Real Madrid have been crowned Spanish LaLiga champions after thrashing Espanyol 4-0 in Saturday’s league game.
It is a record 35th Laliga title for Madrid with closest rivals Barcelona on 26 titles.
Madrid sit 17 points ahead of their closest challengers Sevilla, and 18 ahead of Barcelona, who they have now jumped ahead of in total trophy wins, with 95 to Barca’s 94.
Saturday’s win was also an historic one for Madrid coach Carlo Ancellotti, as he becomes the only manager in history to have won a league title in each of Europe’s five major leagues.
He won league titles with Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, with whom he also won the Champions League.
And in Saturday’s game, a Rodrygo’s double followed by second-half goals from Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema sealed all three points for Madrid who have now won two titles in three years.
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Los Blancos have lost just three league games all season with impressive wins over Barcelona and Sevilla helping them along the way.
Up next for Ancellotti and his side is the return leg of the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City on Wednesday.
The Spanish giants last won both La Liga and the Champions League in 2017 and also achieved the same double three times between 1956-58.
They will go into the clash trying to overturn a 4-3 deficit from the reverse fixture at the Etihad last Tuesday.
In-form striker Karim Benzema netted a brace, one from the penalty spot, while Vinicius Junior got the other goal after a brilliant solo effort.
The Spanish side will hope to avenge their exit in the hands of City last two seasons, losing 2-1 both at the Santiago Bernabeu and the Etihad.
And in his first spell as Madrid coach in 2014, Ancellotti led them to the Copa del Rey and the Champions League titles.
In the Copa del Rey final, they pipped Barcelona 2-1 before securing a dramatic 4-1 win against city rivals Atletico Madrid.
4 Comments
What a difference a good manager makes.
Ancelotti once compared managing a team to making parmigiano.
To make good parmigiano, you need knowledge, the right ingredients, the right environment, and lots of patience.
Everywhere this man has gone in football, he has delivered trophies. Even if his team did not win trophies, they always performed well. He has to be doing something right. You can’t luckily have these kind of results.
OUR OWN is a case study of how devastating and costly it is to have a poor manager.
For years to come, it will be a reference point for students of the game. A cautionary reference, that is.
Hopefully, we’ve learned our lesson. A lesson that we should not forget in a hurry.
Now, as we pick ourselves up from utter devastation and try to move forward, one thing is abundantly clear: THE SE NEED A QUALITY COACH.
If it was up to me, I WOULD BREAK THE BANK and go for the very best coach we can get. Coaches like Ancelotti, Pep, Klopp, Conte, etc. would be very difficult to get, but then make them the right monetary offer, and who knows? There are several quality coaches out there that can take us where we want to go in football. They are not going to be cheap, but then nothing of value comes cheap. We have to view hiring them as an investment in our short-term and long-term success.
Success does not come cheap.
Oh well, a man is allowed to dream. With this NFF, we remain stuck in the rut of utter mediocrity. It’s amazing how devastating and destructive the combo of corruption and incompetence can be.
Congrats to Ancelotti and Madrid. The crown fits them well indeed.
Look at the story of Jurgen Klopp.
Legend at Mainz, Dortmund and now Liverpool.
While Mourinho called himself THE SPECIAL ONE, Klopp preferred to be known as THE NORMAL ONE.
With the passage of time, he’s proven to be the normal coach who is achieving extraordinary, abnormal success.
All the most successful teams in world football have one thing in common.
THEY INVEST HEAVILY IN A QUALITY COACH.
If Nigeria wants consistent success in football, we have to follow the same template.
Brilliant POMPEI.. nothing to add. God bless you sir
And you too, sir.