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Real Madrid sealed their 33rd LaLiga title with a rather comfortable 2-0 win away at a fighting Malaga – pipping their eternal rivals Barcelona to the post by a clean margin of three points. There was to be no repeat of Tenerife and Zinedine Zidane’s men finished the job with clinical efficiency
Cristiano Ronaldo’s superb opener and a typical poacher’s finish from Karim Benzema sealed the deal – and despite Barcelona reaching deep down to come back from 2-0 down against Eibar to win 3-2, there was not going to be any stopping Los Meringues march towards destiny.
Here’s the main talking points from an entertaining last domestic fixture for the Champions of Spain
1. Isco is pure joy personified
Isco Disco. WOOF.
The lad from Malaga showed on his return to the land of his birth just what makes him such a delight to watch – he is pure joy in human form. The way he float around the grass, barely bending their blades, hardly seeming to exert any effort is one of the most beautiful sights in world football. His through-ball to set up Cristiano Ronaldo’s opener, from the outside of the boot at that, showed just how effective a player he is whilst on the ball.
It’s the small things too – the way he runs with the ball to relieve pressure as Real Madrid sat deeper and deeper, the sharpness of thought to play passes like the one that released Benzema on the left circa the 34th minute after said dribbling, well, there is just so much to be admired about the Andalusian.
Ably supported by Toni Kroos – who has been one of Madrid’s top 3 players this season – and a rejuvenated Modric, the trio – along with the inimitable Casemiro showed just what makes Madrid’s the best midfield in the land... by a country mile.
2. Michel has made Malaga an impressive outfit
Real Madrid legend Michel was in the eye of a proverbial storm after stating that he was much more of a Madridista than Jorge Valdano (another Madrid legend, who as manager of Tenerife had beaten Madrid to hand Barcelona the trophy. On the last day), but any one who insinuates that his team gave up to allow Real Madrid to walk away with La Liga should have themselves checked for an incessant case of clinical paranoia (not the good kind).
The Anadalusians who were abject under Juande Ramos for the vast majority of the season have looked a changed outfit ever since the charismatic Michel took over. The incredibly rapid interchanges between the front four of Jony, Keke, Sandro Ramirez and their trequartista Pablo Fornals showcased just how good they are whilst on the ball. They brought out the best in Keylor Navas (on a side note, how underrated is that poor Costa Rican – he doesn’t deserve to be treated the way he has been).
Carlos Kameni, as ever, showed just why he’s one of the most feared keepers in the league – he simply ups his game a couple of notches for the big occassions, doesn’t he?
3. Cristiano Ronaldo is the King. There should be no doubts.
Seriously, who doubts this? That goal in the second minute was taken with sublime calmness (a nod of the hat for his rounding off the keeper... people should do that more often) and he interchanged his position with Karim Benzema with frightening telepathy – their partnership, like Carlo Ancelotti says, is nigh on perfect.
The King has now scored 40+ goals in 7 consecutive seasons at Real Madrid – Comparing Ronaldo’s and Messi’s stats season-by-season – and he doesn’t look like age has affected him in anyway apart from making him an even better finisher.
P.S. A word of praise for Karim Benzema who always gets lambasted by his own fans season-in and season-out and yet delivers everytime the going really gets tough. His spikes in goalscoring towards the end of seasons is quite something to behold.
4. The final day’s matches showed the depth in quality of LaLiga
Eibar gave Barcelona the fright of their lives, while Malaga stood toe-to-toe with their far superior opponents for vast swathes of their match against Real Madrid. While finally the sheer weight of individual quality told, this last day encapsulated what the greatest lesson of this season has been – the sheer quality of depth in La Liga. Unlike other leagues where clubs turn up at the doors of the big boys looking to sneak away with a draw, or minimise damage, nobody has told these blokes in Spain.
Now, if you were to look at merely the results you’d see a lot of big-margin victories, but numbers never tell you the whole tale, do they? All those scorelines have been run up as a result of the ‘lesser’ team being absolutely unafraid to take the game to anyone in front of them (think Las Palmas throwing away a 3-1 lead at the Bernabeu as they simply refused to sit back and ‘manage’ the game)
The English league is more competitive than La Liga? Pshaw!
5. Zinedine Zidane’s men are deserving Champions of Spain
What’s slightly amusing, though, is that Real Madrid have never shied away from managing games to tame 1-0, 2-0 conclusions in the favour. This final match, for example, showcased how Real Madrid were willing to let things take their natural course and sit back deep after scoring that eary stunner of a goal. Their squad rotation has been impeccable, their squad depth unrivalled and their sheer bloody-minded will-to-win. Quite simply no-one’s been able to keep them for scoring this season, and the unstoppable object just kept rolling on and on.
As much for his tactical nous (really, who doubted that Zindedine bloody Zidane knows a thing or two about footballing strategy?), Zizou deserves immense credit for managing the super-egoes that dominate the Real Madrid dressing room and keeping everybody as happy (and motivated) as they possibly could be despite the pressure cooker of an environment that constantly surrounds the manager of what is arguably the biggest club in the world.
Just sample the immense records he set this season –
- Real Madrid have now won more #LaLiga titles (33) than any other club in history; their first since 2011/12.
