Real Madrid clinches first La Liga title since 2012
MADRID » Real Madrid won the Spanish league for the first time since 2012 with a 2-0 win over Malaga Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two minutes into the match and Karim Benzema sealed the victory in the second half. That gave Madrid a three-point advantage over second-placed Barcelona, which rallied from two goals down to beat Eibar 4-2 at the Camp Nou.
Madrid entered the last round needing a draw to make certain of avoiding its worst title drought since the 1980s and keep Barcelona from its third straight championship.
Zinedine Zidane’s team won its 33rd league title. Players threw the former France great up and down as they celebrated the title at the Rosaleda Stadium.
Ronaldo put Madrid in control early in Malaga, entering the area and rounding the goalkeeper before finding the open net following a pass by Francisco “Isco” Alarcon.
Arsenal, Wenger see Champions League streak end at 20
LONDON» Arsene Wenger’s proud record is over: Arsenal has failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
Arsenal’s hope of squeezing into the Premier League top four relied on Liverpool or Manchester City slipping up, but they both won easily on Sunday to join Chelsea and Tottenham in entering the Champions League.
So even though Arsenal beat Everton 3-1 to complete the league campaign with five successive wins, the resurgence came too late and Wenger had to settle for fifth — the lowest finish since taking charge of the team in 1996. TOP-FOUR CHASE » Of the three teams chasing the final two Champions League spots, City was the quickest off the mark. Captain Vincent Kompany netted after five minutes and City went on to beat Watford 5-0, with Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho and Gabriel Jesus also contributing to the rout.
Arsenal made a flying start, with Hector Bellerin netting the opener in the eighth minute. But Laurent Koscielny also went flying into a reckless challenge on Enner Valencia and the Arsenal captain saw red in the 14th minute.
Rather than imploding as Arsenal sides have been prone to do with 10 men, Alexis Sanchez doubled Arsenal’s advantage in the 27th minute. TERRY FAREWELL » John Terry collected the Premier League trophy for the fifth time in the final act of his 22-year association with Chelsea.
The captain had his own personal opportunity to thank the Stamford Bridge faithful earlier in the day. Sunderland manager David Moyes revealed that his team collaborated with Chelsea to ensure the ball would go out around the 26th minute — matching the shirt number Terry has worn throughout his career — to enable the defender to leave the pitch to a guard of honor.