Real Madrid dashed their Spanish rivals' hopes by clinching the league title on Saturday with four games remaining, allowing them to shift focus to the upcoming Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich.

Despite fielding mostly reserve players, Madrid met expectations by defeating relegation-threatened Cadiz 3-0. Meanwhile, Barcelona suffered a 4-2 defeat at Girona, a collapse that coach Xavi Hernandez admitted reflected his team's disappointing season without any trophies.

These results secured Madrid's 36th La Liga title, a record achievement. Girona, now in second place, surpassed Barcelona, facing an insurmountable 13-point gap with only 12 points left to play for.

Barcelona needed a victory against Girona to prevent Madrid from clinching the title on Saturday.

Madrid now have a chance to add to their unparalleled 14 European Cups. Madrid hosts Bayern on Wednesday with the Champions League semifinal evenly balanced after a 2-2 first-leg draw in Germany. Either Paris Saint-Germain or Borussia Dortmund will await the winner in the June 1 final.

The club stated they would delay the traditional title celebration in downtown Madrid until next Saturday, prioritizing the important game against Bayern.

"We deserved this league title in every way," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said after leading his team to his second league title and 12th trophy overall in his two stints with Madrid. "We would like to celebrate with all the fans, but they understand because on Wednesday we have a very important challenge. We want to prepare well to make the fans happy, and we will celebrate the title together on Saturday."

At the start of the season, Madrid appeared poised to play second fiddle to defending champion Barcelona after Karim Benzema left in the summer, and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defenders David Alaba and Eder Militao sustained serious leg injuries.

But Jude Bellingham blossomed into a scorer upon arrival from Borussia Dortmund. His goals, coupled with leadership in midfield, along with the dribbling, speed, and goals of Vinicius Junior, put Madrid well ahead of the rest.

Madrid has only lost once in 34 rounds so far, defeated Barcelona in both league "clasico" matches, and dealt Girona a pair of lopsided losses in their two meetings.

Backups shine

Ancelotti overhauled his lineup ahead of the decider against Bayern. Center back Nacho Fernandez was the only starter from the first leg against Bayern to begin against Cadiz.

Brahim Diaz broke through Cadiz’s defense in the 51st minute at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, rifling a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner.

Season standout Bellingham tapped in a second goal in the 68th, moments after coming on as a substitute, to put the result beyond doubt with his 18th league goal of the campaign. Joselu Mato added a third in injury time.

Girona in UCL

Xavi’s team suffered the double blow of watching Madrid claim the title because of their loss while at the same time falling behind Girona in a second big loss in the Catalan derby this season. Girona pushed Barcelona into third place at 14 points behind Madrid.

Girona secured a top-four finish and Champions League berth after opening a 13-point gap over Athletic Bilbao in fifth.

Girona is now on track to create an issue for UEFA, which has rules designed to protect the Champions League from having two or more clubs in the same ownership group. Girona and Manchester City are both part of City Football Group backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family.

Girona can also deprive Barcelona of a lucrative spot in the Spanish Super Cup if they hold onto second place.

"We had the game under control and then gave it away, and that is a summary of our season," Xavi said. "The same thing happened in the two games against Madrid and in the other game against Girona, and it is very tough to compete like that. We have to change many things if we want to compete next season."

Substitute Cristian "Portu" Portugues turned the game around for Girona. Trailing 2-1 when Portu came on in the 65th, he scored on his first touch. He then assisted Miguel Gutierrez two minutes later before curling in a second goal to complete a brace in the 74th.

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal set up Andreas Christensen in the third minute, only for Artem Dovbyk to head in his league-leading 20th goal seconds later for Girona. Yamal also earned a penalty that Robert Lewandowski converted just before halftime.

Courtois returns

Courtois was back in goal for his first appearance of the season since suffering two leg injuries. The 31-year-old Belgian tore the ACL in his left knee in August, two days before Madrid’s first game of the season. He then ruptured the meniscus in his right knee in March when he was preparing to come back.

Courtois had little work except for moments before Diaz’s opener when he snuffed out a breakaway by Cadiz striker Chris Ramos.

Ancelotti said Friday that Andriy Lunin, the backup who has excelled in Courtois’ place, will be back in goal for the second leg against Bayern.

Also, Atletico Madrid won 1-0 at Mallorca thanks to an early goal by Rodrigo Riquelme to keep their grip on fourth place.

Real Sociedad beat Las Palmas 2-0 to strengthen their hold on sixth place and a Europa League spot.