Real Madrid Clinch La Liga Title

Real Madrid have won their 32nd Spanish league crown after a convincing 3-0 victory away at Athletico Bilbao. It was their first since 2008. Goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo were enough to see them become champions despite Barcelona's 4-1 home win over Malaga.

Madrid now have a seven-point lead with just two games to go and their manager Jose Mourinho has become only the third coach, behind Ernst Happel and Giovanni Trapattoni, to lift league titles in four different countries after his previous triumph's with Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

However this victory for Mourinho will be extra special. For in doing so he has disposed the side that many have regarded as the masters of European football for the last half a decade, Barcelona. And even though they defeated them at the Nou Camp 11 days ago with a 2-1 victory they couldn't rest on their laurels until victory was assured.

Their talisman this season has been Cristiano Ronaldo who has scored 44 league goals this season, with over half coming away from home, and he has only been eclipsed by the genius that is Lionel Messi*.

It remains to be seen whether Real Madrid will still be managed by Mourinho come the start of next season, but if they are, and with Barcelona in transition having replaced their manager Pep Guardiola with his assistant Tito Vilanova, the club could be in for a long period of success once again.

*Messi scored another hattrick against Malaga to break the European club scoring record with 68 goals this season usurping Gerd Muller's previous tally of 67 goals for Bayern Munich in the 1972-73 campaign.

Article by Gregory Wakeman
twitter@gjwakeman