Spanish La Liga
EspanyolEspanyol1Real MadridReal Madrid4

Espanyol 1-4 Real Madrid

By James McMathBBC Sport
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh hat-trick took his tally for the season to 45 league goals

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his seventh hat-trick of the season to give Real Madrid victory at Espanyol as Barcelona won the title.

Ronaldo fired low under Kiko Casilla to make it 1-0 but Espanyol equalised through Cristhian Stuani after an error from Madrid keeper Keylor Navas.

Marcelo made it 2-1 with a firm drive before Ronaldo added the third from 12 yards.

The Portugal star then headed in his third from James Rodriguez's cross.

Trailing Barcelona by four points before kick-off, Real needed to better their rivals' result to take the title race to the last match of the campaign.

Los Blancos did their bit but they needed a favour from neighbours Atletico Madrid, which did not come as Barca won 1-0 in the Spanish capital.

Ronaldo's treble took his tally for the season to 45 in La Liga - four ahead of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, who hit the winner for his club.

Messi v Ronaldo - goals and glory since Ronaldo moved to Madrid in 2009
Lionel Messi (Age: 27)Cristiano Ronaldo (Age: 30)
Appearances: 318Appearances: 299
Goals: 328Goals: 310
Major honours (14): La Liga (4), Champions League (1), Spanish Cup (1), Uefa Super Cup (2), Spanish Supercup (4), Fifa Club World Cup (2).Major honours (7): La Liga (1), Champions League (1), Spanish Cup (2), Uefa Super Cup (1), Spanish Supercup (1), Fifa Club World Cup (1)
Source:messivsronaldo.net

Ronaldo's first came when he latched on to Karim Benzema's through ball and beat Casilla with a left-foot finish.

Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti chose to drop Iker Casillas in favour of Navas but the back-up goalkeeper was at fault as Espanyol equalised.

His heavy touch after Pepe's back-pass allowed Stuani to close him down. A scuffed clearance fell to Sergio Garcia who fed Stuani to score from close range.

Casillas, 33, and Navas, 28, have both made high-profile mistakes in recent matches for Madrid, who continue to be linked with a move for Manchester United's David De Gea.

Espanyol were level for six minutes before Ronaldo cut the ball back to Marcelo and the Brazilian full-back rifled in his first league goal of the season.

Four minutes later, Ronaldo scored his second when substitute Javier Hernandez - on loan from United - raced on to Marcelo's long ball and hooked the ball back for his team-mate to score.

Ronaldo, 30, completed his hat-trick in stoppage time with a downward header at the back post after Rodriguez's cross from the left but it proved in vain as Barcelona saw out the victory they needed to end Madrid's championship chances.

It means Madrid have won La Liga only once in the past seven seasons.

Line-ups

Espanyol

Formation 3-4-1-2

  • 13Casilla
  • 22González Soberón
  • 19ColottoSubstituted forMontañés Claveríasat 84'minutes
  • 15Moreno
  • 23Arbilla
  • 4Sánchez MataBooked at 55mins
  • 16López Rodríguez
  • 5Álvarez Delgado
  • 10González CasanovaSubstituted forMattioniat 84'minutes
  • 9García de la Fuente
  • 20CaicedoBooked at 18minsSubstituted forStuaniat 64'minutes

Substitutes

  • 2Mattioni
  • 6Sevilla López
  • 8Stuani
  • 14Canas Ruiz Herrera
  • 18Fuentes Hernández
  • 24Montañés Claverías
  • 25López

Real Madrid

Formation 4-3-3

  • 13NavasBooked at 74mins
  • 15CarvajalBooked at 68minsSubstituted forNachoat 81'minutes
  • 3PepeBooked at 23mins
  • 2Varane
  • 12MarceloBooked at 74mins
  • 23IscoSubstituted forIllarramendiat 73'minutes
  • 8Kroos
  • 10Rodríguez
  • 11Bale
  • 9BenzemaSubstituted forHernándezat 63'minutes
  • 7Cristiano Ronaldo

Substitutes

  • 1Casillas
  • 5da Silva Coentrão
  • 14Hernández
  • 16Borges
  • 18Nacho
  • 20Rodríguez Ruiz
  • 24Illarramendi
Referee:
Juan Martínez Munuera
Attendance:
30,180

Match Stats

Home TeamEspanyolAway TeamReal Madrid
Possession
Home45%
Away55%
Shots
Home15
Away18
Shots on Target
Home3
Away7
Corners
Home2
Away5
Fouls
Home17
Away12

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Espanyol 1, Real Madrid 4.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Espanyol 1, Real Madrid 4.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Asier Illarramendi.

  4. Post update

    Offside, Espanyol. Felipe Mattioni tries a through ball, but Christian Stuani is caught offside.

  5. Goal!

    Goal! Espanyol 1, Real Madrid 4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) header from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by James Rodríguez with a cross.

  6. Post update

    Attempt missed. Nacho (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Gareth Bale with a cross.

  7. Post update

    Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Anaitz Arbilla (Espanyol).

  9. Post update

    Attempt missed. Felipe Mattioni (Espanyol) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Víctor Sánchez.

  10. Post update

    Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Paco Montañés (Espanyol).

  12. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Paco Montañés (Espanyol) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Javi López.

  13. Post update

    Marcelo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Post update

    Foul by Christian Stuani (Espanyol).

  15. Post update

    Attempt missed. Marcelo (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo with a cross.

  16. Post update

    Asier Illarramendi (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  17. Post update

    Foul by Paco Montañés (Espanyol).

  18. Substitution

    Substitution, Espanyol. Felipe Mattioni replaces Abraham.

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Espanyol. Paco Montañés replaces Diego Colotto.

  20. Goal!

    Goal! Espanyol 1, Real Madrid 3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner.

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Sunday 17th May 2015

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Barcelona373034108198993
2Real Madrid372926111357689
3Atl Madrid37238667293877
4Valencia372111567303774
5Sevilla37227868432573
6Villarreal371612948331560
7Ath Bilbao371410133841-352
8Malaga37148154045-550
9Espanyol371310144548-349
10Rayo Vallecano37154184464-2049
11Celta Vigo371212134442248
12Real Sociedad371013144049-943
13Elche37117193562-2740
14Getafe37107203057-2737
15Levante3799193467-3336
16Granada37713172964-3534
17Dep La Coruña37713173358-2534
18Eibar3788213155-2432
19Almería3788213361-2832
20Córdoba37311232265-4320
View full Spanish La Liga table