Barcelona have won La Liga after beating Espanyol in Thursday’s Catalan derby.
The victory moves Barca an insurmountable seven points clear of second-place Real Madrid with just two rounds of matches remaining and clinches a league title in his debut season at the club for head coach Hansi Flick.
Barca were minutes away from securing the title on Wednesday, only for Madrid to score a stoppage time winner against Mallorca at the Bernabeu. It meant victory over Espanyol would confirm Barca as champions, and they were 2-0 winners at the RCDE Stadium thanks to Lamine Yamal’s 53rd-minute goal and a late Fermin Lopez finish.
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The title triumph completes a domestic clean sweep of trophies for Barca this season, having also won the Supercopa de Espana trophy in January and the Copa del Rey last month.
Barca regain the title following Madrid’s success in the 2023-24 campaign, with this season just the second title for the Catalan club since 2019.
Flick’s side made a flying start to the league with 11 wins from their opening 12 rounds of matches, but a run of one victory in just eight matches — including four defeats — between early November and late January saw them drop to third in the standings.
However, they have subsequently picked up 46 points from their next 16 league matches, including a 4-3 Clasico victory over Madrid on Sunday.
Barca have won all four matches against Madrid this season, including the finals of the Supercopa and Copa del Rey, scoring 16 goals across those games. It was confirmed on Monday Carlo Ancelotti would be leaving Madrid at the end of the season to take the Brazil head coach role.
‘Barcelona have been galvanised by Flick’
Analysis by Barcelona reporter Pol Ballus
This is not just a trophy that vindicates Flick’s impact at Barcelona – but a league title that won’t be forgotten in years to come.
We will all remember what we were doing when Flick’s Barca burst onto the scene, because they have really been one of a kind. The German manager has led a revolution since he joined last summer. The team has been galvanised and turned into a daring, fearless, sometimes unconscious, but always extremely fun one to watch.
This is the Barca of the high defensive line, the offside trap, the relentless counter-press and ruthless goalscoring. The manager’s blueprint is all over a group of players in which every individual has been vastly improved, coming from an uninspiring previous campaign.
Flick has won La Liga in his debut season at Barca (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
It is also a celebration of the Lamine Yamal generation. The 17-year-old gets his first league title (I’m not sure we should count that one 10-minute cameo he made in 2023, last year Barca won La Liga), and he does it as arguably the most influential footballer in the league. He will lead Barcelona’s project, with his generation team-mate Pau Cubarsi, for the foreseeable future adding up to the Pedri and Gavi generation. An excellent core to build on.
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Raphinha is another standout name that deserves a special mention. From being on the departures list last summer, with Barca trying the signing of Nico Williams, to become the most productive winger across the big five European leagues. One of the faces of Flick’s style of football, a jack-of-all-trades in the offensive end of the pitch and a Ballon d’Or contender with grafter mentality. You don’t find those ones.
Then there’s Inigo Martinez, who worked his way up to the Spanish football elite to sign for Barcelona at the age of 31 with the mission to win major trophies. Two years and several registration issues later, he is a La Liga champion starring as the defensive leader of Flick’s team.
The season when Spanish football seemed destined to venerate Real Madrid’s Galacticos 2.0, Barcelona stole the show. It’s been thoroughly deserved, and reminded some of us football is a team sport – and the Catalans have now the goods to aim for the biggest honours in the coming years.
(Top photo: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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