FC Barcelona were crowned champions of Spain for the 27th time

FC Barcelona holds its 27th Spanish champion title. Winner on the pitch of Espanyol Barcelona (4-2), Barça will surely win La Liga on Sunday 14 May, while there are still four days left in the season. With 14 points clear of runners-up Real Madrid, the Catalan side cannot be caught up and wins the Spanish league for the first time since 2019.

This title, the blaugrana achieved by beating local rival, Barcelona’s other club, Espanyol. During this meeting, marked by the goal of the Frenchman Jules Koundé in the second period, it was Robert Lewandowski who stood out particularly. The Pole, top scorer in La Liga (20 goals) ahead of Karim Benzema, scored twice and was one of Barça’s strong men throughout the season.

An iron defense throughout the season

If the former Bayern Munich striker managed to adapt quickly to the Spanish league and was Barça’s main offensive threat throughout the season, it is also and above all thanks to his iron defense that the Catalan club became champions. The Barcelona side conceded twice against Espanyol on Sunday night, something they had only done twice since the start of the La Liga season.

With 13 goals conceded in 34 games, Barça have the best defense of the top five European leagues. This solidity is one of the hallmarks of Xavi’s FC Barcelona. Already crowned eight times as a player with the Catalan club, where he played between 1998 and 2015, the Spaniard claimed his first-ever La Liga title as manager on Sunday.

Arrived on the Barça bench in November 2021, Xavi is the architect of the new sacred Barça on Sunday and conquers his first major title as a coach, after however having conquered trophies with the Qatari club Al-Sadd and the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid last January. But it was against the Merengues that his team was heavily beaten in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. In the European Cup, Barça did no better than Xavi, eliminated by Manchester United in the round of 16 of the Europa League.

The trophy awarded the next day

This coronation is a breath of fresh air for Barça, which has been experiencing economic difficulties for years – to the point of letting Lionel Messi escape to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 – and legal scandals. The club is still embroiled in a case of alleged bribery of referees and will have to do without the important financial income of the Camp Nou next season. The mythical stadium of the Barcelona club will in fact be under construction and the first team will have to play its matches at Montjuic.

But four years after their last La Liga title, Barça will be able to savor when they return to the top of Spanish football. With this 27th crown, he approaches the 35 championships won by Real Madrid in its history. Barcelona players will be able to celebrate their title next Saturday at the Camp Nou when they receive the Spanish champions trophy before the match against Real Sociedad.