With a 3-1 road triumph against Osasuna on Wednesday, Real Madrid drew closer to a record-extending 35th LaLiga title, while defending champion Atletico Madrid limped to a scoreless draw against Granada.
Despite missing two penalty opportunities in the second half, the Blancos cruised to victory in Matchday 33 action, with Karim Benzema stopped on both occasions by Sergio Herrera.
Nonetheless, goals by David Alaba, who scored between the legs of the goalkeeper in the 12th minute; Marco Asensio, who scored just before halftime; and Lucas Vazquez, who scored on a counterattack in the final seconds of second-half stoppage time, were more than enough at El Sadar stadium in Pamplona, Spain.
With five games remaining, Real Madrid (78 points) has a large lead over second-placed Atleti (61 points), although third-placed Barcelona (60 points and seven games remaining) can leapfrog the Colchoneros with an away win against Real Sociedad on Thursday.
Sevilla (60 points) will also have a chance to improve their position in the standings when they travel to Valencia to face Levante on Thursday.
After a 4-0 loss to Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on March 20, Real Madrid is expected to secure the title with a few games to spare.
Since then, the Blancos have won four consecutive LaLiga matches, including a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo, a 2-0 victory over Getafe, a 3-2 triumph over Sevilla, and this recent success over Osasuna.
Carlo Ancelotti had the luxury of resting Luka Modric, who did not travel to Pamplona, and not starting Toni Kroos, Vinicius Junior, or Dani Carvajal on Wednesday.
Real Madrid’s only setbacks were a goal by Ante Budimir at point-blank range in the 14th minute and the missed penalty tries, which were replaced by Dani Ceballos and Eduardo Camavinga.
Aitor Karanka passed his first test as head coach of Granada, the 18th-placed club he took over with the goal of avoiding relegation to Spain’s second tier.
Meanwhile, Atleti’s blunder affects their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season. With a four-point lead over fifth-placed Real Betis after Thursday’s games, the Madrid club might find themselves in fourth place (although with a four-point lead over fifth-placed Real Betis).
Atleti’s most recent encounter, at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, was indicative of their season, in which they have failed to win over LaLiga’s lesser teams on numerous occasions.
Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa both missed two efforts from outside the box early in the second half as Diego Simeone’s side lacked precision on their scoring chances.
Atletico Madrid made a last-ditch effort to win in the 89th minute, but Stefan Savic’s header flew just wide, and Matheus Cunha’s justify-footed attempt from inside the penalty area clanked off the justify post a minute later.
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Granada (30 points) remain in the relegation zone, one point below Cadiz (17 points), who visit Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
