May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Real Madrid clinched the Spanish championship at one of the stadiums where it is least welcome.

Facing a hostile 18,000 crowd waving Basque flags, Arjen Robben and Gonzalo Higuain scored in the last 3 minutes as 10- man Madrid rallied to beat Osasuna 2-1 at the Reyno de Navarro stadium in Pamplona yesterday.

``Winning the title where they don't like us very much, it makes it more special,'' Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster told a televised news conference.

With 3 of 38 games left, Real Madrid tops the standings with 78 points, an insurmountable 10 points ahead of second- placed Villarreal. Barcelona is third.

It's the first time Real Madrid has retained the league title since it won five straight times through 1990. The club has now amassed a Spanish record 31 championships.

Higuain, a 65th minute substitute for captain Raul Gonzalez, scored the winning goal with a 15-yard volley before being mobbed by teammates. Robben had tied the scores two minutes earlier with a headed goal from a free kick.

Patxi Punal opened the scoring for Osasuna with an 82nd minute penalty kick after Gabriel Heinze handled the ball. Madrid had Fabio Cannavaro ejected a minute into the second half.

`Like a Movie'

``It was a game that had everything,'' Schuster, his floppy blonde hair soaked with champagne, told reporters. ``It was like an American movie.''

In leading Real Madrid to the title in his first season, 48-year-old Schuster, a former Germany midfielder who played for Madrid and Barcelona, emulated predecessor Fabio Capello.

Over the past two years the club has helped its coaches by spending $250 million on players including striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and defender Pepe. David Beckham, who helped Capello's team win the title, joined the Los Angeles Galaxy last year.

The club has failed to repeat its domestic success in Europe's Champions League. In March, it was eliminated in the round of 16 for a fourth straight season. It won the last of its record nine European titles in 2002.

``The team is still under construction,'' former Real Madrid Technical Director Benito Floro told Television Espanola last week. ``They need to be playing together three years, not constantly changing.''

Real Madrid players including Brazil's Robinho jumped up and down and sang in the team bus last night as it prepared to take them to the airport for the flight back to Madrid.

Meantime, thousands of fans massed in the Cibeles square in downtown Madrid to celebrate with players on their return to the capital in the early hours of today.

Osasuna stayed third-last in the standings and on course for relegation to the second division.

``The team is destroyed,'' club President Patxi Izco told Canal+. ``Madrid didn't deserve to win.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Duff in Madrid at at aduff4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 4, 2008 20:34 EDT