Real Madrid are LaLiga champions for the second time in three seasons – and a 35th time overall – after beating Espanyol 4-0 on Saturday to clinch top spot.
Los Blancos have led the way pretty much throughout a campaign that has seen erstwhile champions Atletico Madrid and a Lionel Messi-less Barcelona struggle for consistency.
Indeed, Sevilla proved Los Blancos' biggest threat for large parts of this season, but Carlo Ancelotti's men never truly looked in danger of relinquishing their grip on another title.
Madrid's latest triumph came in Ancelotti's first season back at the club, with the Italian becoming the first head coach to win each of Europe's top five leagues.
While Ancelotti deserves plenty of credit, the title stroll would not have been possible if not for Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois at opposite ends of the pitch.
Here, Stats Perform looks at the numbers behind Madrid's latest title romp, which they could still yet add to with the Champions League in the coming weeks.
Madrid masterclass
Not only have Madrid won more European Cups than any side, their 35th LaLiga crown sees them overtake Juventus for the most titles among the top five European leagues.
Their two titles in three seasons, with the other coming under Zinedine Zidane in 2019-10, is as many as they won in the previous 11 campaigns.
Ancelotti's men have done so in style, too, having clinched top spot with four matchdays left, surpassing 2007-08 (three matchdays) for their earliest title win this century.
Carlo completes the set
Ancelotti won five trophies during his previous spell in charge of Madrid but the LaLiga title eluded him.
However, the 62-year-old can now lay claim to having won the title in Italy, England, France, Germany and indeed Spain – the first head coach to have ever achieved a sweep.
He is also the oldest coach to have won the Spanish top flight, some two years more senior than Fabio Capello was when also tasting success with Madrid in 2006-07.
Incidentally, Ancelotti and Capello are the only two Italian coaches to have reigned in Spain, with the latter having done so twice.
Karim the Dream
Benzema has led the way for Madrid with this his fourth LaLiga conquest, adding to the titles won in 2012, 2017 and 2020.
The France international has scored 26 goals in 30 league games this season, making this his most prolific campaign across his 13 years in Spain's top flight.
Not only does Benzema lead the LaLiga scoring charts, his 11 assists are also level with Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele as the most in the division.
Just to further underline the striker's importance this season, with 37 direct goal involvements he has played a part in 51 per cent of Los Blancos' 73 league goals.
Courtois a calming presence
For all of Benzema's goals, Madrid have so often called upon goalkeeper Courtois to rescue them this campaign.
The former Chelsea stopper has conceded 29 goals across 34 matches, keeping 14 clean sheets in the process.
Real Sociedad's Alex Remiro (18) can hold claim to keeping more shutouts, but a separate metric shows just how good Courtois has been in 2021-22.
The 29 goals Courtois has conceded have come from 33.4 expected goals on target conceded, meaning he has prevented 4.4 goals based on the quality of his shot-stopping.
To put that in some perspective, no goalkeeper in LaLiga has prevented more goals this season, while only five others across Europe's top five leagues have prevented more.
Benzema and Vinicius Junior may get most of the plaudits, but Courtois' influence has undoubtedly been significant.
Cayon Rockets blank Old Road 3-0 to maintain lead atop SKNFA Premier League; Security Forces get rare win
Cayon Rockets maintained their position atop the St Kitts and Nevis Football Association Premier League following their 3-0 drubbing of MFCR Old Road United at Warner Park on Sunday.
Devontay Carty scored twice in the- 20th and 63rd minutes while Mervin Lewis sealed the victory with a third in the 68th.
Meanwhile, Bath United and Garden Hotspurs played to a 1-1 stalemate at the Nevis Athletics Stadium. Omarion Bartlette gave Bath the lead in the 13th minute. It was a lead they held until the 84th when Jeamaul Hodge pulled Hotspurs level to get a share of the points.
On Friday, a goal in each half led Security Forces to a 2-1 win over hosts Jones Group Sandy Point.
Everette Ritchen gave Security Forces the lead in the 30th minute. They held that lead until Zahmai Greene pulled Sandy Point level in the 65th minute. Parity didn’t last long as Donyelle Francis’ 70th minute goal gave Security Forces a rare win.
Meanwhile, Fast Cash Saddlers FC and St. Peters played to a nil-all draw, a result that Saddlers’ coach Samuel Phipps was happy to come away with.
“Picking up on point is good, we did not lose,” he said. “It was a fairly scrappy game but we came out with a point.”
St Peters’ boss Austin Huggins bemoaned his team’s missed chances.
“I think that we played well but too many chances went a begging,” he said. “We had chances to score, chances that I feel should have been goals, but we missed them; nevertheless, we’ve been able to get a point, looking forward to our next match.”
The weekend’s results, Cayon Rockets remain top of the table with 39 points after 16 matches while defending champions St. Paul’s United in second with 31 points, having played one game less. St Peters FC are third with 28 points with Old Road United Jets slipping to fourth with 27 points.
Village Superstars (24) and Conaree FC (24) are fifth and sixth, respectively. Newtown United has fallen to seventh on 23 points with Bath United just above the relegation playoff zone in eighth with 19 points.
Garden Hotspurs are in the relegation playoff spot with 16 points. The three regulation spots are occupied by Saddlers United, Security Forces, and Sandy Point FC with 12, nine, and two points, respectively.
Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey among seven players leaving Leicester
Leicester have confirmed seven players will depart the club at the end of their contracts in June, including Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey.
The announcement comes following the Foxes’ relegation to the Championship on the final day of the Premier League season last month.
Turkish defender Soyuncu joined in 2018 from Freiburg and has featured over 100 times for Leicester, while fellow centurion Amartey made his first appearances for the club during their Premier League title-winning season in 2016.
Youri Tielemans is also among those leaving, having announced his exit on Instagram last week after spending four years with the club since joining from Monaco in 2019.
Nampalys Mendy, Ryan Bertrand, Ayoze Perez and Tete are the remaining players who are to leave the King Power following the expiration of their contracts.
Captain Jonny Evans remains in discussions with the Foxes as his contract is set to expire this month, while an option has been exercised to extend Hamza Choudhury’s contract to June 2024.
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou agrees deal to join Tottenham – reports
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager on a two-year contract, according to reports.
The 57-year-old told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night of his decision to leave the Glasgow club and has now agreed a deal in principle with Spurs, with the option to extend.
Former Australia head coach Postecoglou admitted on Saturday, after Celtic’s Scottish FA Cup final win over Inverness had secured them the domestic treble, that his celebrations would soon be disrupted.
Neither club have commented but reports claim an announcement will be made when the finer details of the contract have been finalised.
Tottenham have been searching for a permanent new manager since sacking Antonio Conte in March, with first Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason placed in temporary charge.
When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, Postecoglou said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.
“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.
“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”
He has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in 2021 and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season.
Postecoglou became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans.
But he looks set to swap Glasgow for another rebuild job as Spurs finally look to appoint Conte’s permanent successor after the Italian’s departure on March 26.
Postecoglou is due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday and a deal could be finalised quickly.
Tottenham failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2009-10 after an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League.
Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou at Celtic, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester.
Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
