REAL MADRID CROWNED CHAMPS OF SPAIN

Real Madrid clinched their first La Liga title in three years after they edged past Villarreal at an empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium. Zinedine Zidane says winning the title this season made him happier than winning the Champions League.

Karim Benzema scored between the legs of Sergio Asenjo and added a controversial second from a retaken penalty. In bizarre fashion, Sergio Ramos had rolled the first attempt for Benzema to smash in but the effort was disallowed. Vicente Iborra pulled one back but it did not stop Real to wrap-up their 34th Spanish title. 

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 an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Barcelona.

Behind closed doors in a 6,000-seat stadium at the club's training complex is perhaps not the stage for the grand crowning Real would have imagined for their first title since 2017. But that did not stop Zidane's squad pulling on shirts with "Campeones 34" printed on the back before lifting the trophy in celebration as ticker tape fell over the pitch.

La Liga titles have been in shorter supply than Champions League triumphs for Real this decade, with this only their third in the past nine seasons. They won three successive European Cups in Zidane's first tenure but had recorded successive third-place finishes since their previous domestic title, as Barcelona were crowned champions.

Zidane was in charge the last time they won the league and made it his aim to reclaim the title after returning midway through the last campaign - less than a year after his departure.

MURSYID ALHARAMAIN