Barcelona striker Luis Suarez paid tribute to his team-mates after scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Granada on Saturday that saw his side retain the La Liga title.
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Barca surrendered a nine-point lead in April to allow Real and Atletico Madrid back into the title race, but a run of five consecutive wins without conceding ensured they ended the campaign with their 24th top-flight title.
The game opened out slightly and Fernandez saved well from Neymar and collected an Alves cross as Barca looked to take advantage of the extra spaces which had opened up.
The team seemed exhausted as they lost their points advantage and struggled to a defeat at the hands of Simeone’s Atletico Madrid in the two legs of the Champions League quarter-final.
Madrid’s record 12-game winning streak to end the season wasn’t enough to overcome the 12-point deficit they faced to Barca back in March.
That was part of a second-half hat-trick for Suarez, whilst Neymar and Ivan Rakitic chipped home classy finishes late on to add to Messi’s inch-perfect first-half free-kick. His two goals took him to 38, the most by a PSG player in a league season. “But we are going to try and keep this going and win as many titles as possible”.
The one consolation for Real is the opportunity to land an 11th European Cup when they meet Atletico, hoping for a repeat of the win over their neighbours in the 2014 final.
“I am very proud of the players and what we have done”, said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane. It has 24 trophies in total, eight less than Real Madrid, the league’s most successful club.
“We’ve been here until the end and you’ve got to congratulate Barcelona because they are deserving winners of this league.
The Copa and the Champions League are bonuses”.
“Now we have a attractive Champions League final that we want to win to make it an unforgettable year”, Ramos said.
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Barcelona’s dominance continued early in the second period as Ivan Rakitic twice set up half-chances for Suarez and Pique, but neither could score the game’s third goal, which would have certainly made sure of the points.
