Barcelona won its first Spanish league title after the departure of Lionel Messi with a 4-2 win against Espanyol. With this result, Barça confirmed their title after reaching 85 points in the standings. It remains, with four games to go, 14 units behind a Real Madrid team that regained second place.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice to lead the Catalan club to its first league title since 2019. The Pole became the fifth player in Barça history to score more than 30 goals (in all official, national and international competitions) in his first season at the club. The title was clinched with four rounds remaining and two years after Messi left amid the club’s financial difficulties. However, the title celebrations were short-lived as the players had to run to the dressing room after a large group of Espanyol fans invaded the pitch from behind one of the goals and started running towards the Barcelona players who They sang and celebrated in the center.
Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé also scored for Barcelona, which already has 27 league titles, eight less than Real Madrid. The victory over city rivals Espanyol gave Barcelona an unbeatable 85 points from 34 games, 14 points more than Madrid, which beat Getafe 1-0 on Saturday. Barcelona have led since round 13 and have the best defenseman in the league with 13 goals conceded, 14 more than any other club. It also has 25 clean sheets.
“It’s a great feeling, a feeling of a job well done. This is important to give some stability to the club’s project. The league title shows that things have been done well and that we have to continue on that path,” said Barcelona coach Xavi.
Barcelona won eight league titles in 11 seasons through 2019. It finished second to Madrid in 2020, then third, behind Madrid and champions Atlético, in 2021. It was second to Madrid last season. Barcelona’s first title without Messi came in the Spanish Super Cup in January. The club had yet to win a major trophy since president Joan Laporta took steps to restructure its debt and renew the squad with the likes of Lewandowski, Jules Koundé and Raphinha. Lewandowski opened the scoring on Sunday from close range in the 11th minute after a center of Alejandro Balde. The 19-year-old left-back added the lead nine minutes later through Pedri’s pass, scoring his first league goal for the club. Lewandowski, the league’s top scorer with 21 goals, added his second in the 40th after a low cross from Raphinha in a getaway Koundé scored the fourth in minute 53 with a header after a long pass from Frenkie de Jong. It was also his first league goal for the club. The defeat dealt a heavy blow to Espanyol in their fight against relegation. He remained penultimate, four points from safety. Espanyol had won just once in their last 10 league games, with one draw and eight losses. They were relegated in 2020 for the first time in almost three decades, returning to the top flight in their first attempt as second division champions. Javi Puado scored Espanyol’s first goal in the 73rd and Joselu added the second in injury time as the Espanyol players Barcelona were preparing to celebrate.
