Newly crowned La Liga champion Real Madrid lost points for the first time since the season restart on Sunday in a dramatic 2-2 draw that was not enough to save Leganés from relegation. Leganés, who needed to beat Madrid and hope that Celta Vigo failed to win against the bottom club Espanyol, almost managed a miraculous escape but could not find a winner at Butarque.
The tie means that a Madrid rotating team delivered the perfect record of 11 wins out of 11 since Spanish football returned from its coronavirus-imposed suspension, while Karim Benzema failed to catch up to Lionel Messi in the battle for the golden boot.
Gareth Bale was completely left out of the Madrid team for what could have been his last La Liga match for the club. Zinedine Zidane later said it was a "technical decision".
Messi had scored twice before in a 5-0 win over Alavés, enough to claim a seventh record 'Pichichi Trophy' and give Barcelona a boost before the second leg of their last 16 Champions League matches against Napoli. next month.
The double brought Messi's league tally to 25 goals for the season and put him four from Benzema, who endured a quiet night against Leganes, with Sergio Ramos and Marco Asensio on target.
The odds were always against Leganes, but a miracle seemed possible when Roger Assale equalized with 12 minutes to find a winner.
But opportunities were lost and a criminal appeal was rejected, which means they will join Real Mallorca and Espanyol in Segunda next season.
"The boys are broken," said Leganés coach Javier Aguirre. "We had it within our grasp."
Real Sociedad and Granada, meanwhile, took the last two places in the Europa League, with Getafe and Valencia missing. Villarreal had already secured fifth place.
Granada thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 and the qualification ended an incredible season for the club, which was only promoted since Second last period.
"Our goal was to stay awake, so finishing in the Europa League is a dream for us," said Granada striker Roberto Soldado.
Real Sociedad sneaked into sixth place after Adnan Januzaj's 87-minute goal secured a 1-1 draw at Atlético Madrid.
From NDTV Sports - Latest https://ift.tt/2CwDUCq
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