Mourinho booed off; Barca hits 100 points

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho was booed by the majority of a sparse home crowd as he ended his controversial three-year spell in charge with a 4-2 win over Osasuna.

Champion Barcelona rounded off its campaign with a 4-1 win over Malaga to match Real's league record of 100 points from last season on the final day.

Mourinho's name was met with a chorus of whistles when it was read out before kick-off, but he did receive support from a small group of fans, who chanted his name throughout.

The 50-year-old, widely expected to return to Chelsea, did not appear at the post-match news conference, leaving veteran defender Alvaro Arbeloa to have the final say on the controversial manager.

"We respect his decision, the club's too, and wish him well. We all know that we have taken a major leap in competitiveness and we knew we could have achieved a lot, but due to small details or bad luck it was not to be," he said.

"He has had his successes and failures, as we have all had but he gave his all and defended Real Madrid above everything".

On the field it looked as Mourinho would be given a good send off as first-half goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Michael Essien gave Madrid a comfortable 2-0 lead.

However, Osasuna struck back with two goals in 11 minutes just after the restart through Roberto Torres and Alvaro Cejudo to level matters.

But Mourinho was able to sign off with a win as further goals from Karim Benzema and Jose Maria Callejon ensured Real ended the season unbeaten at home in the league.

With the Portuguese's appearance on the touchline for the final time the main attraction, the game even had to be stopped after barely a minute as photographers and cameramen spilled over onto the pitch.

Barcelona rounded off its championship winning season in style as a first-half blitz saw it dispose of Malaga 4-1 at the Camp Nou.

Goals from David Villa, Cesc Fabregas and Martin Montoya in the opening 16 minutes got the host off to the best possible start.

Andres Iniesta then made it 4-0 seven minutes into the second half before Pedro Morales got a consolation goal five minutes later.

Elsewhere, Real Sociedad qualified for the Champions League for the first time in a decade. Its 1-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna, combined with Valencia's 4-3 defeat at Sevilla, meant it claimed fourth place at the expense of Valencia.

"We are very happy and satisfied because it is the second time in the last number of years that Real Sociedad have reached the Champions League with a French manager," said Sociedad boss Phillippe Montanier.

"It was a very hard game, above all in the second-half when Deportivo gave everything to win the game and they didn't deserve to lose."

Defeat for Deportivo also ensured that the Galicians were relegated as Celta Vigo leapfrogged its rival with a 1-0 win over Espanyol.

Celta's win meant that Mallorca's 4-2 victory over Valladolid was in vain as it too was relegated along with Real Zaragoza, which lost 3-1 at home to Atletico Madrid.

(China Daily 06/03/2013 page23)