Real Madrid moved to the top of La Liga with a 4-1 victory over Villareal at the Bernabeu.
Jude Bellingham’s dream debut season in Madrid continued when he opened the scoring and a strike before the break from Rodrygo helped give Los Blancos a commanding half-time lead.
Villareal fought back in the second half when Jose Luis Morales pulled a goal back but further goals from Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric ensured Madrid returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion.
Madrid forced the opening chance inside eight minutes when Bellingham headed into the grasp of goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen from inside the box.
The hosts dominated the early parts of the contest with wave after wave of attack and came within inches of the first goal when Modric’s curling effort from outside the area kissed the top of the crossbar.
Madrid inevitably took the lead a couple of minutes later when England midfielder Bellingham headed home from Modric’s cross for his 17th goal of the season.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side doubled their advantage in the 38th minute after Modric’s corner caused a scramble inside the area and the ball popped to Rodrygo who placed into the back of the net. The goal was initially ruled out but was given following a brief VAR check.
Villareal responded nine minutes after the break as Dani Parejo picked out Morales in between Nacho Fernandez and Antonio Rudiger and the forward slotted past Andriy Lunin to cut the deficit to one.
Madrid almost instantly regained their two-goal cushion after Rodrygo latched onto Lucas Vazquez’s long ball and attempted to poke it past Jorgensen, but the keeper was on hand to deny a certain goal.
Diaz scored Madrid’s third in superb style. After picking the ball up in the middle of the pitch, he made his way into the box and fired into the back of the net.
Madrid threatened to run away with the contest and added a fourth four minutes later after they capitalised on a Villarreal error in possession and Modric was on hand to blast home and make it 4-1.
Villareal keeper Jorgensen prevented Madrid bagging more goals as he stopped further efforts from Rodrygo and Diaz to keep the scoreline at 4-1.
But could not deny the home side from moving at least temporarily back above Girona, who play Alaves on Monday.
Xavi departs disappointed his work at Barcelona was not appreciated enough
Sacked Barcelona manager Xavi said he leaves the club disappointed after feeling his work was not appreciated enough as they finished the season with a 2-1 win at Sevilla on Sunday.
Xavi, 44, who joined Bara on a three-year deal when Dutchman Ronald Koeman left in 2021, led the Catalan giants to their 27th league title last season.
He compiled 90 wins, 23 draws and 29 defeats in 142 games in charge but was fired on Friday.
"I have the feeling that everything I have done in these two and a half years has caused an earthquake. I have been targeted many times in many situations," Xavi said.
"I think that the work has not been sufficiently appreciated. This year we haven't been up to the task because of details. We had four key games in which we couldn't finish the good work we had done," he added.
LaLiga runners-up Barcelona, who finished 10 poins behind Real Madrid, have endured a frustrating season, losing to Real in the Spanish Super Cup final, knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals and eliminated from the Champions League by Paris St Germain also in the last eight.
Xavi decided to step down in January but agreed to return in April after talks with president Joan Laporta, who later changed his mind and sacked him after a season without silverware.
"It is not for me to say the reasons or the motives. I think it is up to the president to say them. I had no choice but to accept it. It doesn't matter if I agree with the arguments.
"I'm not leaving with a sense of relief because we wanted to continue. These are decisions made by the club. We understood and respected that, but we thought it wasn't over," he added.
Xavi pointed out that while he did not agree with his departure, he accepted that the club was bigger, adding that the next coach's job would not be easy.
"He should know that he has a tough situation because Barca is a challenging club but on top of that it is in an adverse economic situation. It will not be an easy task," he said.
Sevilla 1-2 Barcelona: Bittersweet farewell for Xavi as Barca end season with a win
Barcelona ended the season with a 2-1 victory at Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday, making departing coach Xavi's farewell bittersweet after a trophy-less season.
La Blaugrana came out all guns blazing from the start and took the lead in the 15th minute through Robert Lewandowski who scored from close range after latching onto Joao Cancelo's cross.
Sevilla levelled with Youssef En-Nesyri's strike in the 31st minute and went close again but failed to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen before Barca got the winner on the hour through Fermin Lopez.
Barca were already guaranteed second place going into Xavi's final game. The Spaniard was sacked on Friday, after a disappointing campaign in which they lost the Spanish Supercopa final to Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final.
Data Debrief: A legend departs
Xavi never lost any of his six games as a manager against Sevilla in LaLiga (W5 D1), making them just the third opponent that he faced six times without defeat (also W5 D1 against Real Mallorca and Osasuna).
Fermin got the all-important goal to ensure Xavi's tenure ended on a high note. He has scored seven goals in LaLiga in 2024, a record surpassed by only one other Spanish player in Europe's top five leagues this year: Iago Aspas (eight).
Verona 2-2 Inter: Arnautovic double earns point for Serie A winners
Champions Inter end their Serie A season with a 2-2 draw against Verona thanks to a Marko Arnautovic double.
The Austrian opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a neat finish, but Inter were soon pegged back as Tijjani Noslin equalised six minutes later.
The Dutchman then set up Tomas Suslov for their second to turn the game on its head, but another smart finish from Arnautovic on the stroke of half-time ensured they would salvage a point.
Simone Perilli proved the hero for Verona in the end, pulling off a string of fine saves to keep his side level.
Data Debrief: Landmark for Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi has now earned 250 points as a coach in Serie A with Inter, an achievement only Roberto Mancini has reached so far with the Nerazzurri in the three-points-per-win era (436). This draw takes him up to the landmark after 77 wins and 19 draws (18 losses).
After winning the Scudetto with five games to go, Inzaghi has led Inter to 94 points in Serie A, with only three teams ever earning more points in a single campaign in the competition in the three-points-per-win era: Inter in 2006-07 (97) and Juventus in 2013-14 (102) and 2017-18 (95).
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