La Liga Title Race Heats Up As Real And Barca Avoid Slip Ups With Solid Wins
Reuters / Lee Smith
La Liga is into its final games of the season, and yet, there is still no definite answer as to who will be crowned the Champions.
Real Madrid won their game 4-0 against lowly Granada, who are all but confirmed to be relegated to the Spanish second division, also known as La Liga 2. They currently lie 19th in the table, a point above 20th-placed Osasuna, and 10 points away from safety.
Los Blancos are edging closer to a first league title since a Jose Mourinho-led team won it back in 2012. However, retaining their Champions League crown – a feat which, if they manage to accomplish, will make them the first ever team in history to do so – appears to be their main priority at the moment, and manager Zinedine Zidane opted to rest several of his key players with the second leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in mind.
REUTERS/Javier Barbancho
Despite the numerous changes, Real were in full flow, and didn’t take long to find the net. With just three minutes played, Lucas Vázquez found a bit of space on the corner of the six-yard box, and played it across to James Rodriguez, who scrambled the ball home off his knee.
Just seven minutes later, Rodriguez found the net again following a cross from Fabio Coentrão. Real then made it 3-0 with a lovely team goal in the 30th minute that was finished off by a solid finish from Alvaro Morata, and the striker then scored the fourth and final goal of the game just four minutes later.
Real’s win gives them the advantage, as it means they are now at the top of the table with a game in hand on Barcelona, who won their match against Villarreal 4-1.
The Catalan giants ensure that they piled the pressure on Real with a solid all round performance against fifth-placed Villarreal.
Neymar opened the scoring for Barcelona, turning home Lionel Messi’s deflected shot in the 21st minute. Cedric Bakambu levelled the tie 11 minutes later, but it was all Barca from then on. Messi scored with the last kick of the first half with a shot from distance that deflected off Mario Gaspar.
In the second half, Sergi Roberto darted forward before finding Luis Suarez, who slammed the ball home to make it 3-0. Messi then sealed the deal with a panenka penalty to ensure that Barca remain hot on Real’s heels going into the last 2 games of the season.
Written by Reyhan Ashley Nath 
Manchester United fan, Wayne Rooney is his role model. Passionate writer who has written for several sites in the past. He’s also an aspiring pianist and creates background music for BlameFootball’s Youtube channel.