Barcelona beat Espanyol to win 27th LaLiga title

Barcelona, on Sunday, May 14, claimed their 27th LaLiga title after two first-half goals from Robert Lewandowski spurred them to a 4-2 thrashing of city rivals Espanyol.

Barcelona moved to 85 points from 34 matches and extended their lead to an unassailable 14 points over second-placed Real Madrid.

They were the superior side against lowly Espanyol who are second from bottom and fighting to avoid relegation and opened the scoring early with a close-range strike by Lewandowski.

Alejandro Balde, who put it on a plate for Lewandowski’s opening goal, scored Barcelona’s second with a tap-in from a Pedri cross in the 20th minute.

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Lewandowski extended Barcelona’s lead five minutes before the break with another close-range finish from a Raphinha cross.

Defender Jules Kounde headed in Barcelona’s fourth in the 53rd minute, before Javi Puado and Joselu scored consolation goals for Espanyol.

Speaking after the game, Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez, said: “It was a very emotional moment, a moment very hard not to celebrate after so many months of work.

“We didn’t celebrate just because it was Espanyol’s stadium.”

Xavi said the victory was proof that the club was heading in the right direction.

The coach added: “(It brings) a lot of calm, a lot of hope for the future.

“I am very happy. We did a great job, a league won with four games remaining, that’s to the absolute merit of the team.”

Earlier Atletico Madrid fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat at relegated Elche.

Valencia snatched an important late victory at Celta Vigo to climb provisionally to 14th, three points above the relegation zone.

The Star