Real Madrid wins LaLiga title as Girona beats Barcelona 4-2
BARCELONA: Real Madrid put its Spanish rivals out of its misery by clinching the league title on Saturday with four games remaining, just in time to turn its full focus to its Champions League semi-final with Bayern Munich.
Madrid did the expected and beat relegation-threatened Cadiz 3-0 even though it was mostly with bench players. Barcelona then lost 4-2 at Girona with a collapse that coach Xavi Hernandez admitted was typical of his team’s trophyless season.
That combination of results secured Madrid its record-extending 36th Spanish league title with Girona, which leapfrogged Barcelona into second place, facing an insurmountable 13-point deficit with only a maximum 12 points left in play.
Only a victory by Barcelona at Girona would have stopped Madrid from celebrating the title on Saturday.
Madrid now has a chance to add to its unequalled 14 European Cups.
Madrid hosts Bayern on Wednesday with their Champions League semi-final evenly balanced after a 2-2 first-leg draw in Germany. The club said that it will hold off on the traditional celebration of titles in downtown Madrid until next Saturday with its important game against Bayern coming first.
“We deserved this league title in every way,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said after guiding his team to the second league title and 12th trophy overall in his two stints with Madrid.
“We would like to celebrate with all the fans, but they understand because on Wednesday we have a very important challenge. We want to prepare well to make the fans happy and we will celebrate the title together on Saturday.”
Madrid has only lost once in 34 rounds so far, beat Barcelona in both league “clasico” matches, and dealt Girona a pair of lopsided losses in their two meetings.
GIRONA IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Xavi’s team suffered the double blow of watching Madrid claim the title because of its loss while at the same time falling behind Girona in a second big loss in the Catalan derby this season. Girona pushed Barcelona into third place at 14 points behind Madrid.
Girona locked up a top-four finish and Champions League berth after opening a 13-point gap over Athletic Bilbao in fifth.
Girona is now on track to create an issue for UEFA which has rules designed to protect the Champions League from having two or more clubs in the same ownership group. Girona and Manchester City are both part of City Football Group backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family.
Girona can also deprive Barcelona of a lucrative spot in the Spanish Super Cup if it holds onto second place.