Victory in vain for Real Madrid at Riazor

Cristiano's ambition
Real Madrid went into the final round of games with their destiny out of their hands in the Liga BBVA title race, but ensured they made a fast start and grabbed an early goal in order to heap pressure on FC Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo was imperious throughout the first half and it was the 31-year-old's attacking instinct that enabled Los Blancos to score a potentially crucial early goal and temporarily lift the club into first place, while it remained goalless between Barcelona and Granada CF. 

Bad news from Granada 
The Real Madrid fans' joy lasted only 13 minutes, as Barcelona opened the scoring at Nuevo Los Carmenes in the 22nd minute, taking a giant step towards securing the Liga BBVA title in the process. Real Madrid did not let up in attack, however, with Ronaldo notching his second goal of the day with a header from a corner and also subsequently hitting the woodwork twice. 

GOAL! | 0-2 | Ronaldo again! Cristiano heads the ball into the net at a corner to double Madrid's lead. #RCDvRMA pic.twitter.com/SNq8qRYwat

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) May 14, 2016

Fully in control  
Real Madrid cruised into the lead and were in complete control of the contest, while Deportivo struggled to create any openings and Keylor Navas was only called into action on a couple of occasions late on. Meanwhile in Andalusia, it would not be long until Barcelona doubled their advantage with Luis Suarez scoring in the 38th minute, leaving Zidane's side's title hopes hanging by a thread. 

Changes with an eye on UCL final 
Zidane decided to withdraw Cristiano Ronaldo at half-time, and also replaced Toni Kroos with Isco with just under half an hour left on the clock. The Frenchman may have been looking to rest two of his key players who have played the most minutes in the Liga BBVA this season, with an eye on the upcoming Champions League final in Milan on 28 May. Gareth Bale was then substituted with 15 minutes remaining, having been ruled out of last week's win over Valencia CF with a knee injury. 

0-2 | Zidane's @realmadriden has always scored on the road in this Liga BBVA.

22  in 10 games. #RCDvRMA pic.twitter.com/wZocDX9wRM

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) May 14, 2016

Comfortable Keylor
Real Madrid's intensity levels dropped as the game entered its final stages and Deportivo perked up, putting Keylor Navas to the test on a couple of occasions. Victor Sanchez's troops created some openings, but the Costa-Rican shotstopper was more than equal to them and pulled off some impressive saves. First of all, he was at full-stretch to deny Lucas Perez's right-footed strike and subsequently pulled off a spectacular stop to claw away substitute Rober's header. There would prove to be no more goals, with Real Madrid's comfortable victory securing second place in the Liga BBVA, but not enough to prevent Barcelona from lifting a 24th LaLiga title.