Barcelona wins the Spanish League without Messi for the first time since 2019.

Barcelona wins the Spanish League without Messi for the first time since 2019.

Barcelona has won the Spanish league again, although without Lionel Messi.

Barcelona won its first league title since Messi’s departure with a 4-2 win against Espanyol on Sunday, despite Espanyol supporters flooding the field at the conclusion of the game and forcing Barcelona players to retreat to the locker room.

The Catalan club won its first league championship since 2019 thanks to two goals from Robert Lewandowski. The championship was won with four rounds to go, two years after Messi departed the team due to financial difficulties.

The last time Barcelona won the league without Messi in the lineup was in 1998-99. He was promoted to the first team in 2004-05 and won the championship that year.

Sunday’s celebrations were cut short when a huge number of Espanyol supporters from the extreme section behind one of the goals began rushing towards Barcelona players who were chanting and celebrating in the centre. Although security guards soon intervened, riot police were had to position in front of the tunnel’s entrance to prevent supporters from entering. Chairs and other items were thrown by supporters.

Barcelona currently has 27 league championships, eight less than Real Madrid. Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé also scored. Third-place Atletico Madrid is 16 points behind following a 1-0 loss to last-place Elche on Sunday.

With the win against city rival Espanyol, Barcelona now has an unbeatable 85 points from 34 games, 14 more than Madrid, who won 1-0 at Getafe on Saturday.

Barcelona has led since the 13th round and has the greatest defence in the league with 13 goals surrendered – 14 more than any other side. There are also 25 clean sheets.

“It’s a magnificent feeling, a feeling of a job well done,” stated Barcelona coach Xavi. “This is critical in providing stability to the club’s project.” The league triumph demonstrates that things have been done well and that we must continue on this route.”

Barcelona has won eight league championships in the last 11 seasons. In 2020, it finished second to Real Madrid, then third – behind Madrid and champion Atletico — in 2021. Last season, it finished second to Real Madrid.

Barcelona’s first championship without Messi came in January, when they won the Spanish Super Cup.

Since president Joan Laporta took efforts to reorganise the club’s debt and refresh the roster with players like Lewandowski, Jules Koundé, and Raphinha, the club has failed to win a major prize. Laporta joined the players in the locker room to celebrate.

On Sunday, Lewandowski scored from close range in the 11th minute following Alejandro Balde’s cross. Nine minutes later, the 19-year-old left defender scored his first league goal for the club, off a feed from Pedri.

Lewandowski, who leads the league with 21 goals, scored his second in the 40th minute following a low cross by Raphinha in a breakaway. In the 53rd minute, Koundé scored with a header from a long cross from Frenkie de Jong. It was also his first goal in the league for the club.

The defeat inflicted a significant setback to Espanyol’s struggle against relegation. It remained in second-to-last place, four points from safety.

Espanyol had only won once in its previous ten league games, with a tie and eight defeats. It was relegated to the second division for the first time in over three decades in 2020, but returned to the top flight on its first try as second-division champion.

Javi Puado scored Espanyol’s first goal in the 73rd minute, and Joselu added the second in stoppage time as Barcelona players celebrated.

Sergio Busquets, who is leaving Barcelona at the conclusion of the season, won his 32nd trophy with the club.

“I wanted to leave by winning a major title, such as the Spanish league, and I’m glad I was able to do so,” he stated.

ATLETICO PERISHES

After losing to already-relegated Elche, Atletico failed to reclaim second place.

That setback also prevented Atletico from mathematically clinching a place in next season’s Champions League, but the club may still do so if it earns a point in its next four games.

It was Atletico’s lone defeat in the past 16 league games. The squad also lost in April at Barcelona.

Fidel scored in the 41st minute to give Elche their fourth league victory of the season.

UPSET IN VALLADOLID

Sergio Escudero fired a tremendous long-range shot into the goal for Valladolid against Sevilla, but it didn’t count since the referee had sounded the interval whistle only minutes before.

Sevilla won 3-0, with Rafa Mir, Papu Gómez, and Tecatito Corona scoring in the second half.

Valladolid players and coach Paulo Pezzolano went to the referee to express their displeasure, but there was nothing they could do. Pezzolano said that after halftime, referee Ortiz Arias apologised to him.

Former Brazil great Ronaldo, the club’s president, said that “mistakes of this magnitude can change an entire season.”

Valladolid remained 17th after losing at home to 10th-place Sevilla, one point above the relegation zone.

FIGHT FOR RELEGATION

Valencia defeated Celta Vigo 2-1 in the 88th minute, boosting its hopes of escaping relegation. Alberto Mari scored the game-winning goal with a header in the 88th minute.

Valencia now sits 14th, three points above the relegation zone, with four games left.

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