When can Real Madrid win La Liga?

This article was updated before the La Liga fixtures on Saturday, May 4.

Real Madrid are closing in on the La Liga crown.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are 11 points clear of Barcelona with five matches to play and are well on course for a record-extending 36th Spanish league title. Their Clasico rivals are second with 27 La Liga trophies, while Atletico Madrid have 11.

With their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich poised at 2-2 after the first leg, and having already won the Supercopa de Espana (Spain’s equivalent of the Community Shield in England), Madrid are looking good this season.

But it’s not sewn up yet.

Here, we explain when they could be crowned La Liga champions.

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What is the state of play in La Liga?

Real Madrid are top on 84 points, 11 points ahead of Barca on 73 and 13 ahead of Girona on 71, with 15 points still to play for.

An early title charge for Girona faded away, but Michel’s side have secured European football for the first time in their history and remain on course for Champions League qualification. Atletico are seven points behind them in fourth, with fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao on 58 points.

What are Real Madrid’s remaining fixtures?

Madrid host Cadiz on Saturday, before the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern at the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday.

A trip to Granada follows on May 11, before a midweek home game against Deportivo Alaves on Tuesday, May 14. They travel to Villarreal on the weekend of May 19 and host Real Betis for their final match of the league season on the weekend of May 26.

There is also the small matter of a potential Champions League final for Madrid at Wembley on June 1, if Ancelotti’s team make it past Bayern.

What are Barcelona’s remaining fixtures?

Xavi’s side beat Valencia on Monday and next travel to local rivals Girona on Saturday, before the visit of Real Sociedad on May 13.

They then go to Almeria on May 16, welcome Rayo Vallecano on the weekend of May 19, and close the season at Sevilla on the weekend of May 26.

* Date to be determined

When could Real Madrid win La Liga?

The earliest Madrid can claim the title is Saturday.

If they win against Cadiz and Barcelona drop points against Girona, then Ancelotti’s team will be crowned champions that evening.

If Barca beat Girona and Madrid win against Cadiz, they would claim the title on May 11 by beating Granada away. Barca would not be able to make up the 14-point deficit with 12 left to play for.

How can I watch on TV?

In the United Kingdom, La Liga games are broadcast on LaLigaTV through Premier Sports. Fans in the United States can watch La Liga on ESPN+.

What will Madrid’s win mean for Spain’s ‘big two’?

Madrid winning the title would be an impressive achievement for Ancelotti’s side. It’s easy to forget they lost their first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and best central defender Eder Militao to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries just as the campaign started. They then saw centre-back David Alaba ruled out with one, too.

Bellingham’s goals (17 in 25 La Liga games so far) helped them build momentum, but the Englishman’s stoppage-time effort against Barcelona was his first for Madrid since February. Squad players have made significant contributions and Ancelotti tweaked his system to make the team more defensively sound when they were overrun in a September defeat by Atletico. That remains their only loss of the league campaign.

This would be Ancelotti’s second La Liga title with Madrid, both won in his second spell at the club since 2021. It would reflect well on Los Blancos’ forward planning — key players such as Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga are all 23 and under, with teenager Endrick and potentially Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, 25, to follow this summer.

By contrast, those at Barca will be disappointed not to have built on last season’s La Liga title won under Xavi. They rallied after the legendary former midfielder announced he would step down at the end of the season — only to go back on his decision last week — but it has not been enough. Their greatest hope in the near future will be La Masia products Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, two of their best players this season at 16 and 17 years old.

(Top photo: Ander Gillenea/AFP via Getty Images))