Cristiano Ronaldo set a new La Liga single-season scoring record with his 39th and 40th of the campaign for Real Madrid against Almeria.
He notched his first after four minutes and his second on 77 as Real thumped their already-relegated opponents 8-1.
His double meant he moved two clear of the previous mark, which he jointly held with Real’s Hugo Sanchez and Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra.
Xabi Alonso’s free-kick to the far post was headed back across goal by Sergio Ramos and the unmarked Ronaldo was on hand to poke in the opening goal. His second came late in the game when he fired a long-range effort inside the far post.
Emmanuel Adebayor, whose loan spell from Manchester City is expiring, signed off with three goals, Karim Benzema bagged two and youth team player Joselu notched one at the end.
Ronaldo, who had scored nine goals in his previous three games heading into the final fixture, has scored 53 in all competitions for Madrid this season.
Ronaldo and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi are the first Spanish league players to score at least 50 goals in all competitions in one season.
A much-changed Barcelona side concluded their successful Liga campaign with a 3-1 victory against Málaga. Bojan Krkić’s penalty cancelled out Sebastián Fernández’s opener for the hosts before Ibrahim Afellay and Marc Bartra completed the Azulgrana’s comeback. Barcelona now turn their attentions to next weekend’s Champions League final at Wembley, when they will face Manchester United in the showpiece for the second time in three seasons.
The race for Europa League spots went down to the wire with Sevilla, Athletic Club and Atlético de Madrid all finishing the season on 58 points after final day victories, but Sevilla’s superior head-to-head record earned them fifth place with Athletic sixth and Atlético seventh.
At the other end of the table there was despair for Deportivo La Coruña whose 2-0 home defeat to Valencia meant they were relegated. A 1-1 draw between Real Sociedad and Getafe was enough to secure top-flight football for both clubs while Real Zaragoza’s 2-1 victory away at Levante meant they leapfrogged their opponents into 13th place. Osasuna defeated fourth-placed Villarreal to secure a top-half finish.
