Real Madrid He recovered the title of champion of the Spanish league. With four days left until the end of the 2023/24 season, the merengue team won title number 36 of its rich history: it beat Cádiz at the Santiago Bernabéu, 3 to 0, and a few hours later it celebrated thanks to the fact that Barcelona, his immediate pursuer, the one who could mathematically still achieve it, lost 4-2 against Girona, as a visitor. In this way, Real Madrid took 13 points from Girona – the revelation of the season – and 14 from Barcelona, with 12 points left in dispute.
Thus, Carlo Ancelotti repeated what he achieved in 2022, when also on date 34 he shouted champion after beating Espanyol 4 to 0 and leaving the culés, who followed Madrid in the standings, without a chance.
This Saturday, it was Brahim Díaz who rushed everything so that the Bernabéu was a party. The 24-year-old striker, trained at Manchester City, received a pass between the lines almost at the apex of the large area and accommodated a right hand that slipped into a corner from the Argentine Jeremías Ledesma. A great goal at the height of the great campaign that Real Madrid is having, a team that also has one eye on the Champions League, where it must settle the semifinals with Bayern Munich.
Díaz scored his fifth goal in the league, and it is one of the revelations of Ancelotti’s team, since as the league progressed he earned a place among the starters.
Brahim’s great goal
The second goal had to be the work of the great addition of this cycle, the Englishman Jude Bellingham, who heard how the entire stadium applauded him singing the chorus of “Hey Jude”, Paul McCartney’s classic. The former Borussia Dortmund striker contributed the 18th goal of the season. Interception after a poor start by Cádiz that led to a pass to Modric, opening to Brahim Díaz and resolution through the center by the great Jude, which quickly made us forget the goals that went with Benzema.
Something else was missing. Extra time was played and Courtois, who returned today after a ligament tear that required a long recovery and had prevented him from adding minutes this season, responded with a great save. From that action the third goal was born. An attack of pure touch and transitions that ended with the shout of an experienced forward who came to contribute from the substitute bench: Joselu. There was no room for more, 3 to 0 and waiting. Less than three hours later the confirmation arrived: Real Madrid was champion.
Barcelona served him the title
The blaugranas fThey were unable to maintain the advantage on a couple of occasions that they had achieved against Girona, as visitors. First they went ahead with a goal from Andreas Christensen after three minutes. Artem Dovbyk equalized for the hosts immediately at four, to reach 21 goals on the course and establish himself as the scoring leader. Robert Lewandowski once again put the culés in front, with a penalty in the first minute of compensation before the break.
In the second half, the culés collapsed after a double from Portu (65 and 74) and the same from Miguel Gutiérrez (67). Girona once again repeated a 4-2 victory over Barcelona after what they had achieved in the first round at the Montjuic stadium.
Madrid will show off in front of their fans on Wednesday their new league title when they host Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final series, a match that is tied 2-2 after the first leg in Germany.
Despite the opportunity to be crowned, Italian strategist Carlo Ancelotti had ruled out after his match that the team would wait for Barcelona’s result to go celebrate the title with its fans at the Cibeles Fountain.
“We have to be patient, wait because Wednesday is very close and “We have to recover, rest to bring out our best version,” said Ancelotti by ruling out a team celebration if this day was crowned. “It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s today or next Sunday, we deserved to win this league and we have to reach it whenever it is.”