The penultimate round of La Liga on Thursday night was not only heated, but proved to be the crucial decider between the Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona in their hunt for the title. Real had the advantage of four points before heading to the game against Villarreal at Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium, while Barcelona was on the edge with a must-win situation against Osasuna at Nou Camp. The round saw a plethora of surprises, along with nine red cards in six games – and the champions were crowned as well.

Real took a narrow but deserved 2-1 victory over Villarreal, but the real decider was played in Barcelona. The challengers for the title couldn’t keep it up against mid-table Osasuna and went on to lose 1-2 – luckily there was no attendance to witness the result, which gift-wrapped the arch-rivals Real Madrid with their first championship in three seasons. After returning to action mid-June, Real played 10 games and won all of them and there was no doubt of the best team in the La Liga this season.

With one more round to play in La Liga, there’s not too much to play for. Real, Barca, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have secured the Champions League qualification, only the latter two are contesting which team takes the 3^rd spot. Atletico is two points ahead, playing Real Sociedad at home in the last round, while Sevilla takes on Valencia at Andalusia. Currently placed 5^th, Villarreal has also secured a continental qualification to the Europa League, but the 6^th and 7^th spot are still in contest.

Real Sociedad stands currently sixth with 55 points, chased by Getafe at 54 points and manning the 7^th spot, entitling to Europa League qualifying phase. Valencia and Granada follow with 53 points and even Athletic Bilbao still stands a chance with 51. For the interesting European qualification battle, recommended must-watch games for the final La Liga round feature Granada vs Athletic Bilbao and Levante vs Getafe. For smaller clubs such as Granada and Getafe, continental qualification would be a major victory and the teams are definitely going all-in for the final game of the stretched out season.