FC Barcelona has officially secured the La Liga championship for the 2024-25 season following a 2-0 victory over Espanyol on Thursday. The winning goal was scored by Lamine Yamal. This triumph seals the league title with two games still left to play and concludes an excellent week that also included a win in El Clasico against rivals Real Madrid. This marks Barcelona`s second La Liga crown in the last three seasons, reclaiming the title from Los Blancos.
This is Barcelona`s 28th league title in total, placing them eight titles behind Real Madrid`s record of 36. Coincidentally, just as in their 2022-23 title-winning season, Barcelona will celebrate this achievement while facing their local rivals Espanyol in a league fixture. This season also sees Barcelona achieve its first domestic treble since 2017-18, having previously secured victories in the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey.
In Hansi Flick`s inaugural season as manager, Barcelona developed into a powerful attacking force, maintaining a leading position in La Liga for most of the campaign. They concluded the league season having scored 96 goals, which is over 20 more than any other team in the division. Their impressive goal difference of +60 is almost double that of the second-best team. This performance truly highlights a dominant season for Barcelona, fittingly rewarded with the league title.
Key attacking contributions came from players like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Ferran Torres, each netting 10 or more goals in La Liga. Additionally, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal consistently provided moments of brilliance and were on track to reach double figures for league goals by the season`s end. The significant progress shown by young talents like Yamal under Flick`s guidance has been notable. This successful season could potentially lead to a contract extension for the German coach as the club now sets its sights on achieving its Champions League ambitions next season, following their elimination by Inter in the semifinals this year.
Adrian Whitmore