MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo set a new La Liga scoring record of 40 goals in a season and Emmanuel Adebayor grabbed a hat trick as Real Madrid destroyed relegated Almeria 8-1 at the Bernabeu Saturday. Newly-crowned champion Barcelona also wrapped up their campaign with a victory, coming back to win 3-1 in Malaga with most of its first team being rested ahead of next weekend's Champions League final against Manchester United. Barca, who secured its third consecutive league crown last week, finished with 96 points from 38 games, four ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, scorers of 102 league goals this term. Portuguese forward Ronaldo only needed four minutes to pass the previous league record of 38 goals, bundling in at the far post from a Sergio Ramos header. He also bagged the seventh in the 77th minute, running from deep and firing a long-range effort inside the far post. Meanwhile, Sporting Gijon and Hercules drew 0-0. Ferguson and Vidic land season awards Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and skipper Nemanja Vidic landed the Premier League manager and player of the season awards Friday. Ferguson led United to its 12th Premier League title, and 19th English league success overall, plus the Champions League final while center-back Vidic has been key in United's defence. Ferguson, 69, lands the top manager award from the Premier League sponsors for a ninth time, while 29-year-old Vidic has now been named player of the season twice in his United career. Schalke books European spot Schalke 04 won the German Cup for the fifth time Saturday, crushing second division Duisburg 5-0 to book a Europa League spot for next season. Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar struck twice as Schalke took up its last chance of a European place after a rollercoaster season saw them reach the Champions League semifinals but finish 14th in the Bundesliga. Celtic wins Scottish Cup Celtic secured some consolation for losing out on the league title to bitter rivals Rangers by winning the Scottish Cup final with a 3-0 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park Saturday. It was Celtic's 35th Scottish Cup triumph and its first silverware under manager Neil Lennon, who has endured a troubled season. Lennon was attacked by a man during his team's match against Hearts in Edinburgh earlier this month, the incident the latest in a succession of problems for the former Northern Ireland and Celtic captain who has received death threats on several occasions and retired from international football because of them. Last month parcel bombs sent to Lennon and two high-profile Celtic supporters were intercepted. Blatter defends FIFA Sepp Blatter launched an impassioned defense of FIFA's integrity Saturday, insisting world football's ruling body was not institutionally corrupt and that critics should stop staying it is. The 75-year-old FIFA President, who is seeking re-election for a fourth term in a June 1 vote, said he had not received any evidence against six members of FIFA's executive committee, who were last week accused of corruption in a vote to decide the World Cup hosts for 2018 and ‘22.
