Barcelona retains Spanish league title with 4-0 win; Real Madrid finishes 3 points behind

Barcelona retains Spanish league title

MADRID — Barcelona retained the Spanish league title on Sunday, crushing Valladolid 4-0 at Camp Nou stadium the final game of the season to win the championship for a 20th time.

Lionel Messi scored twice in the second half, following Luis Prieto’s own-goal and a goal from Pedro Rodriguez before halftime.

Barcelona finished its campaign with a record Spanish league tally of 99 points from 38 games.

Messi’s goals took his league total to 34 this season, tying the club record set by Brazil’s Ronaldo in 1996-97. He also tied Ronaldo’s club record of 47 total goals from that season, too.

Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Malaga to finish three points behind Barcelona. It is the second straight season that Madrid has failed to win a major trophy despite spending more than $300 million on players.

ROME (AP) — Inter Milan beat Siena 1-0 Sunday to seal its fifth consecutive Serie A title and move two-thirds of the way to a possible treble.

Diego Milito took a pass from Inter captain Javier Zanetti and scored his 22nd goal of the season to break the deadlock in the 57th minute at Siena’s Artemio Franchi stadium.

Inter finished with 82 points, two more than AS Roma, which won 2-0 at Chievo Verona.

Roma scored both of its goals in the first half and had its hands on the title before Milito saved Inter.

Inter beat Roma in the Italian Cup final, and Jose Mourinho’s side will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League final Saturday as it attempts to become the first Italian club to its domestic league, domestic cup and the European championship.

Mourinho appeared teary-eyed during the trophy celebration.

“I would have preferred to win it with four or five games to spare,” Mourinho said. “Winning it on the final day of the season was almost too much to handle. I’ve never had a championship go down to the final day like this.”

It was Inter’s 18th Serie A title, second only to Juventus’ 27.

Also Sunday, Sampdoria beat Napoli 1-0 to clinch fourth place and the final Champions League berth.

Otherwise, all of the key places in Serie A had already been decided.

AC Milan, which beat Juventus 3-0 Saturday, finished third while Napoli and Juventus had already clinched sixth and seventh to round out the Europa League places.

Atalanta, Siena and Livorno were already relegated to Serie B.

FRANKFURT (AP) — Nuremberg retained a place in the Bundesliga next season after winning 2-0 at 10-man Augsburg in Sunday’s playoff to go through 3-0 on aggregate.

Ilkay Guendogan scored in the 34th minute, drilling in a shot from 20 yards out. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting earned a penalty and converted it in the 63rd to seal the win. Nuremberg won the first leg 1-0 three days ago.

Augsburg midfielder Ibrahima Traore was sent off in the 56th for retaliation.

Nuremberg finished 16th in the Bundesliga, while Ausgburg was third in the second division and will stay there next season.