Real Madrid won their 34th league title with a game to spare beating Villarreal 2-1 at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium.
Karim Benzema scored twice and moved to within two goals of Lionel Messi as LaLiga’s top scorer.
The Frenchman even scored a Johan Cruyff-style penalty when Sergio Ramos passed to him from the spot but he had encroached in the area and the kick had to be retaken.
He has been brilliant all campaign but man-of-the-match Thibaut Courtois also takes huge credit for Real Madrid’s first title in three seasons.
He took a bang on the head in the second half when he clashed with Xavi Quintilla. But he carried on to make a crucial late save from Javier Ontiveros.
The save was only crucial in terms of Real Madrid making it 10 wins from 10 games. In the context of the title race it didn’t matter as Barcelona were embarrassing themselves at home to Osasuna.
Had this been a full Santiago Bernabeu that scoreline popping up on supporters’ phones during the second half would have made for an even more carnival atmosphere, as it was Ramos lifted the trophy – his fifth league title and the Madrid players celebrated on the pitch of the tiny 6,000 capacity B-team stadium.
‘This is the best day of my professional career,’ said Zidane. ‘The the league is 38 games and it is so hard to win.’
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