Real Madrid win LaLiga 2019/20: A work of art from Zidane

It was 21:28 and Osasuna had gone ahead at the Camp Nou. Casemiro broke up a poor move up the pitch from Villarreal and passed to Modric, who in turn moved the ball to Benzema, on a zig-zag run to confuse the defence - the Frenchman finished off the move with a relaxed shot between Sergio Asenjo's legs. From that moment on the title was Real Madrid's, thanks to their solidity on the pitch... accompanied by the news that 600 kilometres away Barcelona had fallen to pieces. There was no surprise then, at the end of the evening that one side were comfortable winners (their tenth since the end of the coronavirus lockdown), while the other team suffered an ominous defeat.

An ugly penalty for Real Madrid

Of course, to get to that point there were more talking points, including an ugly penalty incident for Real Madrid. It wasn't a penalty in my opinion, and I didn't like the way Madrid decided to take it, with a pathetic attempt at showboating which went wrong. They were allowed to take it again and Benzema scored. His 21st goal. It was a penalty to console Piqué and give sustenance to the anti-Madridistas all over Spain. A goal that grew in importance when Iborra made it 2-1. Villarreal pressed Madrid hard after that, looking for the draw that would put them into Europe, but they came up against Courtois, and were saved from it going to 3-1 by the VAR, which found against Madrid this time, chalking off Asensio's goal after a stunning Butragueño-esque run from Vinicius.

Zidane: an outstanding coach

At the end of the day, Barcelona's defeat put any controversy to bed. But that's just the story of the final day. LaLiga isn't won in one day, but across 38. Whoever wins it is the best. And the best team has been Real Madrid, brought back to life by Zidane in incredible fashion. He arrived half-way through last season to take over a group who had done for Lopetegui and Solari. A group who looked stale, over-satisfied with their titles and a feeling they could do everything for themselves - to the point where a complete renewal looked advisable. Well with that same group (the new players, except for Mendy, have contributed nothing), Zidane has made the title Real Madrid's. A work of art from an outstanding coach.