Messi bags record seventh Pichichi as Real relegate Levante
Lionel Messi finished as top scorer in La Liga for a record seventh time after netting doubly dethroned champions Barcelona ended their disappointing campaign on a higher with a resounding 5-0 win at Alaves on Sunday.
Leganes, who needed to beat Madrid and hope Celta Vigo failed to win against bottom club Espanyol, almost pulled off a miraculous escape but could not look for a winner at the Butarque.
The draw means a rotated Madrid side surrendered an ideal record of 11 victories out of 11 since Spanish football returned from its coronavirus-enforced suspension while Karim Benzema fell short of Lionel Messi in the battle for the golden boot.
Gareth Bale was overlooked of Madrid's squad completely for what might have been his last La Liga fixture for the club. Zinedine Zidane said afterwards it had been a "techinical decision".
Barca finished the growing season second in the standings on 82 points, five behind newly-crowned champions Real Madrid. Alaves came 16th on 39.
Teenage forward Ansu Fati put Barca in the front midway through the first half after the visitors hit the woodwork 3 x, while Messi and strike partner Luis Suarez further stretched their side's lead before halftime.
Defender Nelson Semedo hit the fourth early in the next half before Messi struck again, ending the campaign on 25 league goals, four more than second-top scorer Karim Benzema of Real Madrid.
The Argentine, who also finished as top marksman for a fourth consecutive season, eclipsed the benchmark he previously shared with the late Telmo Zarra but said he'd have rather have won the league.
"Individual prizes and objectives are secondary. It's an essential achievement to win it seven times but I'd have liked it to have been accompanied by the La Liga title," Messi said.
Barca's captain had made headlines on Thursday following his angry post-match interview following the 2-1 loss to Osasuna, blasting the team as weak and inconsistent, also appearing to criticise the running of the club.
But he was in a happier mood after the dominant performance against Alaves, saying the team felt more confident before next month's Champions League last-16 second leg game with Napoli, which they host with the score tied at 1-1.
"Today we saw another thing, it was a hard game as a result of situation we were in and the kick off time and heat however the team responded with a different attitude and showed great commitment," Messi added.
"We took a long hard look at ourselves from the within which is what we had a need to do. We've not had an excellent season in terms of performances or results but today we took a step of progress.
"It's a significant step for what's coming next."
