Cristiano Ronaldo at the beauty of 2 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema keep Real Madrid's title hopes alive

Real Madrid kept their La Liga title hopes alive until the final fixture of the season with a vital victory over Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The match also became the stadium's farewell to Alvaro Arbeloa. This event somehow distracted both the squad and the fans, as what was a key match for the title race became a leaving do for the hosts well before the final whistle.

For this match, coach Zinedine Zidane missed four starters: Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Daniel Carvajal and Keylor Navas did not even make the bench due to minor injuries. The improvised lineup worked out well for the Frenchman in the first 45 minutes, but his second half substitutions and a revived Valencia forced Real Madrid to struggle mightily to grind out a win.

The La Liga title will be decided next weekend. Barcelona, with a one-point advantage plus the tiebreaker, travel to Granada. Real Madrid, at La Coruna, will have to win their match and hope Barcelona do not win theirs.