A stunning Lamine Yamal strike helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win at local rivals Espanyol on Thursday, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. 

Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble.

Only the Champions League escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2023.

Back then, celebrating Barca players were chased from the field by angry home supporters but this time Espanyol turned on the sprinklers to soak the jubilant visitors, who headed down the tunnel quickly.

Yamal opened the scoring after 53 minutes of a tense derby clash with a brilliant curling effort, before Lopez added another in the 95th minute to secure victory.

“It’s time to celebrate,” said Barca coach Flick, who said he would demand even more from his team next season.

“It’s in our DNA (to want to learn), it’s normal, and this is what I want from the players, that they always try to get better and they have this hunger, it’s crucial.”

Outside the stadium before the match several Espanyol fans were hit by a car which drove into a big crowd, although none were seriously injured and police said it appeared to be an accident.

Barcelona were seconds away from sealing their title triumph on Wednesday but Real Madrid snatched a 95th-minute winner against Mallorca to delay the inevitable.

Flick’s side started slowly in Cornella, with Espanyol, 16th, looking dangerous on the counter-attack and keen to secure their top-flight survival.

Wojciech Szczesny made a fine save to deny Javi Puado who broke through on goal in Espanyol’s best chance of the opening period.

Barca dominated the ball but failed to create any clear opportunities themselves in the first half.

- Yamal breaks through –

The Catalan giants have often blown teams away this season, approaching a century of goals in La Liga, but with the title on the line and a hostile crowd against them, they needed something special to break through.

That came from 17-year-old wing wizard Yamal, who zipped inside off the right flank and unleashed a rocket into the top corner from outside the box, in a replica of his goal for Spain against France in the Euro 2024 semi-finals.

It was the teenager’s eighth La Liga strike of the season but with goals in both matches against rivals Real and also in the visit to face Atletico Madrid, he has a penchant for the big occasion.

“I don’t know what to say about Lamine, he scored an amazing goal, he’s had an amazing season,” said Lopez.

Barca’s superb display in Sunday’s Clasico, in which they beat their rivals 4-3 in a thrilling battle, effectively won them the title.

They still had to get it over the line against their neighbours, though, and that became easier when Leandro Cabrera was sent off for an elbow into Yamal’s stomach.

Even though they had a player fewer, Espanyol pressured Barcelona heavily until Lopez drilled past Joan Garcia to end the hosts’ resistance.

Espanyol fans pelted Barcelona players with bottles as they celebrated the goal, but as the league’s youngest squad wrapped up a title that most believed was unlikely at best after Kylian Mbappe’s arrival at last year’s champions Real, they did not care.

“On the pitch it was clear we could not celebrate there... two years ago (there was trouble),” Flick told reporters.

“It’s also about respect for the fans here, (so) of course we celebrated in the dressing room, fantastic, the players could do that, really good.

“Tomorrow I will stand a little bit in the background and I also will enjoy it. When I see the people are happy and smiling I will enjoy it.”

Source: AFP
--Agencies