Hala Madrid! Real Madrid extend La Liga supremacy

The
win
also
made
their
Italian
coach
Carlo
Ancelotti
the
first
manager
to
capture
titles
in
each
of
Europe’s
top
five
leagues
–
England,
Spain,
Germany,
Italy
and
France.

Rodrygo’s
double
put
Real
2-0
up
at
the
break
before
Marco
Asensio
added
a
third
after
55
minutes
and
La
Liga
top
scorer
Karim
Benzema
sealed
the
points
in
the
81st.

Captain
Benzema
lifted
the
trophy
after
coming
off
the
bench
late
in
the
second
half
as
Ancelotti
rested
several
regular
starters
with
Real
hosting
Manchester
City
in
their
Champions
League
semifinal
second
leg
at
home
on
Wednesday
trailing
3-4.

Real
have
81
points
with
four
games
to
go.

They
are
now
17
points
ahead
of
second-placed
Sevilla
and
18
clear
of
Barcelona,
who
have
a
game
in
hand,
and
needed
a
point
against
Espanyol
to
clinch
the
title
with
almost
a
month
of
the
season
remaining.

LA
LIGA
POINTS
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FIXTURES

It
was
a
record-breaking
day
for
defender
Marcelo,
who
won
his
24th
piece
of
silverware
with
Real
to
leapfrog
Gento
as
the
player
with
the
most
trophy
wins
in
the
club’s
120-year
history.

It’s
an
immense
joy,”
an
emotional
Marcelo
told
reporters
in
what
is
set
to
be
the
last
of
the
33-year-old’s
16
seasons
at
the
Spanish
club.

“We
have
won
as
early
as
possible,
and
that
is
everyone’s
job
to
be
celebrated”,
Marcelo
added,
with
the
players
looking
towards
the
clash
with
Manchester
City
next
week.

“Today
we
have
to
celebrate,
but
we
have
an
important
game
ahead.
If
we
do
it
right,
there
is
nothing
to
worry
about.”

Ancelotti
believes
the
celebrations
can
help
lift
the
players’ spirits
to
fight
back
against
Pep
Guardiola’s
side.

“A
celebration
like
this
can
bring
an
extra
energy
to
the
locker
room,
it
can
be
good
as
another
motivation
facing
such
a
difficult
task
against
a
great
team,”
Ancelotti
said.

“The
season
has
been
spectacular.
Lots
of
regularity.
Consistency.
I
have
to
thank
the
players
for
their
work
and
their
attitude.
Today
we
have
to
celebrate,
not
to
talk.
I
want
to
celebrate.”

On
Saturday,
Real
Madrid
eased
past
lowly
Espanyol
even
with
goalkeeper
Thibaut
Courtois,
midfield
inspiration
Luka
Modric
and
Casemiro,
playing
as
a
defender,
being
the
only
three
regulars
playing
from
the
start.

Espanyol
rarely
bothered
Real’s
second-string
team,
with
the
home
side’s
in-form
Brazilian
forward
Rodrygo
stealing
the
show
by
scoring
two
brilliant
goals.

In
the
33rd
minute
he
received
a
fine
pass
from
Marcelo
and
struck
a
delightful
shot
into
the
far
corner
beyond
goalkeeper
Diego
Lopez.

Just
before
the
break,
he
won
the
ball
in
the
Espanyol
half,
shuffled
the
ball
onto
his
right
foot
and
hit
a
low
shot
into
the
left
corner,
wrongfooting
the
keeper.

Asensio
extended
the
lead
after
the
break
with
a
close-range
strike
and
than
it
was
the
turn
of
Benzema,
who
found
space
in
the
area
to
fire
into
the
bottom
corner
from
Rodrygo’s
cross.
It
was
the
Frenchman’s
26th
goal
in
30
league
games
this
term.

It
was
a
display
of
dominance
that
earned
Real
a
much
deserved
title
in
a
historically
dominant
season.
Kudos
champs!
Hala
Madrid!

(With
inputs
from
Agencies)