Madrid – After two defeats last week, the Real Madrid players beat Vallecano 2:1 in the 36th round of the Spanish league and moved to second place in the incomplete table with two games to go. In the provisional position of vice-champion behind the already certain champion Barcelona, they replaced the city rival Atlético, who can return to second place in case of victory over Español in the match from 22:00.
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Before the match, the Real players wore jerseys with the name and number 20 of their teammate Vinicius Junior, who was the target of racist insults several times this season in the game in Valencia on Sunday. The fans also showed their support for their star, who watched the match only from the box of honor alongside club president Florentino Pérez due to knee problems. Symbolically, in the 20th minute, they stood up, clapped and chanted Vinício's name.
Eleven minutes later, captain Karim Benzema opened the scoring, bypassing the goalkeeper and finishing into an open goal. In the 84th minute, Raúl de Tomás equalized, but a minute before the end of regular time, Rodrygo made the decision with a penalty kick. After scoring the goal, the Brazilian clenched his hand into a fist in a gesture symbolizing the fight against racism and thus dedicated the winning goal to his compatriot Vinício. Real succeeded after a crushing 0-4 defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final second leg and a subsequent 0-1 loss in Valencia.
Villarreal kept their theoretical hope of advancing to the Champions League thanks to a 2-0 victory over Cádiz. Nicolas Jackson scored both goals in the first half, former Spanish international Pepe Reina kept a clean sheet in his 1,000th professional game. Fifth-placed Villarreal is five points behind fourth-placed San Sebastian.
Results of the 36th round of the Spanish Football League
Elche – FC Sevilla 1:1 (25. Morente – 10. Lamela), Villarreal – Cádiz 2:0 (21. and 45.+2 Jackson), Real Madrid – Vallecano 2:1 (31. Benzema, 89. Rodrygo – 84. De Tomás),
22:00 Betis Sevilla – Getafe, Español Barcelona – Atlético Madrid.
Table:
| FC Barcelona | 36 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 85 | ||
| 2. | Real Madrid | 36 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 72:34 | 74 |
| Atlético Madrid | 35 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 72 | ||
| 4. | San Sebastian | 36 | 20 | 8 | 48:32 | 68 | |
| 5. | Villarreal | 19 | 6 | 11 | 56:36 | 63 | |
| 6. | Betis Sevilla | 35 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 43:38 | 56 |
| 7. | Bilbao | 35 | 14 | 8 | 13 | 46:39 | 50 |
| 8. | Girona | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 56:51 | 49 |
| 9. | FC Sevilla | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 45:50 | 49 |
| 10. | Pamplona | 35 | 13 | 8 | 14 | 32:39 | 47 |
| 11. | Vallecano | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 43:49 | 46 |
| 12. | Mallorca | 35 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 34:40 | 44 |
| 13. | Valencia | 35 | 11 | 7 | 17 | 39:41 | 40 |
| 14. | Celta Vigo | 36 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 41:51 | 40 |
| 15. | Almería | 36 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 46:62 | 39 |
| 16. | Cádiz | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 28:53 | 38 |
| 17. | Valladolid | 36 | 11 | 5 | 20 | 33:63 | 38 |
| 18. | Getafe | 35 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 31:44 | 35 |
| 19. | Español Barcelona | 35 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 44:61 | 34 |
| 20. | Elche | 36 | 4 | 9 | 28:66 | 21 |
