Barca held, Real end La Liga campaign with 12th loss

May 21, 2019 00:00:00

Real Betis' Jese celebrating with teammates after scoring their second goal as Real Madrid's Nacho and Marcelo look dejected on Sunday — Reuters

EIBAR, Spain, May 20 (Reuters): Barcelona captain and La Liga top scorer Lionel Messi rounded off a spectacular season by netting twice in a 2-2 draw away to Eibar in the champions' final game on Sunday, taking his tally to a remarkable 36 league goals.

Eibar went ahead in the 20th minute with a strike from Barca's on-loan midfielder Marc Cucurella which squirmed under keeper Jasper Cillessen but Messi levelled in the 31st after sneaking into the box to meet a pass from Arturo Vidal.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid's harrowing season came to a fittingly miserable end on Sunday as they slumped to a staggering 12th La Liga defeat, losing 2-0 at home to Real Betis as many fans left the stadium early and those who stayed booed the players off the pitch.