MADRID, May 11 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona won this season's La Liga title on Sunday with a 2-0 win at home to Real Madrid, while Celta and Real Betis will battle it out for a UEFA Champions League place and the struggle to avoid relegation continues to offer tension and emotion. Here are four things in La Liga this weekend.
1. Barcelona secures title
When Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first Clasico of the season in October, few would have predicted Barcelona would have a 14-point lead at the top of the table with three games to play.
Hansi Flick's side cruised past Real Madrid in the Camp Nou on Sunday to maintain its dominance since the new year, and Flick deserves huge credit for keeping his side competitive despite a string of injuries to players such as Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Andreas Christensen and Lamine Yamal.
With them sidelined, players such as Ferran Torres, Gerard Martin and Fermin Lopez have all stepped up to secure Barcelona's title.
2. Tough time for Real Madrid
While Barcelona celebrates, the soul-searching has to start at Real Madrid after a season in which the club has not only ended without a single title, but also has seen the dressing room seem to fall apart.
The week prior to Sunday's game was dominated by stories of a fight between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni and rumors of poor relationships between other players.
Although Sunday saw moments of spark from players such as Vinicius, Brahim Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold, they never looked like getting back into the game after Barcelona took an early two-goal lead.
3. Betis and Celta favorites for fifth place
Rayo Vallecano's qualification for the Conference League final has ensured Spain will have five places in next season's Champions League, with Real Betis and Celta Vigo dueling it out for a big economic prize.
With three games left, Betis is in pole position with a four-point lead over Celta, but could have almost ensured the qualification if it hadn't surrendered a 2-0 lead away to Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Borja Iglesias scored the only goal as Celta won 1-0 away to Atletico Madrid.
4. Relegation struggle white-hot
With three games left to play, there are seven sides looking to avoid two relegation places.
Real Oviedo's brief adventure back into the elite will end on Monday if Girona takes a point against Rayo Vallecano, but between second-from-bottom Levante on 36 points and 13th-placed Sevilla on 40, there is a traffic jam of sides all looking to escape.
With so little separating so many teams, it is head-to-head battles such as Levante's game at home to Mallorca next weekend and Elche's trip to Girona on the last day of the season that could be decisive. ■
