Barcelona and Argentine forward, Lionel Messi, won his seventh La Liga golden boot – and his fourth in a row – after scoring twice in Barcelona’s 5-0 win over Alaves on the final day of the season.
The Barca captain finished on 25 goals, four ahead of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.
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The game was not of importance as Real clinched the La Liga title on Thursday.
Messi rounded the keeper to make it 2-0 and swept in a fifth – with teenager Ansu Fati, Luis Suarez, and Nelson Semedo scoring the other goals.
Riqui Puig, Messi, and Arturo Vidal all hit the woodwork before Fati opened the scoring.
This is the first time La Liga’s top scorer, Messi, has managed fewer than 30 goals since Mallorca’s Daniel Guiza 12 years ago.
Barca, who only named five out of a possible 12 substitutes, host Napoli in the Champions League last-16 second leg on 8 August, having drawn 1-1 in Italy.
Lionel Messi, however, says after the match: “Individual prizes and objectives are secondary. It’s an important achievement to win it seven times but I would have liked it to have been accompanied by the La Liga title.”
He had made headlines on Thursday after the 2-1 loss to Osasuna, calling the team weak and inconsistent in an angry post-match interview.
But he was in a happier mood after the dominant performance against Alaves, saying the rout would stand his team-mates in good stead ahead of their Champions League last-16 second leg game with Napoli.
“It was a difficult game due to the situation we were in and the kick-off time and heat but the team responded with a different attitude and showed great commitment,” Messi adds.
“We took a long hard look at ourselves from the inside which is what we needed to do. We have not had a good season in terms of performances or results but today we took a step forward.
“It’s an important step for what’s coming next.”
Newly crowned champions, Real Madrid, end season with a draw
Newly-crowned champions of the Spanish La Liga, Real Madrid, were unable to maintain their perfect run of results since the season re-started as they drew 2-2 at neighbours Leganes, who were relegated on Sunday.
Real ended the campaign on 87 points after the draw interrupted a run of 10 consecutive victories, five clear of second-placed Barcelona.
Leganes finished 18th on 36 points, joining 19th-placed Real Mallorca and Espanyol in being relegated, while Celta Vigo, who finished on 37, stayed up after drawing 0-0 at Espanyol.
Sergio Ramos continued his impressive goal-scoring form as he headed home his 11th league goal this season to put Real in front after nine minutes, as Zinedine Zidane heavily rotated his team following the 2-1 win over Villarreal on Thursday.
Leganes equalised on the stroke of half-time through midfielder Bryan Gil but Marco Asensio sends Real back in front with an early lead in the second half.
Roger Assale equalised in the 78th minute to give Leganes a slither of hope of survival and they needed one more goal to pull off a miraculous escape from relegation. They came agonizingly close to finding it, having a late penalty appeal turned down for handball against Luka Jovic after a VAR review.
Oscar Rodriguez then blasted over from inside the area deep in added time and Leganes dropped out of the top-flight for the first time since winning their maiden promotion to La Liga in 2016.
Full La Liga results – Sunday 19th July 2020
- Alavés 0-5 Barcelona
- Leganés 2-2 Real Madrid
- Real Valladolid 2-0 Real Betis
- Villarreal 4-0 Eibar
- Atl Madrid 1-1 Real Sociedad
- Espanyol 0-0 Celta Vigo
- Granada 4-0 Ath Bilbao
- Levante 1-0 Getafe
- Osasuna 2-2 Mallorca
- Sevilla 1-0 Valencia
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