Real Madrid won the LaLiga title on Saturday after a 4-0 win over Espanyol gave them an insurmountable lead over Barcelona at the top of the table with four games to go.
Rodrygo’s first-half brace put the champions-elect on their way to the title at the Santiago Bernabéu before Marco Asensio made it 3-0 shortly after half-time. Karim Benzema scored the fourth after coming on as a substitute amid jubilant scenes at the Bernabéu.
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The League title is Madrid’s second trophy of the 2021-22 season after winning the Spanish Super Cup in January. They will be looking to keep hopes alive for more trophies in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg with Manchester City, losing 4-3.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti, who returned to the club last summer for his second spell at the helm, becomes the first manager to win titles in Europe’s “top five” leagues: Italy’s Serie A, England’s Premier League , Ligue 1 in France, the Bundesliga in Germany. and now LaLiga of Spain.
Ancelotti said: “It’s emotional. It’s an achievement. The season we’ve had in the league has been spectacular, with great regularity. It’s thanks to the work of the players, and their commitment. Today we have to celebrate, I want to celebrate.
“It fills me with pride. I like what I do, and the five leagues [I’ve won] It means I’ve done pretty well. I am proud to be here and to win trophies for Real Madrid and I want to continue winning trophies for Real Madrid”.
Madrid have now won LaLiga a total of 35 times, the most of any Spanish club, ahead of Barcelona on 26. Four of those titles have come since 2010: in 2012, 2017, 2020 and now 2022, a period in which that the club has also won four Champions League titles.
Ancelotti was appointed last June, following the resignation of his predecessor Zinedine Zidane, and was tasked with unseating last year’s champions and local rivals Atletico Madrid.
The squad was bolstered by the signings of defender David Alaba on a free transfer from Bayern Munich and midfielder Eduardo Camavinga on a deadline deal with Rennes, while there were two major departures, Raphael Varane joining Manchester United and the captain Sergio Ramos moved to Paris. Saint Germain.
The team started the season strong, buoyed by the performances of forward duo Karim Benzema -who has scored 42 goals in all competitions, 26 of them in LaLiga- and Vinicius Junior. As rivals Atletico and Barca struggled to find consistency, Madrid built up a commanding lead and have topped the table since November.
Since then, Madrid rarely seem to have been caught out, losing only three times in LaLiga: beaten at Espanyol in October and Getafe in January, as well as a 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in March.
When they have been under pressure, Thibaut Courtois has starred in the scoring, keeping 14 clean sheets and conceding 29 goals, the second lowest tally in the division behind Sevilla.
Madrid have managed to balance domestic duties with a Champions League run that has seen them eliminate PSG and Chelsea in the round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively. They host City on Wednesday looking to book their fifth place in the Champions League final in the last decade.
Reference-www.espn.com