New York Cosmos win NASL title in Raul's final game

Former Real Madrid legend Raul ended his professional career with an NASL championship.

A Gaston Cellerino hat trick helped the New York Cosmos to a second league championship in three years after a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Fury on Sunday.  

Raul, 38, moved to the Cosmos at the end of 2014 having spent 16 years with Real Madrid where he won six La Liga and three Champions League titles and became the club's leading all-time scorer (before Cristiano Ronaldo recently overtook him.)

The Spain striker left Madrid in 2010 for spells with Schalke and Al Sadd before moving to America and wrapping his storied career with Sunday's title.

Cellerino opened the scoring in the eighth minute, collecting a poor clearance attempt outside of the Ottawa box before bullying his way into the center and slipping a shot underneath Ottawa goalkeeper Rouald Peiser.

Ottawa leveled the score after the break. Minutes after a Mason Trafford red card, Tommy Heinemann received a perfectly-weighted through ball before poking past an onrushing Jimmy Maurer at the near post.

The deadlock was short-lived, however, and the Cosmos restored their advantage a minute later. Cellerino bundled home Walter Restrepo's fine lob from the right of the box after it sailed over Peiser's head and caused confusion on the goal line.

The Cosmos then wrapped up the title -- and Cellerino's hat trick -- five minutes from time. The star forward, played behind the defense by a Raul through ball, slotted coolly past Peiser.

Heinemann scored a second one minute into second-half stoppage time, but the Canadian side couldn't find the equalizer they desperately coveted before the Cosmos' celebrations began. 

For Marcos Senna, who won Euro 2008 with Spain, it was his final game as professional as well.