Barcelona won their 28th La Liga title as teenage sensation Lamine Yamal produced another wonderful goal in a derby triumph against Espanyol.
The 17-year-old curled a stunning goal into the top left corner from the edge of the box, confirming his side’s title.
With two games remaining, they have a seven-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid.
Fermin Lopez scored again deep into injury time, this time off Yamal’s pass.
However, the game was briefly delayed in the first half due to word of an incident outside. An automobile collided with supporters, injuring 13 people and transporting four to the hospital, but none were reported to be in bad condition.
Play resumed shortly after, and Barcelona scored the clinching goal in the 53rd minute. Yamal scored his 17th goal of the season, cementing his status as one of the world’s most entertaining performers of any age.
Espanyol’s defender Leandro Cabrera was sent off with 10 minutes remaining for striking out with his arm to strike Yamal as they contested the ball.
After winning the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, Hansi Flick completed a perfect sweep of domestic trophies in his first season as Barcelona’s head coach.
His team also defeated Real Madrid in both domestic cup finals, and has won all four El Clasico encounters this season.
“We’ve always thought positively, and we could feel it looking at training sessions. At Barca you have to win titles, and three titles is just great,” Flick told Movistar Plus.
“It’s always important to be mentally strong. That is what we looked for throughout the year. Winning the Super Cup in January gave us confidence. It was great to see how the players have reached their highest level and others have improved.”
Barcelona, who also advanced to the winners league semi-finals before losing to Inter Milan in a thrilling match, were deserving winners, scoring 169 goals across all competitions.
They were seconds away from victory the day before when Real Madrid scored an injury-time winner over Mallorca.
The Catalans needed to beat Espanyol to secure the title, but they had to rely on luck, as Urko Gonzalez and Javi Puado missed chances for the hosts.
Yamal, however, was the hero once more, finishing off Dani Olmo’s pass with his usual style. He then assisted Lopez’s deflected finish shortly before the end.
In an unusual twist, Barcelona has been certified as champions at Espanyol’s stadium more than at home in the twenty-first century.
They also won it in Espanyol in 2023, while a Real Madrid tie at the RCDE Stadium in 2013 gave Barcelona the trophy. They have only won two league championships at the Nou Camp since the 1990s.
At the final whistle, there was a brief scuffle among the players as Barcelona began to celebrate, prompting ground staff to activate the sprinklers to clear the pitch.
When they triumphed at the same stadium two years ago, the Barcelona players had to sprint to the locker room as Espanyol fans ran onto the pitch at the finish.
Barcelona will hold an open-top bus parade in the city on Friday before receiving the trophy during Sunday’s home game against Villarreal (18:00 BST).
