LIVE COMMENTARY
90 + 4' Vinicius works his way into the box again but Rosales releases the pressure and pushes on for a counter.
90' There will be an added time of six minutes, ladies and gentlemen!
89' Vinicius Jr dribbles into the box but Bustinza takes him down.
87' Leganes is giving in everything it has but Real Madrid isn't yielding in easy either. It is all on knife edge here at Madrid.
83' Aviles again! The 22-year-old youngster is visibly distraught. Another right-footed shot from the centre of the box swings off target to the right. Will he go on to regret these misses?
79' THIRRD... OH NOOOO! Leganes' Javier Aviles' nerves get the better of him as he misfires from only six yards out. Another Jonathan Silva cross and that missed opportunity would sting.
75' There will be a brief cooling break. It is still 0-0 at Espanyol vs Celta Vigo and the path ahead for Leganes looks difficult. They'll need to score two goals in the last 15 minutes and also expect Celta to drop points.
69' Flag's up! Miguel Angel Guerrero tries a through ball to Roger Assale who is caught slightly offside. For a second I thought this had to be the one... Alas!
62' So Lionel Messi gets a consolation in the Golden Boot as Benzema has been subbed.
60' TRIPLE SUBSTITUTIONS: Asensio, Benzema and Casemiro make way for Brahim, Jovic and Kroos, respectively.
57' Leganes craftily works its way into the box following a throw-in but Areola saves the day again. Casemiro drives off another Leganes cross.
54' SUBSTITUTION: Roque Mesa and Roger Assale come on for Rodrigo Tarin and Recio
48' YELLOW CARD: Leganes' Unai Bustinza makes it to the book now.
46' Siovas, the 31-year-old Greek defender, seems to be in a bit of discomfort having gotten into a tussle with Asensio. Is that a sprained leg? Nope. He is up an running again.
45' SUBSTITUTION: Nacho, who was out with an injury and hasn't played since January, is coming on for Ramos.
45' There will be three added minutes at Butarque.
43' YELLOW CARDS: Ruibal and Recio have both been booked for bad fouls in a matter of three minutes.
37' Leganes wins a freekick just at the edge of the Real box as Aitor Ruibal goes down. Recio strikes it low, only to invite a deflection off Benzema's straying foot.
31' Time for the first-half cooling break with the host having a go at the visitor's goal with a freekick. No damage done, though.
26' Siovas breaks into a run and takes his game into the Real half. For a moment, the champion's defence looked quite exposed but the danger was finally averted. Would have been some finish if he could have got it home!
23' Robert Rosales lays a corner-kick short for Gil whose cross has been cleared by the Real defence. Why do I get the feeling of an equaliser coming soon?
20' Leganes continues to carve out opportunities! Gil finds Jonathan Silva down the left but, again, the final shot doesn't carry much power to trouble the shot-stopper.
18' Siovas, at the left flank, fails to get to the other end of a long Ruibal pass. The ball rolls out of play and Real heaves another sigh of relief.
14' Lovely move there from Leganes as Bryan Gil comes dangerously close to equalise with a confident left-footed shot. But an alert Alphonse Areola collects it.
5' So close! Valverde puts a good amount of spin on the ball as he goes for the shot. But Ivan Cuellar pulls off a stunner diving to his left.
KICK-OFF: Peeeeeep... and off we go! Leganes, which is fighting relegation, needs all three points tonight and also has to wish Celta Vigo slips up. Will it be able to beat the champion?
Ramos and his boys receive a guard of honour from the pepineros. We are only minutes away from the final La Liga kick-off of the season!
FIRST HALF
The lineups are in!
MATCH PREVIEW
Gareth Bale has been left out of Real Madrid's squad for its final Spanish league match in the latest setback for the Wales star who is out of favour with club manager Zinedine Zidane.
Bale played an important role in helping Madrid to win four Champions League titles after the Spanish powerhouse set the then world-transfer record of 100 million euros to Tottenham in 2013.
But Bale's role in the team declined in recent seasons, and he has become the center of long-standing transfer speculation. His almost complete absence from Madrid's impressive march to this season's Spanish league title will likely only stoke those rumors that his stint in Spain's capital is approaching its end.
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Both Bale and James Rodríguez failed to make the squad for Sunday's match at relegation-threatened Leganes.
The 31-year-old Bale hasn't helped his cause by upsetting Madrid fans earlier this season with a peculiar victory celebration for Wales with a banner that mockingly read "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In That Order."
Now Zidane must consider whether to bring back Bale for the Champions League, a competition that he has flourished in with memorable goals. Madrid visits Manchester City on August 7 to play the second leg of its Champions League round-of-16 match after losing the first leg 2-1.
Leganes' chance
Zidane's side will culminate its championship-winning campaign on when it crosses the capital to visit a Leganes team that must win to have a chance of avoiding relegation.
Madrid clinched its first league title in three seasons on Thursday when it beat Villarreal 2-1 and second-place Barcelona lost 2-1 at home to 10-man Osasuna. That combination left Madrid seven points ahead with one round remaining.
So Leganes may have a caught a lucky break that the title was decided before Madrid comes to its Butarque Stadium.
Leganes trails Celta Vigo by one point and must beat Madrid and hope that Celta doesn't win at last-place Espanyol.
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"It is within our grasp," said the club's Mexican coach, Javier Aguirre, who has kept Leganes in with a chance to stay up despite losing his top two strikers to transfers during the season.
Youssef En-Nesyri was bought by Sevilla in January and Martin Braithwaite was picked by Barcelona outside the official winter window for transfers before the Spanish league stopped from March to June due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"It has been an exceptional season," Aguirre, a former Atletico Madrid, Osasuna and Espanyol coach, said Saturday. "We had never paused halfway through a season, been shut in at home. We had never played so many games in such a short time (once play resumed). This accumulation of adversities because of the pandemic and the circumstances of the club make this a very special season.
"We arrive to the last game alive, which is what matters."
Zidane's message
Zidane insisted his team would still play to win. "We want to do things properly and stick together right until the end," he said.
"We're going to rest up, but the season isn't over yet. We're going to be back soon and focus because we've got a crucial game against Manchester City in August."
Madrid will be seeking to finish the league season with an 11th straight win since the competition resumed in June with teams playing every three days.
Zidane said the secret to his team's success in beating Barcelona for its first time since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo was its defense.
"Whenever we speak about the defense, we talk about the goalkeeper, the back four and the backline. And that's not how it works, because in football everyone needs to defend and that applies in attack too," Zidane said. "To win games and trophies we need that and for the players to put in the effort".
A Madrid defense anchored by Thibaut Courtois conceded a competition-low 23 goals, including just four goals in its current 10-game winning streak.
Source: AP
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Real Madrid has eight victories compared to Leganes' two in the 11 matches they were pitted against each other.
Leganes form guide: L-W-D-W-W
Real Madridform guide: W-W-W-W-W
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