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Barcelona, Madrid win as title race intensifies

Published:Sunday | May 14, 2017 | 3:39 PM
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AP
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo kicks a high ball during the LaLiga football match between Real Madrid and Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, yesterday.
AP
FC Barcelona's Neymar (left) duels for the ball against Las Palma's Jese during a Spanish LaLiga football match at the Gran Canaria stadium in Las Palmas, Spain's Canary islands, yesterday.
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MADRID (AP):

Barcelona and Real Madrid won their matches yesterday with the Spanish league title race now guaranteed to go to the final round.

Neymar scored a hat-trick for Barcelona in a comfortable 4-1 win at Las Palmas, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored a pair of goals for Madrid in a 4-1 home victory over Sevilla.

Madrid scored with an unusual goal by Nacho Fern·ndez, who sent a quickly taken free kick into the net while the Sevilla defence and goalkeeper were preparing to set up a wall.

EVEN ON POINTS

The results left the rivals even on points, with Barcelona ahead on the head-to-head tiebreaker. But Madrid can retake sole possession of the lead on Wednesday when it plays at Celta Vigo in a game postponed from February.

Madrid needs four points from its last two games to secure the title regardless of Barcelona's result against Eibar at home next weekend. Madrid's final game is at Malaga.

Madrid is trying to win its first league title since 2012, while Barcelona is seeking its third straight LaLiga trophy.