complex.
Atletico next season will move into the Wanda Metropolitano, a modern 68,000-capacity stadium on the outskirts of the Spanish capital.
Athletic Bilbao ended in seventh place after the loss at Atletico, without one of the two spots for the Europa League next season.
Villarreal secured fifth place with a 3-1 win at Valencia, and Real Sociedad ended sixth after scoring late in a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.
Athletic can still qualify for Europe’s second-tier tournament if Barcelona beat Alaves in the Copa del Rey final next Saturday.
Third-placed Atletico had already qualified for the Champions League, along with fourth-placed Sevilla. SPAIN