Bitter-Sweet La Liga Finale As Karim Benzema Bids Real Madrid Farewell
5th June 2023
The goal was Benzema's last for Madrid after they announced that he will be leaving the club this summer after major interest from the Saudi football league
- Spanish giants Real Madrid managed to squeeze into a second-place finish as the La Liga came to a close in dramatic effect on Sunday evening
- Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Athletic Bilbao on a day of many goodbyes at the Santiago Bernabeau, pipping Atletico to second spot on the log
- It was not the same joy for Real Valladolid who played out to a barren draw with Getafe but this was not enough as they could only manage 40 points
Spanish giants Real Madrid managed to squeeze into a second-place finish as the La Liga came to a close in dramatic effect on Sunday evening.
Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Athletic Bilbao on a day of many goodbyes at the Santiago Bernabeau, pipping Atletico to second spot on the log.
Oihan Sancet opened the scoring for Bilbao but Karim Benzema's 72nd minute penalty rescued the point for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
The goal was Benzema's last for Madrid after they announced that he will be leaving the club this summer after major interest from the Saudi football league.
The 35-year old French striker received a standing ovation as he was taken off the pitch, with plenty of gratitude from the Madrid faithful.
Since joining Madrid in 2009, Benzema has scored 285 goals and managed to win 5 UEFA Champions League trophies, 4 La Liga titles, 3 Spanish Super Cups and 3 Copa del Rey titles.
Marco Asensio was also given a ravenous applause as he was substituted as he will also be leaving the club this summer.
Eden Hazard and Mariano Diaz were also celebrated as they exit the club, with the Belgian hoping to revive his career elsewhere after being out of favor in Spain.
In other league matches on the day, champions Barcelona suffered a third defeat in their last 5 games as they went down 2-1 to Cadiz.
The victory was important for Cadiz as it helped them steer clear of the relegation zone and finished in 14th place with 42 points.
Getafe and Valencia also finished the season with 42 points in 15th and 16th place respectively, with that being enough to helo them avoid relegation.
It was not the same joy for Real Valladolid who played out to a barren draw with Getafe but this was not enough as they could only manage 40 points.
They were relegated together with Espanyol, who despite an enthralling 3-3 draw against Almeria, could not do much to escape the axe.
The two as well as Elche will be playing in the second division of Spanish football next season.
Atletico Madrid were also held to a 2-2 draw away at Villarreal courtesy of a 92nd minute Jorge Pascual goal for the hosts.
The result gifted their city rivals Real with second place as Atletico finished the La Liga season in third with 77 points.