La Liga results
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Leganés
Eibar 0-1 Sporting Gijon
Las Palmas 1-4 Barcelona
Real Betis 1-1 Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid 4-1 Sevilla
Real Sociedad 2-2 Málaga
Villarreal 0-0 Deportivo
Tonight’s results mean Atlético and Sevilla are guaranteed third and fourth place. At the bottom, Sporting Gijon go down despite victory at Eibar, with Deportivo and Leganes getting the away draws they needed.
One issue remains very much unresolved – Barcelona and Real Madrid are locked together on 87 points. Real Madrid are in the driving seat, but the race is going to the wire. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
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Full time: Real Madrid 4-1 Sevilla
Two goals for Ronaldo, including an unstoppable strike with the game in the balance, have given Real victory. Sevilla gave them plenty of problems, but the hosts finished the game in total control. They need four points from trips to Vigo and Málaga to secure the La Liga title.
91 mins: Vazquez slots the ball to Ronaldo, who runs out of room and tries a cheeky backheel back to his team-mate. It deflects behind for a corner.
90 mins: Two added minutes. With Villarreal still level with Deportivo, Sevilla will secure a Champions League place even with defeat here.
89 mins: Another dangerous low cross from Nacho is scrambled clear. Barcelona still lead 4-1 in Gran Canaria.
88 mins: Krohn-Dehli, having put in A Decent Shift, is replaced by Ben Yedder, while Gonzalez is on for Correa.
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87 mins: Toni Kroos, the standout player in this second half, threads a pass between Sevilla defenders and into the path of Nacho, whose cut back finds Asensio – but his shot is straight at Rico!
86 mins: Ben Yedder is coming on for Sevilla, 10 minutes too late.
85 mins: Real Madrid are much better with Casemiro and Modric in their team than without. Who knew?
GOAL! Real Madrid 4-1 Sevilla (Kroos 83')
This is harsh on Sevilla, but Real have clicked through the gears in ominous fashion. Toni Kroos is the scorer, guiding Nacho’s low cross just inside the far post with the outside of his boot.
83 mins: Vazquez is booked, somewhat harshly, for a foul on Vitolo.
82 mins: All is well inside the Bernabéu again, as Modric prods a clever pass through Lenglet’s pass. Lucas Vazquez is in space on the right, but blasts his shot over the bar.
80 mins: Correa, realising his attacking efforts have been in vain, loses his head, squabbling with Nacho and shoving him in the chest. He’s booked, as is Nacho, for reasons I can’t fathom.
After a long, nervous spell of Sevilla possession, Kroos steals the ball and plays a one-two with Asensio, who frees the German down the left. He cuts it back to Ronaldo, who lashes the ball first-time into the top corner! That was unstoppable.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 3-1 Sevilla (Ronaldo 78')
An extraordinary finish from Cristiano Ronaldo!
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Stefan Savic has equalised for Atlético at Betis, and Málaga lead Real Sociedad 2-1. Nothing else to report elsewhere.
74 mins: Ronaldo gets the better of his marker down the left, and wins a free kick on the right, a yard outside the area. Kroos lifts it towards Ramos, whose bullet header only finds the face of poor Clement Lenglet.
73 mins: More nervous whistles as Correa shimmies down the left – but his cross is collected by Navas. It’s surely time for Vietto or Ben Yedder.
71 mins: Luka Modric is about to come on, replacing Kovacic. Barcelona lead Las Palmas 4-1, with Neymar completing the hat-trick. How close is he to breaking the Messi-Ronaldo Ballon d’Or duopoly? Maybe next year?
69 mins: Lucas makes an impact down the right, forcing Krohn-Dehli to make a sliding interception. Kroos takes the corner, and N’Zonzi makes two headed clearances in quick succession.
68 mins: Jeers and whistles from the ever sanguine home crowd as Sevilla stroke the ball around, but Ramos cannily draws a foul from Mercado.
Barcelona’s worries didn’t last long – they lead 3-1, Neymar heading home with Luis Suárez swinging a leg from an offside position, Raheem Sterling style.
65 mins: Danilo wins a free kick 18 yards out, just left of the area. Ronaldo is always going to shoot from there, and his swerving effort is repelled by a strong hand from Rico.
A goal at Las Palmas – and it’s scored by the hosts, Bigas firing home on the counter attack to leave that match finely poised. Elsewhere, Leganes have equalised at Athletic Bilbao, meaning that (consults abacus) Sporting are going down as it stands. I think.
61 mins: Casemiro will provide some much-needed stability in midfield, with Lucas heading to the right hand side. Real enjoying a spell of possession after the high jinks of this second half.
60 mins: It’s James Rodríguez coming off, and he takes the time to applaud all four sides of the Bernabéu. Alvaro Morata is much quicker to trot off, which perhaps gives an insight into Real’s summer transfer plans. Perhaps, perhaps not.
58 mins: Two changes imminent for Real Madrid, with Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez about to come on. Correa makes another burst down the left, but is half a yard offside.
Lionel Messi has blazed over the bar in Gran Canaria – it’s still 2-0 to Barcelona there – while Atlético are a goal down at Real Betis, giving Sevilla a slim chance of grabbing third place in the final table – if they can turn things around here.
56 mins: Morata, the weak link in Real’s front three so far, is booked for a cynical foul before giving the referee a dangerous quantity og backchat.
54 mins: Asensio glides forward and picks out Ronaldo, who backheels the ball into his team-mate’s path. Asensio’s cross from the right finds Sergio Ramos – why not - in the No9 position, but he can’t bring the ball down.
52 mins: Sevilla push forward, Jovetic and Correa linking up well, but they are caught out when Real win it back. Ronaldo barrels through the middle and plays a lovely pass out to Rodriguez on the right. He has space for a shot, but tries to take a touch, and allows the industrious Vitolo to get back and cover.
50 mins: Real Madrid can’t say they weren’t warned. A draw wouldn’t be a disaster – they need seven points from their last three games to be sure – but the nerves are kicking in.
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-1 Sevilla (Jovetic 49')
A lovely passing move, with Vitolo playing a one-two with N’Zonzi before prodding the ball to Jovetic, who passes the ball into Navas’s bottom corner from 18 yards!
47 mins: Nacho robs Joaquin Correa to snuff out a Sevilla break, and the ball is worked to Morata, whose lofted cross is all out of goose.
Peep!
We’re back under way. One change for Sevilla, with Walter Montoya replacing Pareja in the back three.
Elsewhere, it’s Las Palmas 0-2 Barcelona at half time and Sporting Gijon still lead 1-0 at Eibar. It’s the penultimate round of fixtures for everyone bar Celta Vigo and Real, who meet on Wednesday. The original fixture was postponed by storms back in February.
Half time: Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla
Real were cruising after Nacho’s controversial opener and a Ronaldo tap-in, but Sevilla bounced back in style, Stevan Jovetic rattling the woodwork twice and Keylor Navas making several saves. It’s just about still on. Back soon.
44 mins: Asensio is too quick for Steven N’Zonzi, who hauls the willowy midfielder down. Real pass it around from the free kick, happy to see out the half.
43 mins: Ramos is getting a funk on with Real Madrid under pressure, complaining after he’s penalised for a foul on Correa.
42 mins: In the twenty minutes since Ronaldo’s goal, Real Madrid have been comfortably second best – but Sevilla, and particularly the luckless Jovetic, haven’t been able to make it count.
Sporting Gijon have taken the lead at Eibar, keeping their faint survival hopes alive. Bad news for Deportivo and Leganes, who can still be drawn into the drop zone. Oh Deportivo – where did it all go wrong?
39 mins: Sevilla win it back, Jovetic wriggles between two defenders, and looks nailed on to score – but Navas makes a brilliant point-blank save! Who needs David de Gea?
38 mins: Danilo goes into the book for a shunt on Vitolo, who goes down in a heap. It’s a cheap, clumsy free kick to concede. Krohn-Dehli whips a cross towards the lively Jovetic, but Ramos is on hand to clear...
36 mins: Sevilla have completed more passes and taken more shots than their hosts. Sadly, they have failed to score more goals, or even the same amount.
34 mins: Replays show that Ronaldo, having been dispossessed, charged after Lenglet and used his forearm to force him to the ground. He’s very lucky to escape a booking.
32 mins: Jovetic is so unlucky here! Lenglet bustles past Ronaldo, who seems distracted by a hole in his shirt, and whips a pass to Jovetic. With Navas charging from goal, he lifts the ball over him – but clips the bar! Plenty of chances for Sevilla, but they’re 2-0 down.
30 mins: Sevilla are having some joy going forward, with Correa sprinting beyond Nacho down the left, and forcing Navas into a fine save!
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that why teams send a player to stand in front of the ball while they get the wall set?” asks Kelvin. “There’s no rule against taking a quick free kick and scoring as long as the free kick was direct, is there?”
If the referee was happy for it to be taken, then no problem. What was weird here is that the referee was facing the wrong way, and seemed surprised by Nacho pinging the ball past him.
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27 mins: Sevilla win a free kick to the left of the box, which Jovetic floats in unconvincingly. It’s cleared for a corner, from which Jovetic heads unconvincingly at Navas.
Barcelona aren’t hanging around either – Neymar and Luis Suárez have scored in quick succession, and they lead Las Palmas 2-0.
The man himself may have claimed the milestone after the first leg against Atlético, but that is officially Ronaldo’s 400th goal for Real Madrid. He’s reached that tally in 391 appearances.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla (Ronaldo 23')
All too easy for Real Madrid, Sevilla conceding possession cheaply in midfield and allowing Marco Asensio to race downfield. He tees up Rodriguez for a shot, and Rico parries it into the path of Ronaldo with inevitable consequences.
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19 mins: Sevilla’s top two scorers – Luciano Vietto and Wassim Ben Yedder – are both on the bench. Jovetic is leading the line, but Gerry Armstrong doubts his quality. By way of response, Jovetic pings an audacious shot from distance that beats Navas, and crashes off the outside of the post!
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17 mins: It’s goalless between Las Palmas and Barcelona. Real have a corner, which Ramos heads back across goal – but Rodríguez is offside.
15 mins: Ronaldo tries a cross towards Morata, but it loops out of play. Sevilla look a little punch drunk, still.
When Nacho has scored as many free-kick goals this LaLiga season as Ronaldo.... 🤔
— Euan McTear (@emctear) May 14, 2017
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13 mins: Goals like that, from sneaky quick free-kicks, are tough to call. It’s a fine line between allowing a bit of initiative and being unfair to the defending team. For me, this was the wrong side of that line – there were just 10 seconds between the challenge and Nacho striking the ball.
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Asensio was hauled down on the edge of the area, earning a free kick. Nacho shuffled up to the ball, placed it with one hand, and stroked it into the bottom corner. Sevilla were nowhere near ready, but the referee let the goal stand!
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Sevilla (Nacho 10')
Real Madrid lead with a bizarre, highly controversial goal from Nacho!
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9 mins: Chance for Real Madrid, as Kroos slices through that back three with a diagonal pass to Morata. He beats a hesitant Sergio Rico to the ball, but the goalkeeper recovers to claw it away.
8 mins: Vitolo cuts inside from the left and tests Navas from 20 yards. The keeper gathers at the second attempt.
6 mins: Asensio cuts through the Sevilla midfield and plays a diagonal ball to Morata, whose cross invites a scissor kick from Ronaldo – but it’s miscued, and he’s flagged for offside anyway.
4 mins: Sevilla’s formation is anyone’s guess, but it looks like a back three with Vitolo and Correa as wing-backs when they’re defending.
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3 mins: Marco Asensio is already involved, drawing swoons from the home crowd in setting up Ronaldo, whose shot on the half-turn cannons off the nearest defender.
“Marlon Santos is a cool name? Marlon is only cool if your surname is Brando” says Alexander von Fintel, who has quite the name himself.
1 min: Krohn-Dehli nods the ball on to Jovetic, whose looped effort lands on the roof of Navas’ net. Krohn-Dehli was offside regardless.
Peep!
Sevilla get things started. Michael Krohn-Dehli is starting, as a late replacement for Franco Vázquez. The Danish midfielder hasn’t started a game for over a year.
The teams are out – Real Madrid in all-white kits, Sevilla in all-red.
Marlon Santos is a very cool name.
An intriguing development in Gran Canaria, where Javier Mascherano has injured himself in the warm-up. With Gerard Piqué out through illness, Brazil’s Marlon Santos will make his first Barcelona start. No pressure, Marlon.
Sevilla inflicted one of Real’s three league defeats back in January – but that was in Andalucía, where they have amassed a home record that’s the equal of their opponents. It’s a different story away from home, where Sevilla have won seven of 18. Since that dramatic win, they’ve lost at Espanyol, Atlético, Barcelona, Málaga – and Leicester.
If the battle for the title doesn’t do it for you, here’s an interesting subplot. If you believe everything written in the Spanish press, then Rodríguez, Morata, goalkeeper Keylor Navas and (off the bench) Fabio Coentrão could all be making their final Bernabéu appearance tonight. Space needs to be cleared for a summer-long pursuit of David de Gea and Eden Hazard, according to Daniel Taylor.
There’s plenty of action elsewhere in La Liga tonight. Unusually for Europe’s most thinly spread major league, there are seven games kicking off at 7pm. The one to watch is in the Canary Islands, where Las Palmas host Barcelona. Defeat for Luis Enrique’s side, and a win for Real, would all but end the title race. The other way around, and it’s advantage Barcelona. Meanwhile, Sporting Gijon go to Eibar knowing anything less than a win will confirm their relegation. I’ll do my very best to keep you updated.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 36 | 74 | 84 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 35 | 57 | 84 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 36 | 41 | 74 |
| 4 | Sevilla | 36 | 18 | 69 |
| 5 | Villarreal | 36 | 21 | 63 |
A whole host of changes for Real Madrid, with Marcelo, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Isco and Karim Benzema all making way after their exertions on Wednesday. Not to worry, because in the likes of James Rodríguez and Àlvaro Morata, they have some of the most frightening second-string players on the planet.
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Team news!
Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Nacho; Kovacic, Kroos, Asensio; Rodríguez, Morata, Ronaldo.
Subs: Casilla, Benzema, Casemiro, Coentrão, Lucas, Modric, Isco.
Sevilla: Sergio Rico; Carriço, Nico Pareja, Lenglet; Vitolo, Kranevitter, N’Zonzi, Vázquez, Mercado; Correa, Jovetic.
Subs: Soria, Mena, Krohn-Dehli, Vietto, Ben Yedder, Montoya, González.
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Preamble
Hello. Real Madrid may have built a reputation as ruthless, strutting trophy collectors, but even for them, this season could represent a milestone. Improbable as it seems, Real have not won La Liga and the European Cup in the same season since – wait for it – 1958. That will change with four more wins, starting against Sevilla tonight.
Zinedine Zidane is on the verge of taking the club of Puskas, Di Stéfano, Raùl, Butragueño, Zidane and Ronaldos old and new to another level. If he does it, he’s unlikely to receive due credit – there’s something about this cash-flinging, permanently entitled leviathan that people just can’t warm to.
It’s a shame because there is a lot to love about this team, from the silky midfield webs weaved by Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, to New Ronaldo’s steely determination to remain the team’s talisman. They go up against another side that’s also fun to watch, in the same way that trips to the Tate Modern and Thorpe Park are both fun things to do.
Sevilla play fast and loose, not least when a full-throttle comeback ended Real’s unbeaten run back in January. That left Jorge Sampaoli’s team one point off the leaders, but they have fallen off the pace since. They would seal fourth place with a win tonight, but the chance to tear a page from Real’s history book should be motivation enough.
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