Written by ESPN FC Staff at ESPN FC.com
Real Madrid won their first La Liga title in five years by beating Malaga 2-0 on the final day of the season on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid on their way with a goal in just the second minute before Karim Benzema made the lead comfortable in the second half to give the visitors a first Spanish league trophy under manager Zinedine Zidane.
With a draw enough to win the title, Madrid grabbed their chance immediately as Isco played in Ronaldo, who stepped around goalkeeper Carlos Kameni to provide the opening goal, his 14th strike in his last nine games.
Ronaldo had a chance to add a second goal in the first half but shot straight at Kameni, then after the break suffered a scare following a late tackle from Federico Ricca, though he was OK to continue.
🏆 WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!#33Ligas #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/j2l7t6upRo
— CHAMPIONS! 🏆 (@realmadriden) May 21, 2017
The title was all but sealed in the 55th minute following a corner. Sergio Ramos’ initial shot was saved but came back out to Raphael Varane, who fed Benzema to double the lead.
Madrid comfortably saw out the final minutes and lifted the trophy for the first time since 2011-12. They will have a chance to add to their haul this season when they defend their title as European champions against Juventus in the Champions League final on June 3.
Barcelona fought back from a two-goal deficit to beat Eibar 4-2 but ultimately fell three points adrift of Madrid in the title race.
Takashi Inui provided a shock lead for Eibar in the seventh minute and doubled the visitors’ advantage on the hour mark.
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