VILLARREAL, Spain - Villarreal forward Alexander Sorloth struck four times in 17 minutes to help his side fight back and snatch a 4-4 home draw against champions Real Madrid on Sunday as the Norway international became LaLiga's top scorer.
Carlo Ancelotti's side, crowned champions a fortnight ago, could have reached 99 points for the season, one shy of their 2011-12 record but will now fall short, as they sit on 94 ahead of their final league game against Real Betis.
"The target was not the points because we don't need them, the target was to play a good game with rhythm, intensity, avoiding injuries. Everything went perfectly," Ancelotti, whose side face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on June 1, told a news conference.
"I'm not worried ahead of the Champions League final, this was an open game. Maybe we conceded more goals than necessary but that's okay, it doesn't change anything about what the final has to be. In attack we played well."
Real opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Turkish youngster Arda Guler slotted home a low strike off a Brahim Diaz pass before Joselu doubled the lead with a close-range header on the half-hour mark.
Sorloth pulled one back for Villarreal with a towering header in the 39th minute, but Lucas Vazquez restored Real's two-goal advantage only a minute later before Guler made it 4-1 in the final seconds of the first half.
But the hosts rallied after the break, with Sorloth scoring three goals in eight minutes, between the 48th and 56th, as he reached 23 league goals this season.
Despite salvaging a point, Villarreal will miss out on European football as they sit eighth on 52 points, four adrift of Betis in the Europa Conference League spot.
"It was a match with a lot of goals, the kind that the fans like. I'll take the reaction in the second half. We will try to go to Europe next year," Villarreal forward Gerard Moreno, who provided three assists, told Movistar.
"I hope Sorloth ends up top scorer. He's a fantastic team mate. He deserves it. We're going to try to help him. He's had an incredible season."
Elsewhere, Real Sociedad clinched the last Europa League spot with a 2-0 win at Betis, while Cadiz will be relegated after a goalless draw with Las Palmas ensured they will join Granada and Almeria in dropping to the second tier. REUTERS
