FC Barcelona crowned La Liga champions after Espanyol derby victory

FC Barcelona are champions of La Liga once again after claiming a 0-2 win away to local rivals Espanyol. 

Lamine Yamal's wonder strike settled Thursday night's derby, before Fermín López, assisted by Lamine, put the result beyond doubt in the 95th minute. 

The opening goal was the 17-year-old's latest argument to be dubbed the best player in the world. 

Barça have now won La Liga on their last two visits to the RCDE Stadium, as the 2022/23 title was also confirmed with a Barcelona win away to Espanyol.  

The night began in truly extraordinary circumstances as an incident outside the ground shortly before kickoff saw a car drive through a crowd of Espanyol fans, injuring at least 13 people.

Early in the encounter, most of Espanyol's most vociferous fans, behind one of the goals, attempted to communicate to the players and officials that they thought the game should not go ahead, given the alarming nature of the incident and uncertainty over safety fears for the remainder of the game. 

Police quickly calmed the situation and arrested the driver, but the incident led to a particularly cagey first half that saw both teams struggle to find rhythm. The importance of the fixture, with local pride at stake for both, a La Liga title for Barça, and salvation from the drop for Espanyol, only added to the tightness of the play in the earlier stages. 

Through his fog of war, a truly great player emerged with the requisite calmness of mind and quickness of feet. Eight minutes into the second half, ultra-rapid changes of speed saw Lamine Yamal pounce through a gridlocked perico defence before rifling a shot perfectly into the top corner. 

The truly spectacular goal was made all the more spectacular for the fact that we've almost come to expect such excellence from a player who is still a legal minor. It's getting harder each week to argue against Lamine Yamal's bid to be thought of as the best player in the world. 

With the league championship tied up, Barcelona have now completed a domestic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Super Cup, all in Hansi Flick's first season in charge. 

The blaugrana will hold a parade through the Catalan capital on Friday to celebrate, beginning at 6 pm. 

Celebrations

After the game, thousands of Barcelona fans gathered at the Canaletes fountain on La Rambla to celebrate the victory. 

With a manic, jovial atmosphere taking over the city's most famous boulevard, thousands drank in their team's return to the summit of Spanish football, as well as the local rivalry spoils. 

Flares, fireworks, and sparklers lit up the night sky as nobody in the vicinity had a chance of sleeping. 

Fans climbed up any piece of street furniture they could find, be they permanent fixtures such as lampposts, bus stops, and even the old bird vendors' stalls, or even temporary ones, such as piles of construction material in place for the ongoing works on La Rambla. 

Beach balls, too, were bounced from hand to hand, celebratorily raised in the air, accompanied by chants reminding Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr. that he did not win the Balon d'Or.