Barcelona FC on Sunday night secured their 27th La Liga title, their first in four years, after a comfortable 4-2 victory over city rivals Espanyol.
The Catalan giants were leading 1-0 in the 11th minute with Robert Lewandowski converting Alejandro Balde’s cross from left-wing into the back of the net. Balde then bagged one for himself in the 20th minute with the star midfielder Pedri producing an assist to make it a 2-0 lead.
Lewandowski killed the game with five minutes to half-time with his 21st league goal of the season. Brazilian winger Raphina created a chance from the right and delivered the ball into the box where Lewandowski smashed it with a strong left-footed goal.
The second half also produced three more goals with Jules Kounde making it 4-0 for the traveling side with a thumping header in the 53rd minute. The Frenchman was provided a low cross close to the post by Frenkie de Jong and the former converted it into his first goal of the season. Barcelona continued to dominate the game in the second half but Espanyol managed to add two goals as well.
Spanish forward Javi Puado pulled one back for the hosts in the 73rd minute and Joselu struck late in the extra time as a consolation goal for Espanyol.
Three points from the match gave Barcelona a 14-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid. They are leading the table with 85 points from 34 games
The La Liga title was secured with four matches remaining and two years after Lionel Messi left amid the club’s financial struggles. The last time Barcelona celebrated a league title without Messi in its squad was back in 1998-99. He came into the first team in 2004-05 and won the title that season. This is also the club’s first La Liga title since 2019.
Celebrations on the field were short-lived Sunday as players had to rush to the locker room after a large group of Espanyol fans from the ultra section behind one of the goals started running toward Barcelona players singing and celebrating in the center. Security guards quickly intervened but riot police had to stand in front of the tunnel’s entrance to prevent the fans from going in. The supporters threw chairs and other objects.
