Battle of Reals swings Madrid’s way

Real Madrid gained the upper hand in the Spanish title race when they went top with one game to play after thrashing Atletico Madrid 4-0 whi...

Real Madrid gained the upper hand in the Spanish title race when they went top with one game to play after thrashing Atletico Madrid 4-0 while rivals Real Sociedad slipped to a 3-2 defeat at Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Real will go into their final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu next weekend knowing that if they win or match Sociedad’s result at home to Atletico Madrid they will be assured of their 29th league title.

The title appeared to slip from Real Sociedad’s grasp when doubles from Ronaldo and Raul gave Real Madrid their comfortable win against Atletico while the Basque fell to two neatly taken goals from Celta midfielder Alexander Mostovoi and another from Egyptian striker Mido. With just one game left to play, Real Madrid lead the table on 75 points, Real Sociedad follow on 73 and Deportivo Coruna, who lost 3-2 at Athletic Bilbao, are safe in third on 69.

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With Barcelona claiming a 3-1 win over nine-man Valencia at the Mestalla, Celta’s victory assures them of fourth place and a first ever berth in the Champions League. Celta have 61 points to fifth-placed Valencia’s 57. Barcelona’s victory keeps them in with a chance of a place in the UEFA Cup, but they must hope that six-placed Athletic Bilbao lose to Real Madrid and they win their last game at home to Celta.

Real could not have got off to a better start at Atletico when Zinedine Zidane threaded a perfectly weighted pass through the opposition defence towards the lurking Ronaldo who let rip with a fierce left foot shot in the seventh minute. (Reuters)