In the Spanish "Primera" league, the 36th round continued on Saturday, with three matches played.
Real Madrid, preparing for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, clashed with Real Sociedad in away game. Without Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, the "whites" celebrated a crucial and difficult victory against the Basques after Gareth Bale's goal.
Zinedine Zidane's team showed superiority against the hosts from the first minute, but they failed to create dangerous chances for the guests in the first half. The next 45 minutes were also active, and Real had several good opportunities to score, but Geronomi Rullis stood firmly in goal.
Finally, in the 80th minute, the Spanish vice-champions achieved their goal, and Gareth Bale's headed goal after Lucas Vazquez's cross put Real ahead and sealed the winning goal.
In other matches, Atletico Madrid also won a tough but crucial victory in the fight for the title. Antoine Griezmann, who missed only a moment in front of goal, scored in the 55th minute after coming on as a substitute, securing a win against Rayo Vallecano.
In the last match, Barcelona faced Real Betis in an away game. From the 35th minute onwards, the Andalusian team could not resist the champions and suffered a defeat with a score of 0-2.
In the first half, Real Betis' players managed to hold on, but at the beginning of the second half, after a misunderstanding between the defender and goalkeeper, Ivan Rakitic sent the ball into the empty net. Luis Suarez sealed the victory in the 81st minute.
At the top of the league table, there were no changes. Barcelona and Atletico have 85 points each, with Real trailing closely behind. There are two matches left to play in the championship.
Results:
Real Sociedad 0 - 1 Real Madrid
80' [0 - 1] G. Bale
Atletico 1 - 0 Rayo Vallecano
55' [1 - 0] A. Griezmann
Real Betis 0 - 2 Barcelona
50' [0 - 1] I. Rakitic
81' [0 - 2] L. Suarez
35' H. Westermann (Real Betis) sent off the field
League table:
