Madrid clinches Spanish crown

MADRID (AP) ― Real Madrid clinched its 32nd Spanish league title and first in four years with a 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night, when Barcelona’s Lionel Messi broke the European club scoring record with a hat trick that raised his season total to 68 goals.

Gonzalo Higuain scored for Real in the 16th minute and Mesut Oezil doubled the lead four minutes later. Cristiano Ronaldo added his 58th goal of the season in the 50th, making up for a penalty kick in the 12th that was saved by goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz.

Madrid (30-2-4) has 94 points and a seven-point lead over Barcelona (27-3-6) with two games left. The Catalans had won the previous three titles.

“The players are all very happy after 10 months of fighting, of training, of games, the objective was to be champion so we are happy to have achieved it,” said Ronaldo, whose own celebration included a rude gesture directed toward the home fans. “To have beaten a team like Barca makes this league win more difficult. It’s much better to win against one of the best teams. It makes it better.”

Madrid’s players celebrated on the field with coach Jose Mourinho, who flashed seven fingers representing the number of league titles won in his career, following two apiece at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

“This was the most difficult one,” Mourinho said.

Messi got his ninth hat trick of the season in Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Malaga, breaking the record of 67 goals Gerd Mueller had set for Bayern Munich in 1972-73.

The 24-year-old Messi converted penalty kicks in the 35th and 59th minutes, then chipped onrushing goalkeeper Carlos Kameni to score in the 64th after a long pass from Andres Iniesta.

Chelsea falls to Newcastle

Chelsea looks certain to finish outside the top four of the English Premier League for the first time in 10 years after a 2-0 defeat against visiting Newcastle.

Papiss Cisse scored in the 19th minute and in second-half injury time, giving him 13 goals in 12 appearances for Newcastle (19-9-8). Tottenham (19-9-8) won 4-1 at Bolton to stay ahead of Newcastle on goal difference and move within one point of third-place Arsenal (20-10-6), which occupies the last automatic qualifying spot for next season’s Champions League.

Fourth place usually guarantees a place in qualifying, but Chelsea could yet take that berth by winning the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on May 19. Emmanuel Adebayor scored in the 62nd and 69th minutes after goals by Luka Modric in the 37th and Rafael Van der Vaart in the 60th to give Tottenham a 4-1 win at Bolton.