Real Madrid have won their first Spanish La Liga title in three years following a 2-1 victory over Villarreal at an empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.
Los Blancos needed just three points from the remaining matches to lift the trophy and end Barcelona’s domestic dominance.
French striker Karim Benzema scored the opener in the 29th minutes, firing a shot between the legs of Sergio Asenjo and added a controversial second from a retaken penalty in the 77th minutes.
Sergio Ramos had rolled the first penalty attempt for Benzema to score but the effort was disallowed.
🏆🙌 WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! 🏆🙌
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) July 16, 2020
⚽ @LALIGA 2019/20#34Ligas | #RealFootball pic.twitter.com/zRPpWHbP0H
Vicente Iborra pulled one back but it mattered little to Real as the club wrapped up their 34th Spanish title.
Zinedine Zidane’s side have won all 10 of their matches since Spanish football restarted in June.
They head into the final day of the season with a seven-point lead over second-placed Barcelona who lost at home to Osasuna.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos describes the victory as “a prize for hardwork.”
“This is a prize for our hard work. This is the reward. To win 10 games in a row deserves a lot of credit.
“It’s a strange season. Our objective was clear. We wanted to win every game after the restart. We wanted to depend on ourselves. It’s difficult to win every game. You can’t win these matches easily. This is the reward for all our hard work.
“Zidane has been key. He’s the captain of the ship. He put a lot of faith in all his players and we’ve felt protected. He’s a unique coach.
“I’d like to finish my career here. I’m sure there won’t be any problem.”
Belgian-Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says he had the conviction the team can win all the remaining fixtures before the season restarted in June.
“To come back from lockdown and win 10 games in a row… I remember saying before we came back I had full confidence in our ability to win all our games.”
Real Madrid last won the title in 2017.
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