Barcelona beat Espanyol to secure 2022/23 La Liga Title

 

Barcelona’s last La Liga title was in the 2018/2019 season; since then, the two Madrid clubs have shared the last three between themselves, with Real Madrid taking two and Atletico Madrid taking it in 2020.

Led by Xavi, the Blaugrana won took advantage of an inconsistent league form from Real Madrid between January and March to create a healthy gap at the summit of the table.

Despite Real Madrid’s 1-0 win at home to Getafe on Saturday, Barcelona needed just one more win to clinch the title with four games to spare in the La Liga this season. It was straightforward on Sunday at Espanyol as the league leaders went into a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski tapped in from Alejandro Balde’s cross from the left after just 11 minutes. Balde, who was the provider for the opener, scored his first Barcelona goal to make it 2-0 after just twenty minutes tapping in from a volley off a Pedri cross.

Lewandowski put the game to bed on the 40th-minute mark with a low cross from Raphinha from the right to widen the gap for the top scorer’s going between him and Karim Benzema, who sits in second with 17 goals.

The second half started with all three points seemingly secured for the incoming champions as Jules Kounde got his first goal for the club in the 53rd minute. However, Espanyol will not go down without a fight with two late consolation goals.

Barcelona has now won their 27th La Liga title with four games to spare, while the defeat of Espanyol put them four points away from safety with 4 games left. Espanyol are in 19th position with 31 points from 34 games, and they face Rayo Vallecano next, with games against Atletico Madrid, Valencia, and Almeria still to come.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu