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Real Madrid won the Spanish La Liga for a record 34th time as they cruised to a 2-1 win over Villarreal at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano on Thursday. Two goals from Karim Benzema ensured victory for the hosts as Vicente Iborra's goal proved to be a consolation for the visiting Villarreal side.
It was an incredibly satisfying night for Real Madrid overall as their rivals and title challengers Barcelona went down at home to Osasuna in a shocking 2-1 defeat.
Real Madrid are now 7 points clear at the top of the table with 86 points from 37 games played. This home win against Villarreal means that Los Blancos will finish this season unbeaten at home.
Real Madrid were on a 10-game winning streak going into the fixture. The last time they had such a winning run was back in 2016 during Zinedine Zidane's previous spell. Coincidentally, the winning run was broken by a 1-1 draw at home to Villarreal.
Real started the game in ultra-offensive mode as both full-backs Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal created good chances for the hosts. Not just the full-backs, but the midfield trio of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric also made some sublime passes to Karim Benzema in the initial stages.
Finally, the combination of Modric and Benzema worked when in the 29th minute, the Croatian midfielder slid a through ball to Benzema who made no mistake with his finish..
The second half started with an energetic response from Villarreal as some of their personnel replacements showed creativity in the final third. But in the 77th minute, Sergio Ramos won the possesion just ahead of the half-line and stormed into the Villarreal penalty area. The Real Madrid captain was taken down inside the box as the home side were awarded a penalty.
There were some crazy scenes at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium as Real Madrid's penalty was disallowed following an infringement by Karim Benzema. But the Frenchman rose up to take the spot-kick on the second occasion and fired in his 21st goal of the season.
The game seemed almost over but Villarreal pulled back level as Vicente Iborra headed a Mario Gaspar cross into the back of the net as a helpless Thibaut Courtois looked on.
Real Madrid were a bit dodgy at the end as Villarreal pushed harder for a late equaliser. However, Courtois stood strong and made some wonderful saves late into the game.
Marco Asensio almost added another to Real Madrid's tally but his goal was disallowed by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in stoppage time. With the full time whistle, the Real Madrid camp erupted in joy as they clinched a hard fought La Liga title for the 34th time in the history of the club.
#5 Hit - Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid
The Real Madrid captain had another 10/10 performance tonight as he was at his absolute best, both offensively and defensively. He won all his 3 duels in the game as he totally neutralized Villarreal attacker Samuel Chukwueze in the first half.
Ramos made an important interception in the centre of the field and then earned a penalty for Real Madrid. He almost pulled off something brilliant from the spot as he tried to selflessly brush the penalty to an arriving Karim Benzema. The effort was disallowed due to an infringement though.
The centre-back also successfully completed 8 of his 11 long balls in the game to release the marauding Los Blancos full-backs on multiple occasions.
#4 Flop - Samuel Chukwueze, Villarreal
Villarreal number 11, Samuel Chukwueze had a night to forget as he was one of the worst players on the pitch for the losing side.
The attacker who plays just behind the striker was closely marked by Sergio Ramos for the entire first half and the Real Madrid captain didn't allow even a minute's breathing space for the 21 year old to operate, let alone create his magic.
The Nigerian failed to be the bridge between the midfield and the attack as he usually does for Villarreal. He won only 1 out of his 11 contested duels and lost possession 9 times leading to Real Madrid counter-attacks.
Chukwueze was taken off by Javier Calleja on the stroke of half-time due to his shambolic performance.
Also read: Twitter erupts as Real Madrid clinch La Liga title
#3 Hit - Luka Modric, Real Madrid
The Croatian midifielder had one of his best games of this season against Villarreal tonight. Though Casemiro and Toni Kroos also had a great hold in midfield, Modric was truly magical in the half-spaces for the Galacticos.
The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner played an inch perfect pass to Benzema as the latter opened the scoring in the 29th minute. Modric even almost scored a screamer from 30 yards out in the first half which was met by a resilient Sergio Asenjo.
Overall, the 34-year-old who is nearing his farewell from Real Madrid had a great game with a 100% dribble success rate and astonishingly, he completed 8 out of his 9 long balls successfully in the opposition half.
#2 Flop - Soufiane Chakla, Villarreal
The Villarreal defender was the weakest link in the decent back-four for the visitors tonight. While his fellow defenders tried their best to hold off the mighty Real Madrid attack, Chakla committed two grave errors which led to the two Madrid goals eventually.
Chakla had a miscommunication with his centre-back partner Pau Torres as Modric slid a pass through them to feed Benzema for the opening goal. In the second half, Chakla brought down a sprinting Ramos in the box to award Real Madrid a penalty.
The centre-back lost 4 of his 5 duels with Benzema and also lost possession 6 times during the game. He had an opportunity to salvage his night late in the game but he couldn't trouble Courtois as his shot resulting from a corner went far off target.
#1 Hit - Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
Undoubtedly the man of the match tonight, Karim Benzema took his tally to 21 goals in this season with his brace against Villarreal. Now the Frenchman is only 2 goals behind Lionel Messi as the latter scored against Osasuna to take his tally to 23 goals.
Benzema finished the Luka Modric ball from a very tight angle in the 29th minute as he put the ball into the net. The French striker was a live-wire for the entire game as he latched onto almost all the crosses and long balls supplied by his team-mates into the box.
He scored his second goal of the night with a confident penalty in the bottom left corner and certainly won the title for Real Madrid with his effort tonight. There is no doubt that Benzema has been one of the top 3 players who have contributed to this La Liga title win for Zinedine Zidane's side.
Also read: Los Blancos Player Ratings from title-clinching win
