"We've done a great job the entire season, being consistent from the start."
"This is how you win leagues," Madrid midfielder Casemiro said. It was 17 points in front of Sevilla, which drew with Cdiz 1-1 on Friday, and 18 points ahead of Barcelona, which hosts Mallorca on Sunday. Madrid has an insurmountable lead with four rounds to go. Rodrygo scored twice and Marco Asensio and substitute Karim Benzema added on to give Madrid its second league title in three seasons, and third in six years. The crowd cheered loudly when Marcelo draped the Cibeles statue with Madrid's flag and scarf. Several thousand fans packed the Cibeles plaza to welcome the champions, who mixed messages of celebration for the league title and motivation for Wednesday's match. The Italian manager won with AC Milan in Serie A, Chelsea in the English Premier League, Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
"We have to enjoy it, this could help us on Wednesday," said Carlo Ancelotti, who became the first coach to win the top five European leagues. "We know we have an important match ahead of us, but today we have to celebrate," said Brazilian veteran Marcelo, who reached a milestone with his 24th career title with Madrid, the most in the club's history. Madrid lost 4-3 in the first match in England. On Wednesday, Madrid is back at the Bernabu to host Manchester City in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. Players and coaches celebrated with the crowd at Santiago Bernabu Stadium long after the match ended, then paraded to the team's usual party spot at Cibeles plaza, but there was not a lot of time to rejoice. Using its backups before the Champions League semifinals, Madrid earned a record-extending 35th Liga title with a comfortable 4-0 home win over Espanyol on Saturday. In a dominating season for Real Madrid, it was fitting that it didn't even need its best players to win the Spanish league.