Footballing action in Spain, Germany and France came to an after an exhilarating gameweek, which culminated yet another exciting season. Xavi, a Barcelona legend, ended his 24-year stay in Barcelona, after the Spaniard decided to move to Qatari club Al Sadd. Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions last week, and their draw against Deportivo helped their struggling visitors escape relegation. Real Madrid ended on a high, in a 10-goal thriller, as Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to take his total of the campaign to 61 goals. Jurgen Klopp’s reign as Dortmund manager came to end as his side secured a spot in Europe after their win against Werder Bremen. Paris Saint-Germain, riding on Edinson Cavani’s double, battled it out against Reims, to make their celebrations official.
It was a rather emotional day at the Camp Nou, as it was club legend Xavi’s last game as a Barcelona player at his home, although the Spaniard has two more games to play in the Blaugrana stripe – the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League final. Messi scored two goals to hand his side the lead but the plucky hosts fought back to end the match on level terms. After a swift counter-attack, ‘keeper Fabricio parried the ball to Rafinha who crossed the ball to the unmarked Messi at the far-post who made no mistake from close-range. Deportivo scored two scrappy goals out of nowhere in the 67th and 76th minute, following a scramble in the box on both occasions. Xavi was replaced with 5 minutes to go and the Camp Nou rose to give their captain a resounding standing ovation. But the rather disappointing draw didn’t matter much, especially Barcelona lifted the La Liga trophy, probably the first of a treble.
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Real Madrid ended a rather dismal season, by their standards, on seventh heaven in 7-3 win over Getafe. Ronaldo scored his 8th La Liga hat-trick to his take his domestic haul to 48, which makes him the top goalscorer in major European leagues in 2014-15, subsequently winning the Pichichi award, beating Messi. Ronaldo headed in the opener when he pummeled in Marcelo’s cross in the 13th minute. Getafe were in no mood to lay back and replied with two goals, which Casillas could’ve saved. Ronaldo equalised, when curled his free-kick around the wall. Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez won a penalty a couple of minutes later and Ronaldo converted in flamboyant fashion, to give his side the lead. In the dying stages of the first-half, Getafe restored parity, when Mehdi Lacen lashed in home following a corner.
ImageCourtesy: Angel Martinez
Ronaldo’s treble completed his most prolific season and midway through the second-half, the Ballon d’Or was replaced by Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard, becoming the youngest ever Real player. Hernandez drilled in home after Ronaldo’s initial shot was saved to make in 4-3 and a few minutes later, James Rodriguez curled an exquisite free-kick from close-range to take the tie beyond the visitors. Jese exchanged a couple of one-twos with James before he slid in a first-time shot into the bottom right-corner past the outstretched Codina. Marcelo got the final goal when he finished off a typical Real Madrid counter-attack, when he sprinted across the pitch to tap in Jese’s low cross.
ImageCourtesy: Angel Martinez
The Signal Iduna Park gave departing manager Jurgen Klopp and club captain Sebastian Kehl a rapturous reception, following a 3-2 win over Werder Bremen, effectively securing a spot in Europe. The vivacious coach, who enjoyed a highly successful time at Borussia, needed just a point to qualify for the Europa Leagu, however first-half goals from Kagawa, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan sealed the win in emphatic fashion.
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Bayern Munich ended their horrible league form, after a 2-0 win against Mainz, to lift their third consecutive Bundesliga title. Pep Guardiola was a rather happy man after this win and thanked the fans after a few catastrophic weeks at the office. “I must congratulate the team, my staff and our fans,” he said after the game. “They gave us great support, especially against Barcelona. Next season we will come back stronger. I’m hoping to build the best possible squad.”
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Paris Saint-Germain ran out 3-2 winners against Reims to end their Ligue 1 campaign on high. Laurent Blanc’s men have won their last 9 league games and despite another emphatic victory, the Parisians have their eyes set on the Coupe de la Ligue final against lowly Auxerre, in a bid to secure a historic domestic treble.
Tags: Dortmund Europa League Nou Camp Pichichi PSG Ronaldo Xavi
