Last week, Real Madrid mathematically won the 2023/2024 season La Liga trophy and they did it in style. While they haven’t officially been awarded the trophy yet, celebrations have started on the streets of Madrid. Los Blancos won the trophy on Saturday, May 4, 2023, after defeating Cadiz 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The victory was not enough to win them the trophy quite yet, they needed their rivals and arch-nemesis Barcelona to lose to Girona on the same day and that was exactly what happened. Barcelona lost 4-2 to Girona and dropped to third place while Girona rose to second position confirming their first-ever Champions League qualification.
The Real Madrid vs Cadiz match was pretty one-sided. Real Madrid dominated from beginning to end and deservedly won the match 3-0. They had 19 shots, 9 shots on target, and 72% possession while completing way more passes than Cadiz. Brahim Diaz, Joselu, and Jude Bellingham were on the scoresheet to win the match for Los Blancos. The match that stole the show and confirmed Real Madrid’s 36th trophy was Barcelona’s game against Girona.
The first half looked like it could go either way as Barcelona took the lead within three minutes. Lamine Yamal pinged a pass that found Christensen inside the box and the defender whipped in a shot past the Girona goalkeeper into the back of the net. Girona responded immediately as Arthur Dovbyk equalized one minute later and brought both teams back to level terms. Barcelona took the lead again as Lewandowski rolled home a penalty at the stroke of halftime. Christian Portu equalized for Girona again in the 65th minute of the second half and from then on, it became Girona’s game. Miguel Guitierrez and Christian Portu scored to bring the score to 4-2 in favor of Girona, taking the second spot from Barcelona, confirming their Champions League place and essentially handing the league title over to Real Madrid.
This La Liga triumph is a landmark trophy for Real Madrid; it’s their 100th trophy. They won the trophy with 87 points, 13 points clear of second-placed Girona, and four games left to play. It has been quite an excellent run as the Spanish giants lost only once in the entire campaign so far. They scored 74 goals and conceded only 22 beating Barcelona home and away in El Classico.
It’s also Jude Bellingham’s first league trophy; a significant milestone for the youngster after losing the Bundesliga on the last day to Bayern Munich last season when he was still at Borussia Dortmund. Jude is currently second with two goals behind Arthur Dovbyk’s 20 in the La Liga golden boot race despite playing less games due to injury. It’s an impressive stat considering the fact that Jude is a midfielder. Winning the Bundesliga in his first season and being in the Golden Boot race will certainly help his chances at this year’s Ballon D’ Or ranking.
Real Madrid are also still in the Champions League and have a chance to win their 15th if they beat Bayern in the Semi Finals and Dortmund in the finals. Los Blancos are already the most successful club in Europe’s top five leagues in the past two decades but they keep extending their lead every season. They have established themselves as football royalty and the pinnacle of European football and no other club looks like they can challenge them. They currently have nine more La Liga trophies than Barcelona and whether the Blaugrana can catch up remains to be seen. Winning the league is one thing, having your rival deliver it into your hands by losing is a touch of irony that adds extra significance to the triumph.
What do you think of Real Madrid this season?