May 4, 2008 - 5:53 PM
0 shoutsBy PA SportsTicker
Real Madrid came from behind with two goals in the last three minutes at Osasuna to retain the Primera Liga title in dramatic fashion with a 2-1 win.
After Villarreal's win against Getafe, Madrid needed three points in Pamplona to claim the title on Sunday, but that looked unlikely when Francisco Punal put Osasuna ahead from the spot as late as the 83rd minute.
But Arjen Robben levelled things after 88 minutes and Gonzalo Higuain completed the turnaround a minute later with a fierce drive.
The victory was all the more remarkable as Madrid was forced to play the second half with 10 men after defender Fabio Cannavaro was dismissed within a minute of the restart.
It was the 31st league title for Madrid and makes up for its disappointing Champions League exit against Roma in the last 16.
Earlier, Villarreal took another big step towards securing second spot thanks to a 2-0 victory over Getafe.
Nihat Kahveci scored both goals for the Castellon side at the end of the first half to keep the Yellow Submarine on course to secure their highest Primera Liga finish.
Third-placed Barcelona ended its recent goal drought with a stunning 6-0 rout of Valencia.
Lionel Messi, Xavi and Thierry Henry all netted early on as the Catalans raced into a three-goal lead within 14 minutes.
Henry then added a fourth after the break and substitute Bojan Krkic bagged a pair late on as Frank Rijkaard's side bounced back from the Champions League exit at the hands of Manchester United.
Racing Santander turned a two-goal deficit into a 3-2 victory and relegated nine-man Real Murcia at the Estadio El Sardinero.
Murcia looked as if it had given its slim chances of avoiding the drop a boost by roaring into a 2-0 lead inside half an hour, with Daniel Aquino and Ivan Alonso on the scoresheet.
A reply from Pedro Munitis gave the home side hope, before Jorge Lopez equalized. Munitis' second goal proved to be the decider, with Murcia ending the match with nine men after Christophe Pignol and Alvaro Meija saw red.
Dirnei Renato struck twice in the first half to earn Sevilla a 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Real Valladolid and boost its hopes of obtaining a Champions League spot.
The Brazilian had only netted one Primera Liga goal this season before this match, but he doubled his tally after just 10 minutes after heading home Diego Capel's cross from the left.
The Brazil international then slotted home his second of the match five minutes before halftime after getting on the end of a superb pass by Enzo Maresca.
Real Betis passed up the chance to pull itself out of the relegation battle after being held to a 1-1 draw in Almeria.
The visitors took the lead just before halftime through David Odonkor, but were pegged back just over a minute into the second half by Ruben Pulido.
Dani Guiza scored twice to keep Real Mallorca's slim European hopes alive with a 2-1 win at Athletic Bilbao.
The 27-year-old striker opened the scoring after three minutes, and while Fernando Llorente equalized five minutes later, Guiza proved his value to the island club by scoring the winner after 71 minutes - his 13th goal in 10 games.
Espanyol's fading European hopes look all but dead after the Catalan side drew 1-1 away to relegated Levante.
Defeat looked on the cards for Ernesto Valverde's side following Juanma's strike 13 minutes from time but Luis Garcia bagged a late equalizer for the visitors.
