It's fitting in a way that Real Madrid finally conceded the La Liga title to their rivals in the city of Barcelona, if not against the Catalan giants. A second half goal from Gonzalo Higuain salvaged a point for Los Merengues against Espanyol but there wasn't enough will from Madrid to earn the full points and force Barca to have to win tomorrow to claim the title.
Espanyol vs. Real Madrid: Final score 1-1, Los Merengues cede title to Barcelona
Christian Stuani put the home side ahead in the first half and while Madrid were able to even things up in the second half, they couldn’t find the winner and handed the league title to Barcelona.
More from our team blogs: Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid
Jose Mourinho did not field his best side against Los Periquitos, but with Friday's Copa del Rey final primary on their mind, that wasn't a surprise. Espanyol took advantage and after a fairly lackluster opening 20 minutes, they broke through with the opening goal.
Joan Verdu’s seemingly mis-hit corner in the 23rd minute was salvaged by Sergio Garcia who stopped the ball and whipped it back in front on the net where Christian Stuani redirected it past Diego Lopez.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally entered the fray in the 57th minute and one minute later, Madrid equalized, though he wasn't directly involved.
Luka Modric curled a free kick into the Espanyol box where Gonzalo Higuain was able to get in front of Héctor Moreno and head the ball past Francisco Casilla.
Things got a little ugly in second half stoppage time when Espanyol's Víctor Sánchez chopped down Ronaldo and Higuain in a span of only a couple second and earned a straight red card.
More in Soccer:
See More:
