That's that then. Real Madrid has won its first league title since Cristiano Ronaldo left to join Juventus two seasons ago, and the first since Zinedine Zidane returned from a short break. Click here to read the full match report.
FULL TIME The refree blows the final whistle and the celebrations begin! Villareal has been downed 2-1 and Zidane's side has won the La Liga title!
90' + 5' VINICIUS SCORES! Wait, no. VAR disagrees. And play continues.
90' + 3' Courtois keeps Madrid in the game! He makes a double save from a corner before the ball is turned wide. That was so close to being the equaliser for Villareal but the Belginan No. 1 shows why he is considered one of the best in the business.
And Barcelona is trailing to Osasuna again! Which means Los Blancos are minutes away from the La Liga title!
90' There will be six minutes of added time.
87' Villarreal close to an equaliser! There is a goalmouth scramble following a corner from Cazorla but the ball is eventually cleared.
86' Isco picks up a booking a minute after coming on. That was quick.
85' Substitutions: Carvajal, Modric and Kroos are replaced by Vazquez, Isco and Valverde.
83' Vicente Iborra pulls one back for Villareal! Iborra flicks a brilliant header past Courtois and that's the Bengian's cleansheet gone.
81' Kroos rattles the crossbar from well outside the box. And the rebound is headed straight at Asensio.
80' Vinicius gets into the area and his attempted curler is blocked.
76' BENZEMA scores! The penalty is retaken and the Frenchman makes no mistake. THat's his brace and the title (as good as) sealed.
75' Ramos skips and touches the ball to Benzema who fires it in. It is ruled out though as the Frenchman was in the area before Ramos' touch.
73' Penalty to Real Madrid! Ramos charges ahead on the attack and is fouled int he box before he could make a pass. The referee takes a few seconds before pointing to the spot. And then a length VAR check follows, which doesn't overturn the referee's decision.
70' Rodrygo wins the ball in the final third but his attempted throughball to Benzema is cut out by Torres.
69' Plays continues and Courtois is on the pitch after shaking off that challenge.
67' Quintilla with a nasty challenge on Courtois. The keeper is down and receiving treatment while the Villareal player goes into the book.
65' Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has equalised for Barcelona against Osasuna at Camp Nou. You can catch all the live updates of that match over here .
62' Substitutions: Rodrygo and Hazard make way for Asensio and Vincius. For Villareal, Iborra replaces Morlanes.
60' Mendy skips past two Villarreal players but his cross is straight at Asenjo.
57' Ontiveros fouls Rodrygo and Madrid wins a free-kick near the right flank. Kroos' out-swinging delivery is nodded away by Anguissa.
55' Carvajal is booked now for a foul on Ontiveros.
54' Modric finds Carvajal and the right-back cuts inside and see his snapshot saved by Asenjo. Hazard cannot control the rebound and Villareal clears.
52' Benzema is dropping deep to link up as a handful of Villarreal substitutes warm up on the side.
49' Zambo Anguissa's ball for Manu Morlanes is cut out by Courtois.
48' Quintilla's cross into the box is cleared by Carvajal.
46' Madrid begin the second half the way it ended, in control of the ball and quick passes around the Vallareal players.
— The players are back out for the second half. Villareal makes a double substutitution. Bruno Soriano and Javi Ontiveros replace Pena and Chukwueze.
HALFTIME Los BLancos go into the break with a 1-0 lead courtesy Benzema's goal. And with Barcelona losing to Osasuna, Real Madrid is 45 minutes away from popping the champagne.
45' + 2' Free-kick to Villarreal. The cross misses everyone and Madrid can catch some breath.
45' Three minutes added at the end of the half.
44' Poetic from the commentator. "The Sun going down in the Spanish capital and the Sun is also going down on Barcelona's title prospects."
43' Rodrygo gets the better of Quintilla and sends a low delivery into the box which fails to find a teammate.
41' Anguissa and Gomez try to drive Villareal forward but Carvajal is once again present to make the interception and stop that attack.
39' Chukwueze runs into the Madrid half with intent but Carvajal makes a good interception.
37' Rodrygo's cross into the box goes untouched, with Benzema not arriving quickly enough in the box.
35' Quintilla runs down the left and lobs the ball forward for Pena to chase but Courtois comes out quickly to claim the ball.
33' Casemiro, under pressure from Gerard Moreno, does well to switch direction with a long ball towards Mendy.
29' BENZEMA SCORES! Chakla with a slack pass which Casemiro intercepts. The Brazilian finds Modric, who spots Benzema's run on the right. The Frenchman gets the ball and slots it between the keeper's legs to put Los BLancos in the lead.
That's Benzema with his 20th La Liga goal this season!
27' The intensiy from Madrid has dropped slightly but Los Blancos still in control.
25' Real Madrid play the ball out from the back and Villarreal's press.
21' Mario Gaspar wins a free kick in the defensive half and Villarreal can catch some breath.
18' Yellow card. Villarreal's Sofian Chakla goes into the book for holding back Eden Hazard.
17' Eden Hazard is fouled and wins a free kick on the left wing. Defenders in Spain doing what their counterparts did in England for seven season! The sertpieces comes to nothing.
16' Toni Kroos with a fantastic cross and Raphael Varane's header from the corner is high and wide.
16' Luka Modric hits a shot wide next.
15' Benzema, on the volley from the left, drags his shot across goal. Was a a difficult angle in fairness.
13' Benzema puts Rodrygo through but the Brazilian is flagged offside. Replays show otehrwise.
12' Casemiro runs to a loose ball and blasts it well over the bar. Possibly heading into the car park behind!
10' Villarreal struggling to get out of its half at the moment as Real Madrid continues to maintain possession.
8' Real Madrid with the lion's share of possession, controling the pace of the game and looking constantly looking for an opening.
5' Samu Chukwueze takes a knock from Casemiro but the referee doesn't find any fault in that. Nothing given and the winger is okay to continue.
3' Daniel Carvajal's right-footed shot from the edge of the box is well saved by Sergio Asenjo. Good attempt from the right-back with Benzema lurking at the far post.
1' KICKOFF! Real Madrid is possibly 90 minutes away from sealing the La Liga title tonight.
— Stat corner
- Real Madrid has the best defence in La Liga, having conceded just 22 goals in 36 matches.
- Real Madrid could extend its winning run to ten games in domestic competitions, making it the most in-form side in Europe.
- Real Madrid has scored at least 2 goals in its last 4 matches against Villarreal in all competitions.
- Villarreal has won its last four away matches.
- Only Real Madrid and Barcelona have scored more league goals than Villarreal this season.
— TEAM NEWS
Real Madrid : Courtois, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Mendy, Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Rodrygo, Benzema, Hazard
Villareal: Asenjo, Gaspar, Pau, Gerard, Chukwueze, Moralanes, Quintilla, Anguissa, Pena, Sofian, Gomez
— FORM: Real Madrid is one a nine game winning run in the league. Villareal, however, has lost two of its last three league matches.
— Real Madrid will be looking to seal its first La Liga title since 2017 when it hosts Villarreal at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano tonight.
Los Blancos are go into the game with a four-point lead over second-placed Barcelona. With just two games remaining, including this one, a win will seal the title for Real Madrid irrespective of Barcelona’s result against Osasuna.
— Villarreal was in the chase for a Champions League spot for most of the season but stumbled too often to get left behind. While top four is out of reach, Europa League is very much there for the talking. The Castellon club will be keen on finishing the campaign above Getafe (6th) and Real Sociedad (7th).
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