Real Madrid won the La Liga title for the first time since 2017 after a 2-1 win over Villarreal gave them an insurmountable seven-point lead over Barcelona with one game left to play.
Barcelona suffered a shock defeat at home, losing 1-2 to Osasuna to surrender the La Liga title to Real Madrid.
The triumph over Villarreal extended Los Blancos’ record haul to 34 league titles — eight more than Barca, who had lifted the past two La Liga trophies.
The team clinched the title in what was a neck in neck battle to the end with bitter rivals Barcelona, which saw the Los Blancos claim the glory with just two games left to play.
It was a well-deserved achievement for Real Madrid, having been the more clinical side since returning from the coronavirus break.
Although it may not be considered a memorable title win, with the pandemic ruining the atmosphere and intensity of the game for both the players and fans. Real however, will not care how it was won. From the restart of the league, Madrid have been relentless, winning all of their games, overhauling bitter rivals Barcelona and clinching the title. Although this wasn’t the case throughout the campaign.
Madrid started the season impressively, their first 15 games saw them take 10 victories, 4 draws and only one loss. This was crucial to the team’s rise in confidence having been considered the underdogs prior to the season’s start. Let’s take a look at the three reasons why Real Madrid won La Liga.
They managed to win the league with 26 wins and only 3 defeats, proves undoubtedly that the Madrid defence was just as much a key factor as their attack. Sergio Ramos had a fantastic season.
The team captain showed his desire and determination in every game he has featured in. To add to this, the Spanish international recorder history himself, becoming the highest ever scoring defender in La Liga history with 86 goals, overtaking former Barcelona man Ronald Koeman.
Another player who had redeemed his status after an unpleasant first season is Thibaut Courtouis.
The Belgian shot stopper had a first season full of errors and did not show the consistency he had with Chelsea, however this season he seems to have found himself once again. Courtouis made 34 appearances, leading in clean sheets with 18, apart from this he has made decisive saves time and time again reminding us why Madrid wanted him as the number one replacement for Kaylor Navas.
Benzema had as good a season as always for him when it comes to scoring, but his ability to take responsibility has drastically risen this season, the Frenchman’s contribution in assists saw he become Real Madrid’s all-time assist leader, surpassing former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, along with his goal 19 goals, it is easy to see how much Zidane depended on him.
Since coming back, Benzema has been a key factor for some very important games for Madrid. From scoring and assisting in a 2-0 victory over Alaves, scoring the second and decisive goal against Sociedad and that cheeky backheel assist to Casemiro in a 1-0 victory over Espanyol.
Having spent 11 years in the club, Benzema finally finds himself in the limelight as a reward for his hard work. Even after Madrid spent 60 million Euros on Luka Jovic, he has not been able to replace the in form Frenchman.
Alongside the star names who were essential to Madrid’s success, anyone watching the Los Blancos this season will notice the growing trust manager Zinedine Zidane had with his youth players. Many doubts were speculating around Madrid prior to the start of both last season and this season, with Star man Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure and Gareth Bale’s dip in form, not to mention the aging of both Luca Modric and Toni Kroos, many people felt that Madrid were going to go into a decline. On the contrary quite the opposite was the outcome.
By trusting certain youth players throughout the season, Madrid have shown that they have built a squad with a reliable depth and a bright future.
The acquisition of Ferlan Mendy and Rodrygo added to what was already a promising number of young star such as the likes of Federico Valverde, Vinicius JR and Eder Militao. All of these players had been given the green light from early on in the season, primarily due to Injuries to Hazard, Mercelo and Gareth Bale.
All of these youngsters where given the opportunity to prove themselves from the very start, where they have undoubtly excelled in playing for Los Blancos. Instead of falling from the criticism, it’s clear that the young stars have thrived in the pressured environment of Real Madrid, meaning that Los Blancos have dominated their fated rivals Barcelona to secure a 34th La Liga crown. – BeIN.
