Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 400th goal for Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane’s side closed in on a first La Liga title since 2012, easing to a 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday while Neymar hit a hat-trick for Barcelona, which thrashed Las Palmas 4-1.
The two sides are equal on 87 points with Barcelona leading the standings on their head-to-head record although Real has a game in hand against Celta Vigo next week and need only four points from its final two matches to take the title.
Defender Nacho Fernandez put Real ahead in the 10th minute with some quick thinking from a free kick, side-footing the ball into the bottom corner and flummoxing Sevilla, which was still preparing its defensive wall.
Nacho was a surprise inclusion as Zidane rested Marcelo, Casemiro, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric for Wednesday’s rescheduled game at Celta, the latest demonstration of his confidence in a talent-packed squad which has been a key factor in his side's march towards the title.
“This team has a lot of resources and what I like the most is the character we always show,” Zidane told reporters.
Ronaldo netted his milestone goal in the 23rd minute from close range and then added number 401, restoring Real’s two-goal advantage in the 78th with a curling shot into the top corner after Stevan Jovetic had pulled one back for Sevilla early in the second half.
Hat-trick by Neymar
In the Canary Islands, Luis Suarez laid on a splendid pass for Neymar to open the scoring for Barca in the 25th minute and then the Uruguayan capitalised on a through ball from the Brazilian to lob over goalkeeper Javi Varas in the 27th.
Atletico Madrid sealed the third automatic Champions League spot despite drawing 1-1 at Real Betis and Sevilla was guaranteed fourth spot.
Unexpected twist
In Serie A, AS Roma provided an unexpected twist to the title race on Sunday with a 3-1 over leader Juventus, which had needed only a draw to wrap up its sixth successive title with two games to spare.
Daniele De Rossi, Stephan El Shaarawy and Radja Nainggolan scored for Roma to end Juve’s 16-match unbeaten run in the league after Mario Lemina had put the visitor ahead.
The results:Premier League: Tottenham 2 (Wanyama 6, Kane 48) bt Manchester United 1 (Rooney 71). La Liga: Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aduriz 14) drew with Leganes 1 (Szymanowski 61); Las Palmas 1 (Bigas 63) lost to Barcelona 4 (Neymar 25, 67 & 71, Suarez 27); Real Betis 1 (Ceballos 57) drew with Atletico Madrid 1 (Savic 66); Real Madrid 4 (Nacho 10, Ronaldo 23 & 78, Kroos 84) bt Sevilla 1 (Jovetic 49).
Serie A: AS Roma 3 (De Rossi 24, El Shaarawy 56, Nainggolan 65) bt Juventus 1 (Lemina 21) .
