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Real Madrid clinch La Liga title as Carlo Ancelotti completes the ‘grand slam’ of top five European leagues

Carlo Ancelotti becomes the first manager to win the ‘grand slam’ of titles in each of Europe’s top five leagues

Karl Matchett
Wednesday 04 May 2022 10:46 BST
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Real Madrid have sealed the domestic title after a 4-0 victory at home to Espanyol guaranteed them top spot in La Liga.

Last season the championship was won by their local rivals Atletico Madrid, but Los Blancos bounced back to seal title number 35 in relative comfort this season following the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as head coach.

Indeed, their success means the Italian boss becomes the first and only manager to win each of La Liga, the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga - the top five leagues in European football.

He was in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu from 2013 to 2015, failing to win the title on that occasion, but has succeeded this time around after returning following a spell with Everton.

A brace from Rodrygo and goals from Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema gave Real the points on Sunday, leaving them 17 points clear of Sevilla with four games to play. Barcelona remain third, one further point back from Sevilla with an extra fixture in hand.

The weekend celebrations will need to remain somewhat restrained, however, as Real face Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final second leg on Wednesday night.

City lead 3-2 from a wild first leg in Manchester, with Ancelotti leaving the likes of Toni Kroos, Vinicius Jr, Ferland Mendy and Benzema initially on the bench for the title-clincher.

Ancelotti’s other league titles around Europe were won with Chelsea, AC Milan, PSG and Bayern Munich.

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