Real retain Liga title

Real clinch league title following late comeback

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 4th May 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Real retain Liga title

Real Madrid celebrate

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Real Madrid secured the Primera Liga title as they came from behind to snatch a dramatic 2-1 victory over lowly Osasuna.

Real Madrid controlled the first half but could not break the deadlock and were then reduced to ten men just after the restart when Fabio Cannavaro was given a second yellow card for a foul on Osasuna midfielder Jaroslav Plasil.

Bernd Schuster's side continued to carve out chances but they conceded a penalty seven minutes from time as Gabriel Heinze handballed.

Francisco Punal stroked his spot-kick past Iker Casillas and it seemed as though Real would have to delay their celebrations until at least Wednesday's clash with Barcelona.

However, Arjen Robben headed home an equaliser with three minutes remaining and substitute Gonzalo Higuain slammed in a winner from a tight angle to spark wild scenes.

Second-placed Villarreal had made Real Madrid wait by beating Getafe 2-0.

Nihat Kahveci put Villarreal ahead after 37 minutes and the Turkish forward struck again just before half-time to make the points safe.

Barcelona found the cutting edge they were lacking in the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Manchester United as they destroyed Valencia 6-0 for their first domestic victory in six games.

Much of the damage was done in the opening quarter of an hour as Barcelona stormed into a three-goal lead.

Lionel Messi's penalty on six minutes was followed up by a Xavi goal two minutes later before Thierry Henry got in on the act after 14 minutes.

Henry curled home his second of the night in the 58th minute and Bojan Krkic then stepped off the bench to score twice late on (72 and 79).

Murcia were relegated after surrendering a two-goal lead in their 3-2 defeat to high-flying Racing Santander.

Murcia needed victory to stand any chance of staying up and Daniel Aquino (13) and Ivan Alonso (28) gave them the perfect start.

However, a three-goal blitz either side of half-time turned the game on its head as Pedro Munitis (36), Jorge Lopez (47) and Munitis again (58) found the target for Santander.

Murcia's misery was compounded when Christophe Pignol and Alvaro Meije were both sent off in the 81st minute.

Sevilla kept up their push for European qualification as Dirnei Renato bagged a brace (10 and 40) in their 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid.

Espanyol snatched a late 1-1 draw against bottom club Levante in a game which saw three players red carded.

Luis Garcia scored the crucial penalty in stoppage time to cancel out Juanma's opener for Levante.

Mathieu Berson and Alvar were both dismissed for Levante, while Espanyol's Marc Torrejon was also given his marching orders.

Daniel Guiza (3 and 71) was the star for Real Mallorca as they won 2-1 at Athletic Bilbao. Fernando Llorente had levelled for the home side on eight minutes.

Ruben Pulido (47) salvaged a 1-1 draw for Almeria after David Odonkor had put Real Betis in front a minute before the interval.

Almeria 1 Real Betis 1
Athletic Bilbao 1 Real Mallorca 2

Levante 1 Espanyol 1

Barcelona 6 Valencia 0

Racing Santander 3 Murcia 2

Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 2

Sevilla 2 Real Valladolid 0

Villarreal 2 Getafe 0