Real Madrid were confirmed as La Liga champions this weekend thanks to a combination of their 3-0 win at home to Cadiz and Girona's 4-2 win away to FC Barcelona on Saturday. Real Madrid welcomed Thibaut Courtois in goal after missing all season with a knee injury, and he pulled off a vital save from Chris Ramos, before Brahim Diaz put Madrid ahead early in the second half, with an impressive turn and shot. Diaz then set up Jude Bellingham for a simple finish and Joselu's tap in made it 3-0 in injury time. Barcelona took the lead in Girona, with Andreas Christensen's powerful shot, but the home side leveled directly from the restart when Ivan Martin crossed for Artem Dovbyk to head in his 20th goal of the season. A Robert Lewandowski penalty on the stroke of halftime put Barca back in front, but the entry of Girona substitute Portu changed everything as he equalized following a bad Sergi Roberto error in the 65th minute. Two minutes later Miguel Gutierrez's deflected shot put Girona ahead and Portu then netted a spectacular volley in the 75th minute to leave Barcelona reeling and lifting Girona into second place. Atletico Madrid retain their six-point lead in fourth place ahead of fifth place Athletic Bilbao thanks to Rodrigo Riquelme's fourth minute goal which gave them a 1-0 win away to Mallorca on Saturday. Athletic had put pressure on Atletico thanks to two goals from Inaki Williams that saw them to a 2-0 win in Getafe on Friday night. In other matches on Sunday, Alaves assured their survival for another season and dented Valencia's European hopes with a deserved 1-0 away win thanks to Javi Lopez's 68th minute goal after he arrived unmarked from a corner. Anthony Lozano's first half goal saw Almeria claim only their second win of the season with a 1-0 win away to Rayo Vallecano, while Sevilla's 3-0 win at home to Granada with goals from Marcos Acuna, Youssef En-Nesyri and Dodi Lukebakio, assured their top-flight place, while leaving Granada on the verge of relegation. Elsewhere, Betis keep pace with Real Sociedad after a 2-0 win away to Osasuna, and Celta are almost safe after a 3-2 win at home to Villarreal. |
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