Ronaldo breaks Liga record in Madrid rout
Saturday, May 21, 2011
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in Real Madrid CF's 8-1 win against UD Almería to surpass Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sánchez's Liga scoring record while FC Barcelona also signed off victorious.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in Real Madrid CF's 8-1 victory against bottom-club UD Almería to go past the record for the number of goals in a single Liga season, previously held by Athletic Club's Telmo Zarra (1950/51) and Madrid's Hugo Sánchez (1989/90).
Ronaldo scored Madrid's first and seventh goals to take his tally for the season to 40 from just 34 appearances as the Merengues ended the campaign as the league's top scorers with 102 goals. Karim Benzema also scored twice while Emmanuel Adebayor hit a hat-trick for the Copa del Rey winners, who finish the season four points adrift of champions FC Barcelona.
A much-changed Barcelona side concluded their successful Liga campaign with a 3-1 victory against Málaga CF. Bojan Krkić's penalty cancelled out Sebastián Fernández's opener for the hosts before Ibrahim Afellay and Marc Bartra completed the Azulgrana's comeback. Barcelona now turn their attentions to next weekend's UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, when they will face Manchester United FC in the showpiece for the second time in three seasons.
The race for UEFA Europa League spots went down to the wire with Sevilla FC, Athletic Club and Club Atlético de Madrid all finishing the season on 58 points after final day victories, but Sevilla's superior head-to-head record earned them fifth place with Athletic sixth and Atlético seventh.
At the other end of the table there was despair for RC Deportivo La Coruña whose 2-0 home defeat to Valencia CF meant they were relegated. A 1-1 draw between Real Sociedad de Fútbol and Getafe CF was enough to secure top-flight football for both clubs while Real Zaragoza's 2-1 victory away at Levante UD meant they leapfrogged their opponents into 13th place. CA Osasuna defeated fourth-placed Villarreal CF to secure a top-half finish.
