A handful of narratives played out during the penultimate round of matches of the 2024 La Liga season, despite the fact that Real Madrid have already clinched the title. In fact, Los Blancos were once again in the headlines for the recent slate of games, but for the wrong reasons.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad and Real Betis fought tooth and nail to cement their spots in European contention next season.
Elsewhere, the bright-eyed Cadiz hopped on the relegation bus, while Barcelona gifted their fans a banger during their home finale.
Cadiz fall short
As my fellow SBOTOP writer, James, said last week, Cadiz can still believe, but unfortunately for Mauricio Pellegrino and his outfit, the light at the end of the tunnel has ultimately faded.
Coming into their match against Las Palmas, Cadiz were facing a four-point gap from 17th-placed Mallorca with two games left in the season.
Cadiz showed spirit against Las Palmas, but ultimately, the other Yellow Submarine couldn’t find a winner, forcing a 0-0 draw and cementing their relegation status in the process.
Cadiz will be demoted back to Segunda División after a quiet four-year spell in the top flight.
European Qualifications on the line
Real Sociedad paid Real Betis a visit at Bentio Villamarin in hopes of clinching their spot in the Europa League next season. Coming into this pivotal match, these rivals were neck-and-neck in the standings, where Betis were a win away from taking Sociedad’s sixth spot on the table.
The home side were hot off the gates and proceeded to take a crack at the goal from the get-go, but none of the 18 shot attempts from Betis got past La Real’s mighty defence.
Txuriurdin, on the other hand, only attempted five shots throughout the match, but it was enough as Baris Mendes and Mikel Merino scored one goal apiece to end the game with a score line of 0-2 in favour of Real Sociedad.
This win grants Imanol Alguacil and his men their tickets to the Europa League next season at the expense of their opponents, Real Betis.
With both teams cementing their spots in the league standings for the 2023–24 season, La Real have made it a Basque double in the Europa League next campaign, while Real Betis feature in the Europa Conference League.
Barcelona secure second place
What was a topsy-turvy season for the Catalans that ended in a second-place finish in the 2024 La Liga season? Not too shabby, as far as this SBOTOP writer is concerned.
Amidst the injury woes and the Xavi telenovela, Barcelona still managed to clinch the best of the rest moniker as they finish second only to the unparalleled Real Madrid.
Their home finale saw the Catalans thrash Rayo Vallecano 3-0, thanks to Lewandowski’s opener and Pedri’s second-half brace. This win maintains their gap to four from surprise package Girona with one game left in the season. Despite their rocky season, Blaugrana were the La Liga 2024 odds favourites in this one, and they sure showed just why.
Barcelona will conclude their season with an away fixture against Sevilla next weekend at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, while Rayo hope to climb a few more spots in the table with a win over Athletic Club at Estadio de Vallecas.
Alexander Sorloth scores four in 17 minutes
Real Madrid, as mighty as they are, were no match against a scorching Alexander Sorloth at El Madrigal.
With the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo all resting in hopes of relieving some workload for their upcoming Champions League final, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti opted rotate his squad and go with his youngsters like Arda Guler to get the job done against Villarreal.
Guler played to the billing and only needed 14 minutes before finding the back of the net, an early opener for what seemed like a patented Real Madrid demolition job.
Little did Los Blancos know, they were in for a stunning performance by 28-year-old Alexander Sorloth. The Villarreal striker has been outstanding all season, but to score four goals against Real Madrid is nothing short of astonishing.
The Norwegian delivered one of the most impressive La Liga 2024 highlights by striking four goals in 17 minutes to halt the La Liga champions in their tracks.
It took two goals from Arda Guler and one goal from Joselu and Lucas Vazquez to tally a draw, and Carlo Ancelotti even sent Rodrygo, Nacho and Eduardo Camavinga out in search of a late goal, but to no avail.
With this performance, Sorloth finds himself atop the La Liga Golden Boot race with 23 goals, two goals above Girona’s Artem Dovbyk and four goals ahead of Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham.
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