Real Madrid's La Liga title hopes were ended despite a 4-1 victory at Espanyol as Barcelona condemned them to second place with a win at Atletico Madrid.
A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick and one from Marcelo halted Real's run of three consecutive winless games in all competitions and spared the blushes of goalkeeper Keylor Navas, whose terrible error allowed Christian Stuani to equalise.
But Barcelona's 1-0 success at the Estadio Vicente Calderon in the penultimate game of the season saw them crowned champions and confirm Real as runners-up to complete a miserable week that also saw Carlo Ancelotti's side denied a place in the UEFA Champions League final by Juventus, increasing the pressure on the Italian coach.
Real finally broke the deadlock shortly before the hour mark after a sweeping move that began with Pepe threading a pass to Benzema, who found Ronaldo in plenty of space and the league's top scorer made no mistake, slotting his 43rd goal of the season low into the corner of the net.
Real's evening almost turned completely sour when a backpass from Pepe saw Navas take a touch that allowed Stuani to steal the ball from him and Sergio Garcia teed the Uruguayan up for an equaliser.
But Real were soon back in front through Marcelo's thunderous shot high into the net after a one-two with Ronaldo, who then made it 3-1 with a clinical finish after he was set up by substitute Javier Hernandez.
Ronaldo grabbed his seventh hat-trick of the season with a simple header at the far post in the final minute of the game, but it mattered little for Real.
