Barcelona clinched the La Liga title at the Vicente Calderon which resulted in Real Madrid ending the season without any major silverware.
Real Madrida s disappointing campaign came to an end on Sunday as despite winning 4-1 against Espanyol, The Whites were knocked out of the La Liga race. Barcelona won against Atletico Madrid to confirm themselves as the champions of La Liga.
However, the win against Espanyol had many positives to take away. Ronaldo netted another hat-trick for Los Blancos to take his tally of the season to 45 league goals. Real Madrid also managed to win a game convincingly after two straight draws against Valencia and Juventus.
After the game, Ancelotti praised the teama s attitude and the battle they put up.
Ancelotti said: a The team reacted well and had a very good attitude. It was not easy to motivate the players after Wednesday and I am grateful. Now we have to prepare professionally for the last game right up until the last minute. We have to keep our heads held high, although the team has not won, they have battled.”
Cristiano Ronaldo scored three for the team and enhanced his chances of winning the European Golden Shoe. The Portuguese has scored 58 goals in all competitions and 45 goals in La Liga so far this season. The coach praised the forward and also congratulated Barcelona for winning the league.
a Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed the good work today and the team’s attitude. The overall assessment of the season is not positive because Real Madrid play to win and we haven’t managed it. We had a good first half to the season but the second half was more difficult. I have to congratulate Barcelona and my fellow manager Luis Enrique.a
In a poor season for Real Madrid, The Whites missed many players to injury throughout the campaign. Modric, James Rodriguez and Ramos were missed in some major matches and that largely affected the teama s performances.
a We have been hurt by injuries, especially Modric. The team played well with James, Isco and Kroos and have had a lot of victories with that system. Modric has missed practically all of the season and that has hurt us.”
After losing out on La Liga towards the end of the season for the second time in a row, Ancelotti maintained that he will try again next year. However, he also said that he would like to win the Champions League, which is the most important competition for the Italian.
a I would like to win the most important competition, which is the Champions League. However, I would also like to win La Liga. This year we came very close and we will try again next year.”