by Luc Ciotkowski

Real Madrid have won their 31st Spanish Football League Championship after a compelling finish in the Kingdom of Navarra.

Down to 10 men and staring defeat in the face, Real Madrid made an astonishing comeback to score two goals in the 87th and 89th minute and seal the title in extraordinary fashion.

A header by Robben cancelled out Puñal’s penalty, before Higuain sent Los Blancos into delirium with a lashed diagonal strike in the last minute of the match.

Knowing that a win in Pamplona or a false move by Villareal against Getafe would crown them champions, El Madrid had prepared their celebration party in Madrid’s famous Plaza de Cibeles before the action started.

However, Villareal had not read the script and kept the pressure on Madrid with a 2-0 victory against Getafe earlier on Sunday evening. Real knew at kick off that only a win would be good enough to tie up the league title with three games still to play. Their opposition, Osasuna, remain embroiled in a scrap to avoid relegation and they knew going into the game that a defeat would leave them third bottom.

After a goalless first half, Madrid’s chances of settling the league were dealt a huge blow as Fabio Cannavaro was dismissed for a second bookable offence at the beginning of the second period. Osasuna didn’t make their numerical advantage tell and Real hit the bar through a Sneijder lob, but no goals came.

The champagne looked certain to stay on ice and the party, rumoured to have cost 400,000€, was set to be postponed at least until the match against Barcelona on 7th May, when Puñal converted a penalty for Osasuna in the 83rd minute. The eagle-eyed referee had seen Heinze’s inexplicable handball of an Osasuna corner. Many Real Madrid fans in the capital’s bars emptied their glasses and got ready to shuffle home and kick the dog, when 10-man-Madrid levelled through Robbens’ glancing header. With just three minutes on the clock, Madrid’s blushes appeared to be saved, but they couldn’t dream of more than that, could they?

The answer was an unbelievable, roaring, ecstatic ‘yes’. Argentine forward Higuain found himself unattended in the Osasuna area and buried a powerful half-volley after chesting the ball down. The party began and thousands of fans flocked to Plaza de Cibeles to celebrate Schuster’s first championship as manager and Madrid’s new record 31st. Madrid’s holiday weekend just got extended until Monday morning.