Barcelona forward Lionel Messi had
to go off in the second half against Atletico Madrid, leaving his team
with only 10 players having made all three replacements. The
newly-crowned Spanish champions fought back to win 2-1.
Messi started his first
domestic match since the end of March, but was taken off in the 68th
minute having apparently failed to recover from the injury problems that
have dogged the latter part of his season.
It meant his run of
having scored in 21 successive league matches came to a halt, but Barca
did recover from 1-0 down when he left the pitch despite needing to
complete the match with only 10 men having made all possible
replacements.
The victory that leaves the Catalans on course to match Real Madrid's points record from last season.
Having clinched a fourth
title in five seasons when second-placed Real could only draw with
Espanyol on Saturday, Barca went behind five minutes after halftime in
the Spanish capital.
Gabi dispossessed Gerard
Pique and fed the ball to striker Radamel Falcao, who netted his 28th
goal this season to stay third in the "Pichichi" scoring stakes behind
Messi (46) and Cristiano Ronaldo (34).
Alexis Sanchez leveled
the score five minutes after Messi departed, toe-poking in a low shot
after combining well with Cesc Fabregas for his 10th in La Liga. The
Chilean was then booked after taking off his shirt to reveal a Mother's
Day message.
Barca's winner came with
10 minutes to play, and was equally unrepresentative of the elegant play
usually associated with the club.
Striker David Villa
scuffed a shot which deflected off Diego Godin and -- apparently going
wide of the goal -- then hit Gabi before bobbling into Thibaut Courtois'
net.
Ugly as it was, it means Barca can equal Real's tally of 100 points by winning the last three games.
Atletico stayed third
after the defeat, but can still win a trophy this season by beating city
rivals Real in next Friday's Copa del Rey final.
Valencia climbed into
the fourth Champions League place with a 4-0 win at midtable Rayo
Vallecano, moving a point above Real Sociedad -- who host Granada on
Monday.
Sixth-placed Malaga drew
0-0 with Sevilla, while seventh-placed Real Betis won 1-0 at home to
second-bottom Celta Vigo, with Ruben Castro scoring the second-half
winner.
France
Paris Saint-Germain clinched a first Ligue 1 title since 1994 after winning 1-0 at third-placed Lyon on Sunday.
Midfielder Jeremy Menez
scored the only goal in the 53rd minute to put big-spending PSG seven
points clear of Marseille with two matches to play.
It gave coach Carlo
Ancelotti a league title in three countries, having previously won in
Italy with AC Milan and in England with Chelsea, while star striker
Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrated a championship in his fifth different
nation.
January signing David
Beckham came on for a brief cameo in time added on, and is now the first
English player to be involved in title-winning teams in four countries.
It also represented the
first trophy for PSG's Qatari owners, who have spent a reported $320
million on players since taking a controlling share in 2011.
"We fulfilled our
objectives of winning the Ligue 1 title and going a long way in the
Champions League," said Ancelotti, whose team reached the quarterfinals
of Europe's top club competition before losing to Barcelona on away
goals.
"The squad has worked very hard and were always very professional."
The club's president
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi added: "I am delighted to have won this title after
two very tough years. We deserve to win this trophy. We were happy that
Marseille won yesterday, because we wanted to win the league with a
victory in this match.
"It's a magnificent
moment for the club and our supporters. I am so proud of our fans who
have been right behind us through thick and thin. They deserve this
title too after 19 years."
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