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Espanyol logo
La Liga
May 17, 2015 at 6pm UK
 
Real Madrid logo

1-4

Stuani (73')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Ronaldo (59', 83', 91'), Marcelo (79')

Real Madrid miss out on La Liga crown despite Espanyol win

Real Madrid beat Espanyol 4-1 in Catalunya, but Barcelona's win away to Atletico Madrid sees Luis Enrique's side crowned champions.

Real Madrid have missed out on the La Liga title despite beating Espanyol 4-1 at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat this evening.

A hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo guided Los Merengues to a win in Catalunya, but Barcelona's victory against Atletico Madrid means that the Blaugrana are crowned champions.

Espanyol started with attacking intent as Keylor Navas was forced to sprint off his line and clear from Felipe Caicedo's path.

However, Real squandered the best chance of the first half, 12 minutes in, when Daniel Carvajal curled a cross in the direction of an unmarked Ronaldo, who managed to divert his header wide of the left-hand post from only a few yards out.

Victor Sanchez kept Los Blancos on their toes as he latched on to Caicedo's pass on the left side of the area, but his shot was turned behind by the despairing challenge of Carvajal.

Real tried to find a goal before half time, but Ronaldo's shot, blocked by Alvaro after an incisive pass from Gareth Bale, was as close as they came.

The hosts almost scored within seconds of the restart when Caicedo's pass looked to be too much for Sergio Garcia, only for the midfielder to coolly turn away from Carvajal before his shot whizzed past Navas's post.

On 53 minutes, Karim Benzema saw his shot tipped onto the post by Francisco Casilla, although the Frenchman had strayed into an offside position beforehand.

However, Madrid finally took the lead on 59 minutes when Benzema threaded a pass into the path of Ronaldo, and the winger utilised the space in front of him before smashing a low shot past Casilla.

Espanyol managed to equalise with 18 minutes left after an error from Navas gifted Christian Stuani with the chance to score, which he duly took.

Real managed to retake the lead when Marcelo's rocket of a shot left Casilla beaten and gave Carlo Ancelotti's side hope of forcing the title battle into the final day.

Ronaldo scored his second of the game when Javier Hernandez's shot was saved, but broke into the Portuguese international's path to score.

The Real talisman completed his hat-trick in stoppage time with a close-range header, but it proved to be in vain as Barca held on to a narrow victory at the Vicente Calderon to win the championship.

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A general view of the Cornella-El Prat Stadium before the La Liga match between RCD Espanyol and Sevilla FC on August 30, 2014
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona12110140112933
2Real Madrid1173121111024
3Atletico MadridAtletico126511871123
4Villarreal116322019121
5Osasuna126331716121
6Athletic Bilbao125431812619
7Real BetisBetis125431210219
8Mallorca12534109118
9Rayo Vallecano114431210216
10Celta Vigo125161820-216
11Real Sociedad124351010015
12GironaGirona124351517-215
13Sevilla124351217-515
14AlavesAlaves124171419-513
15Leganes122551216-411
16Getafe12174810-210
17Espanyol123181122-1110
18Las PalmasLas Palmas122371321-89
19Real ValladolidValladolid12228924-158
20Valencia11146817-97


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